The Kawhi Leonard era for the LA Clippers had the franchise on the hook for a slew of first-round picks owed to the OKC Thunder. Whether it's All-NBA forward Jalen Williams or recently selected 7-foot behemoth Aday Mara, Oklahoma City's dynasty-pushing core would not look the same without the help of Los Angeles.
Now, despite the fact that the Leonard era is approaching its end, what with the forward's trade to the Raptors earlier this summer, the dues owed to Oklahoma City are certainly not following in his outbound footsteps.
As a result of their involvement serving as a third party in the trade that landed Leonard James Harden as his star guard running mate back in 2023, the Thunder own the right to swap picks with LA during next year's draft.
While most already assumed this luxury could lead OKC to yet another lottery pick in 2027, as they just handed them the 12 overall selection with Kawhi in tow this past year, recent predictions suggest the latest punishment handed down by the league in response to the verdict of their cap circumvention investigation could make the pick even more valuable.
Clippers desperation could play out well for Thunder draft hopes
In a recent piece by Bleacher Report, writer Grant Hughes predicted that the loss of five future first-round picks as a result of their cap circumvention ruling only "increases the odds of trading for someone else's" picks to help somewhat make up for things.
Considering Darius Garland is the club's highest-pedigree player moving forward, the belief is that floating his name out on the block could be the best way for the Clippers to make up the most distance in the draft capital department.
Garland is a two-time All-Star who, following his initial debut with LA back in early March, helped the club finish off with a 14-9 record while posting impressive per-game averages of 19.9 points and 6.4 assists on 47.1 percent shooting from the floor and 43.8 percent shooting from deep.
With his stellar on-court production coupled with his still-prime age of just 26, Hughes strongly believes that there are a number of point guard-needy teams out there who "would happily" part with a pick or two to attain someone of Garland's caliber.
Being it will be hard to build their way back to relevancy without replenishing at least some of the picks they lost, sacrificing their best player to the trade market could prove to be a highly strategic, long-term move for the club.
On top of it, the Thunder's odds of swapping their way into a top-tier selection in next year's draft would only skyrocket in such a scenario.
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