Sixers keep valuable Clippers pick swap despite NBA punishment

The Clippers are losing five first-round picks as part of their historic punishment from the NBA. One pick they aren’t losing could become particularly interesting to the 76ers.

Philadelphia still owns the right to swap first-round picks with Los Angeles in 2029, according to Chris Hine of the Philadelphia Inquirer. A league source confirmed that the Sixers’ swap rights will not be affected by the penalties handed down after the NBA found the Clippers circumvented salary-cap rules involving Kawhi Leonard.

The Sixers acquired the top-three protected 2029 swap as part of the October 2023 trade that sent James Harden to Los Angeles.

Here’s where it gets interesting: The NBA stripped Los Angeles of first-round picks in each year from 2029 through 2033. But the 2029 pick being forfeited is actually one the Pacers owe the Clippers from the Ivica Zubac trade. The Clippers’ own pick remains available for Philadelphia to swap into.

That asset suddenly doesn’t look too bad. Leonard is expected to be traded to Toronto, while the Clippers are staring at one of the harshest organizational punishments in NBA history. Nobody knows what Los Angeles will look like three years from now.

Perhaps it’ll be fine. Perhaps the Sixers will be very happy they kept that swap.

Either way, the NBA just took five first-round picks away from the Clippers. Philadelphia’s wasn’t one of them.