By admin 
The future does not look bright for the Los Angeles Clippers. After trading away Ivica Zubac, James Harden, and Kawhi Leonard, they are a franchise on a rebuild. However, with the five first-round picks as punishment for Leonard’s salary cap circumvention case, they do not have enough draft capital to be successful.
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And so, because a desperate situation calls for desperate measures, podcaster Bill Simmons says the Clippers might want to start accumulating picks right now by taking in a contract that one team might be thinking about moving.
“If I’m the Clippers, I’m at least calling the Spurs and being like, ‘Yo, we have Garland. We love him, but if you want to talk about flipping four years of Fox for two years of Garland and throwing some of your stuff at us, we’re happy to have the conversation,” he said.
“If you’re the Spurs, you’re like, ‘Well, we messed up this Fox thing. We didn’t realize we were gonna get Harper when we did the wink, wink with the Fox extension. We’re going to have the money to pay Wemby and Castle and eventually Harper,’” Bill added.
@BillSimmons: Should the Clippers trade for De’Aaron Fox? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/yKzTLxp031
— The Ringer (@ringer) September 17, 2026
The Spurs are trapped with Fox’s huge contract
After the San Antonio Spurs acquired De’Aaron Fox from the Sacramento Kings, they signed him to a five-year, $229 million extension. However, they also drafted Dylan Harper that same offseason. Harper turned out to be a gem, and now the Spurs are stuck with a contract that only kicks in this year and could affect their ability to retain all three of Victor Wembanyama, Stephon Castle, and Fox in the near future.
Meanwhile, Garland has only two years left on the five-year $197 million deal he signed with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2022, giving the Spurs more flexibility as they navigate how to keep their young core together.
“Could Garland be a two-year stopgap now instead of four?” added Simmons. “And could we use some of our picks and other stuff to basically get out of those last two years? And if you’re the Clippers, you’re like, ‘Well, De’Aaron Fox, veteran guy, with Wagler kind of makes sense as a combo. We’ve seen both of those guys play off the ball. And we can grab some more picks. It was just a thought. This is how bleak it’s been.”
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Castle and Harper are the backcourt of the future
Make no mistake, Fox is an elite basketball player. He still is, despite his abysmal performance in the 2026 NBA Finals. However, many look at Stephon Castle and Harper as the backcourt of the future and the perfect complement to Victor Wembanyama. Even Hall of Famer Charles Barkley thinks they will be a feared duo in the next decade.
“Those two guards, I don’t want to see them for the next 10 years if I’m a guard in the NBA, Harper and Castle,” declared Barkley. “If I’m a guard in the NBA, I don’t want to see them, boys, for the next 10 years. They’re going to be the next Steph and Klay.”
Many believe that Barkley is correct. But they also agree that because of the apron rules, the Spurs cannot keep them together with Fox’s contract. San Antonio is still not looking at the impending problem. They are locked in to run it back and win it all next season.
Simmons’ proposal makes sense: Garland isn’t too far off Fox, at half the contract length.
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This story was originally published September 18, 2026 at 12:44 AM.