Bill Simmons has kept his criticism of the Kawhi Leonard era blunt and public, and he recently doubled down on a claim that has been circulating across podcasts and social feeds. On his show he warned that league insiders are frustrated and that questionable deals are more common than fans think, and he added “Some of the stories have talked about how furious other teams are… Get the f–k out of here. Half the league does this. I wish I could say 10% of the stuff I’ve heard… Everything you think is happening is happening. Just period”. That line frames why the Leonard story is now talked about as an institutional problem.

The cost of acquiring Kawhi is easier to chart than it is to defend. In 2019 the Clippers traded Shai Gilgeous Alexander, Danilo Gallinari and seven first round select

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