The Clippers Lost Five First-Round Picks — and Quietly Handed the Suns a Cleaner Path Through the West

The biggest NBA story of the past week didn't happen in Phoenix, but it reshaped the ground beneath the Suns' feet. On September 2, the league dropped one of the harshest punishments in its history on the LA Clippers: a $30 million fine, the forfeiture of five first-round draft picks, and a one-year suspension for owner Steve Ballmer, all stemming from an investigation into salary cap circumvention tied to Kawhi Leonard's off-court endorsement arrangements. The Clippers have said they "vehemently reject" the findings and intend to fight the penalties.

For the Suns, the immediate effect is indirect but real. A division rival that won 42 games a season ago — and split the 2025-26 season series with Phoenix 2-2, outscoring the Suns 451-424 across four meetings — just had its roster-building pipeline gutted. Five first-round picks is roughly a decade of cheap, controllable talent. The Clippers are priced at 75,000 on the futures board, tied with the Bulls, Pelicans, Grizzlies and Bucks as extreme long shots, while Phoenix sits a tier above at 15,000.

What the Suns actually control

Phoenix's own summer was quieter and, by most local reckonings, more productive. The Suns retained Collin Gillespie on a team-friendly deal after he averaged 12.7 points and 4.6 assists across 80 games on 40.1 percent shooting from three. Devin Booker remains the franchise's center of gravity — 26.1 points, 6.0 assists and 87.3 percent free-throw shooting last season — with Jalen Green (17.8 points in 32 games) and Dillon Brooks (20.2 points in 56 games) alongside him.

That core is why the market has Phoenix at -120 to make the playoffs and +100 to miss, with a win total of 38.5. That's a projection that essentially says: fringe play-in team, not a contender. The Suns exceeded expectations last season at 45-37 with a plus-1.5 point differential, but the numbers behind that record were thinner than the win total suggested. Their season-long adjusted ratings sat at 115.8 on offense and 114.4 on defense — an offense barely ahead of a leaky defense.

The warning signs are still there

The last-10 sample was not kind. Phoenix went 3-7 with a net rating of minus-7.0, a defensive rating of 119.3 and a 112.3 offensive rating. In the last five, that defensive rating ballooned to 124.2 with a net of minus-11.4. The April game log — a 3-3 month with a minus-15 point differential, including a 28-point loss to the Lakers and a 20-point loss to Charlotte — is a reminder that the team that finished the season looked nothing like the team that started it.

None of that gets fixed by a rival's punishment. The Clippers losing picks doesn't make Phoenix's perimeter defense better or create a secondary creator behind Booker.

The date to circle

What the Clippers' collapse does change is the margin for error in the Pacific. Phoenix opens the season with a heavy Western slate — Detroit and Chicago on the road, two San Antonio games, Utah, then a stretch featuring Golden State twice, Oklahoma City and Denver. The first meeting with the Clippers lands at home on November 11.

By then, we'll know whether the Suns' summer was genuinely encouraging or merely quiet. The Clippers' punishment removes a rival from the long-term race. It doesn't remove the pressure from Phoenix.