What The Los Angeles Clippers Need To Do With Their Roster This Off-Season
The Los Angeles Clippers are in a tough bind this offseason and moving forward. In five years of the 213-era with Kawhi Leonard and Paul George being the faces of the franchise, the Clippers have had potential, but the results have been underwhelming.
The Clippers made the Western Conference once and have seen four early playoff exits due to Leonard being injured. They can either blow it up without the help of the draft until 2030 or they can keep the train rolling with Leonard, George and James Harden if the latter two can be re-signed.
What The Los Angeles Clippers Need To Do With This Superstar Amid Their Roster
The Clippers Have Utilized Too Many Older Players Already
The idea of these three star players for the Clippers along with a rag-tag team of All-NBA veterans desperately looking for a championship ring may seem fun, but it is an area the team cannot afford. Through this short off-season, the Clippers have been linked to 39-year-old point guard Chris Paul and 38-year-old Kyle Lowry and trading for Chicago Bulls shooting guard DeMar DeRozan (who will be 35 in August).
The Clippers have traded so much to get the roster they currently possess to get their first championship. After this second-round draft pick in the upcoming 2024 NBA Draft, the Clippers won’t have a pick until the 2030 NBA Draft. They can trade those picks now, but the team is too deep.
If the Clippers make a trade for DeRozan, picks cannot be part of the deal. Players that could be a part of the deal include the Clippers’ most trusted bench player in shooting guard Norman Powell, starting shooting guard and reliable defender Terance Mann, a young backup point guard Bones Hyland, and 39-year-old power forward P.J. Tucker, who is under an awful final one-year contract.
The Clippers don’t have any money to make multiple solid moves this off-season. The good news with the potential additions of Paul or Lowry is that they would be cheap with a possible veteran minimum contract. They would, however, make the Clippers’ roster older and slower than it already is. Adding one of them to the roster means that Russell Westbrook, who will be 36 in November, is not likely returning. There have been talks of Westbrook not returning if the Clippers do not buy out Tucker or trade him.
The Clippers Need To Trust Their Young Players More
Ultimately, the Clippers need to get younger, not older this off-season. Paul or Lowry being on the roster would only add another veteran voice to the locker room and make the rotation slower. One of the biggest reasons the Clippers are currently stuck and star players consistently get injured is due to the lack of the young talent on their roster being utilized. This has been one of the biggest critiques of head coach Ty Lue, especially with starters in center Ivica Zubac and Terance Mann.
Leonard, George, and Lue have always preferred veterans to play as the guards, i.e. John Wall, Eric Gordon, Westbrook, and Harden. Hyland is a young, explosive point guard that adds energy to the offense. Amir Coffey and Brandon Boston Jr. can play fast and urgent basketball and play fast in transition; something the team struggled in last season.
The Clippers also have a second-year former first-round pick in guard Kobe Brown, second-year guard Jordan Miller, and a former first-round pick and raw player in forward/center Kai Jones that have the potential to take the pressure off the veterans for a full 82-game season.
Whether it's load managing the stars in the 2022-2023 season or going full Harden mode this season, Leonard didn’t finish the season healthy. It is time to try a new tactic. Clipper Nation is dying to see what they have in these players and is tired of players taking up roster space (Tucker especially).
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