The historic sanction imposed on the L.A. Clippers left an immediate question in the city of Philadelphia. Among the five first-round picks rescinded by the NBA from Steve Ballmer’s franchise is the 2029 pick, precisely the year from which the 76ers retain an exchange right arising from the James Harden trade.
However, that asset is safe. According to NBA sources confirmed to PhillyVoice and The Philadelphia Inquirer, the pick the League will remove from the Clippers in 2029 is not their own, but a first-round from Indiana. Therefore, the swap with the 76ers remains in effect.
In Philadelphia, therefore, they will be able to swap their 2029 pick for the Clippers’ if theirs proves higher, unless it lands in the top three positions of the draft. In that case, the agreed protection would be activated.
This is the last outstanding asset from that October 2023 trade. The 76ers received then a protected 2026 first-round pick from Oklahoma City, the Clippers’ 2028 selection, two second rounds, and this 2029 swap. The two second rounds had already been used subsequently in other deals, including the one that completed the Jaylen Brown trade.
And the value of the remaining asset could have grown. With the Clippers stripped of five first rounds and facing a rebuild that could last for years, their 2029 selection now has more chances to become a juicy lottery pick.
