Just as we thought the offseason was getting boring…
…the NBA drops a bombshell on us!
Today’s Lineup
⛔️ Clippers Crackdown!
NBA investigation leads to 5 firsts and a $30 million fine leaving LA.
💰 $208 million, Amen!
Amen Thompson gets PAID!
📖 This Day in Basketball History: 2002
A look back at Argentina’s historic upset of Team USA.
🎉 Happy birthday Ja’Kobe Walter, Jarace Walker, and Elliot Cadeau! 🎉
Around the Association
⛔️ NBA investigation finds the LA Clippers were in violation of salary cap circumvention rules in a scheme tied to Kawhi Leonard.
Take a bow, Pablo Torre.
On Wednesday, the League dropped the hammer on the Clippers after announcing the findings of its investigation into an alleged salary cap circumvention scheme tied to All-NBA player Kawhi Leonard.
In a 35-page report, Wachtell Lipton concluded that the Clippers organization violated the NBA’s salary cap circumvention rules, with Leonard, his uncle and business rep Dennis Robertson, owner Steve Ballmer, and top executives Gillian Zucker and Lawrence Frank involved.
Per Shams, the Clippers reportedly deny contents of the NBA’s report and intend on challenging the findings. However, there is no formal appeal process through the NBA, so any counteraction has to take place through the courts.
Here are the highlights from the league’s punishment:
Clippers to forfeit 5 first-round picks (one in 2029, 2030, 2031, 2032, 2033).
Owner Steve Ballmer fined $30 million and is suspended from all league/team activities for 1 year.
Kawhi Leonard fined $700K, his contract was NOT voided.
President of Business Ops Gillian Zucker suspended for 1 year without pay.
President of Basketball Ops Lawrence Frank suspended for 6 months without pay.
Uncle Dennis Robertson banned from engaging with any NBA team for 5 years.
Clippers team personnel subject to a compliance and monitoring program overseen by the league for 5 years.
2026 vs 2000
At first glance, this is a pretty hefty punishment for LA, likely the largest in NBA history.
The last example of salary cap circumvention was in 2000 with Joe Smith and the Minnesota Timberwolves. Similarly, as a penalty, Minnesota initially forfeited 5 first round picks (2 were returned), and had their owner suspended for a year. However, the T-Wolves were only fined $3.5 million ($6.8 million adjusted for inflation), and the NBA voided Smith’s contract.
The fact that Leonard’s contract wasn’t voided makes things interesting. It allows the Clippers to go forward with trading Kawhi to Toronto, recouping some of their missing pick compensation in the process. Now with the investigation complete, trade agreements can be finalized.
Clippers’ Immediate Future
While the world has been quick to write off the Clippers’ immediate future, oftentimes teams with nothing to lose have a tendency to overperform.
There are also a number of bright spots to look out for: ⬇️
Darius Garland - All-Star level PG entering the season as healthy as he’s been in a while.
Keaton Wagler - The #5 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, who will likely have a lot of opportunity to have the ball in his hands year 1. Soon, everyone will know his name.
Yanic Konan Niederhauser - the Swiss big from Penn State showed some promise before ending his rookie campaign early last season due to a Lisfranc injury.
Cap Flexibility - If the trade with Toronto goes through, Brandon Ingram will enter next offseason with a $41.9 million player option. With the only other large contract being Garland’s ($44.9 million), we could see LA as a very aggressive buyer in next summer’s free agency market.
Regardless, this news has solidified the Clippers as one of the more exciting 2K rebuild opportunities in recent memory.
If the Clippers need any advice on next steps, we all know a guy who can get assets and flip ‘em!
🏀 🏀 🏀
🚀 Houston Rockets and Amen Thompson agree to 5-year, $208 million extension.
The Rockets have tied up one of their franchise cornerstones for the next half-decade after agreeing to terms on an extension with their young star, Amen Thompson.
Thompson has been a breath of fresh air in Houston since entering the league in 2023. His all-league athleticism, rim pressure, and defence make him must-see-TV. Thompson earned 1st Team All-Defense honors in 2025, led the NBA in minutes played last season and finished 8th in total steals.
Amen also brings incredible positional versatility. While predominately acting as the 1 for Houston last season, he’s been spread out all the way to the 4 in the past.
While his jump shot will be the final piece of the puzzle (21.9 career 3PT%), Houston has greatly benefitted from Thompson’s services, and their financial commitment to him shows that.
With this news, Amen might have to change his middle name from XLNC to RICH! 💰
🧠 Daily Trivia 🧠
Which Overtime Elite team did Amen & Ausar Thompson play on?
This Day in Basketball History: 2002
This way-back machine takes us to the Conseco Fieldhouse (now the Gainbridge Fieldhouse) in Indianapolis, Indiana where Team USA and Team Argentina meet in a second round matchup at the 2002 FIBA Basketball World Cup!
International hoops around this time began to look a lot differently as the player pool expanded to allow active NBA players to participate.
Team USA was packed to the gills with NBA talent: Paul Pierce, Reggie Miller, Andre Miller, Michael Finley, Ben Wallace, Jermaine O’Neal, Elton Brand, Shawn Marion, and Baron Davis just to name a few. The team was even coached by the legendary George Karl and Gregg Popovich.
Team Argentina was led by Spurs draft-and-stash Emanuel “Manu” Ginobili, who was set to play in San Antonio in the 2002-03 season. Joining Manu were future Spur Fabricio Oberto plus Luis Scola and Andres Nocioni coming off the bench.
What Team USA could bring in star power, Team Argentina matched with tactical and technical brilliance. Ruben Magnano’s Flex offence had the ball zipping around at all times, making Team USA look foolish with backdoor cuts without a defender in sight. Not to mention some beautiful one-handed dimes from lefties Ginobili (15 PTS, 3 AST) and Pepe Sanchez (9 PTS, 4 AST), plus Scola (13 PTS, 5 REB) meeting Jermaine O’Neal at the rim.
While Pierce (22 PTS, 4 REB, 6 AST) and Andre Miller (14 PTS, 8 REB, 5 AST) kept the game from being a blowout, Team USA’s iso and post-up heavy offense was no match for the Argentines.
Argentina left Conseco Fieldhouse with a wire-to-wire 87-80 victory!
Argentina went on to lose in overtime in the Final to FR Yugoslavia led by Peja Stojakovic and current EuroLeague president Dejan Bodiroga. However, the team ran it back in the 2004 Olympics in Greece and took home Gold!
Team USA following this loss went on to lose two more games to FR Yugoslavia and Spain before finishing the tournament in 6th place. The lowest position Team USA has finished at the senior level in any major event at the time. After claiming a bronze medal in 2004, this began the rumblings for a Redeem Team to rise.
FIBA has an extensive online archive of older international games! If you’re looking to throw something on in the background → feel free to use this classic. The on-court sounds are incredible. You get to hear the coaches’ speeches each timeout, on court trash talk, and the luscious sounds of the ball clanking off the rim.
Three in the Key
🏆 FIBA Women’s World Cup Begins!
If you’re reading this, there’s basketball on! Tap in for a FULL slate of international play!
🏀 Top 10 PGs (NOTB vs Enjoy100)!
How does the NOTB crew’s ranking compare to ours?
🥇 Stars & Stripes & Gold
A look at Team USA’s FIBA Women’s World Cup dominance.
What We’re Enjoying
This recent Clippers news has blown up the internet and group chats around the world. For more thoughts on the matter, let’s tap in with KB. ⬇️
Signing Off
Enjoyers! Thank you for spending another Friday with us! We wish you a safe and happy Labor Day weekend! We’ll be back on Monday to regroup!
