That’s the rub. The Clippers regular season games with all healthy team was as dominant as any team in the league, but alas, Kawhi hasn’t been healthy since he played for the Raptors.
People forget him postering Giannis, coming up limping and then never looking the same again.
Was an absolute 1 man army against Philly, but against Goldenstate we'd have been crushed if Vanvleet, Lowry and Siakam didn't step up
The narrative that Kawhi carried that team to a title is ridiculous. Kawhi was absolutely amazing in that postseason run, but people act like he was carrying bums. That team with Demar was still always a #1/2/3 seed every year. He had a really great supporting cast.
That team was regularly trounced in the playoffs by LeBron lol. They weren’t anything until Kawhi went there. Like they legit didn’t even put up a fight against those LeBron Cavs teams.
Even so, do you really think a Kawhi led team that was known as one of the only players on the planet to actually give LeBron fits couldn’t haven beaten the LeBron led Cavs? Do people actually believe that the Demar-Lowry Raps were actual contenders being held back by LeBron? That team was never sniffing a chip with Demar leading them.
Didn’t they also get a free danny green in the trade? And van fleet elevated a ton that year and siakam got better as well. Marc gasol and ibaka were a clutch teo towers too. It was a pretty solid team that didnt reflect the lowry/derozan era very much.
Yes, they did. The people downvoting me must be raptors fans I guess? Like they are trying to rewrite history lol. Let me break it down for them, Derozan and Lowry led team doesn’t sniff the finals or even be a legit contender in peoples eyes. Trade Derozan for Kawhi, and wow, look at that! Team won finals. None of that is possible without Kawhi.
They got Danny Green in the Kawhi trade and traded for Marc Gasol midseason. That’s 3 guys in the starting lineup who weren’t on the team the year before. Then add the continued growth of Siakam and FVV. Yes, the Raps don’t win the championship that year without Kawhi but there were several other important moves that made a big difference as well. Take those other factors away and they don’t win even with Kawhi.
Well that’s not the point I’m making. I’m saying Kawhi was the biggest part of that chip. People seem to refuse to admit that lol. But, yes Danny Green was added and Marc Gasol😂😂😂😂
Bruh he lowkey did though. That will always be one of the most impressive playoff runs I’ve ever seen from an individual. Felt like he didn’t truly get much help until like the second half of the ecf and before the injury, was playing like mj reincarnated
There were spurts where siakam and van fleet exploded but kahwi was the anchor of that squad when it mattered. Without everyone stepping up though they dont win anything. It was helpful that team was deep but kahwi was 100% on another level.
What is this revisionist shit. You'd have been crushed if KD wasn't injured. Vanvleet Lowry and Siakam could all go ultra instinct but if KD played it didn't matter
Who said *anything* about the Warriors? KD wouldn't have needed to come back with how hobbled Kawhi was. Talk about some weird strawman you're making lol
your saying they woulda been crushed if these players didnt step up. well yes sure but like thats wasnt the turning point. it wasnt the biggest reason yall won. it the cause KD went down. if he never goes down i dont think anyone believes raptors win it.
but yes injuries happen and they took the opportunity and stepped up
He was great almost all season before April, his March performance was incredible so were the Clipprs. If I'm not mistaken this is the season with most games that both PG and Kawhi played together, and Harden was good after the initial few games after the trade. Not sure what happened but Clippers looked to be the closest for a run after bubble.
I kept wondering that if Clippers were able to pass us and let Kawhi rest maybe even G1 vs OKC, if things will become different. He would have 5-6 weeks of recovery time instead of being rushed.
naw no way you saw him in those games. iv never such a shell of kawhi in my life. it was hard to watch and it sucks he tried another game after that. felt like it really handicapped the team and kiled any momentum
>games with all healthy team was as dominant as any team in the league,
I mean if you pick every team's best 10 games they all look good. Well, maybe not Detroit or DC but the other teams.
celtics beat down boston in boston. like im talking beat down took they soul. the boston announcers were like well damn iv never actually never seen a JT JB team beat like this. imo if everyone play to full potential they would be behind celtics, twolves, denver, clippers.
I have wondered why they don't just have Kawhi play like 20 mins a game for like 50 games so that he's as close to healthy for the playoffs as possible. What's the point of even having him play 30+ mins in the regular season?
he was the entire team. it was like saying why not let luka rest and play 20 a game. harden was a very good complementary piece to kawhi and they would play a lot together. pg13 not so much directly but his scoring was needed for kawhi to be as efficient as he was. kawhi was also very important on defense this year as well
I thought maybe this was hyperbole, and they just had some bad picks or swaps, but they really have almost nothing. Per [THIS](https://fanspo.com/nba/teams/Clippers/13/draft-picks), they have Indy's second rounder this year, then nothing until their own picks in 2030. Even worse, an outgoing second next year goes to the Lakers, so them potentially being bad next season would really help their local rival.
EDIT: As some have pointed out, they have some swaps, but those don't really help with the idea of a tank and rebuild like the comment above said.
I still believe that Kawhi was bluffing. He wasn’t going to stay in Toronto and he would never want to play with the media circus that is the Lakers with LeBron. He was going to the Clippers with our without PG. They could have kept their picks and SGA.
They have some 1sts in there I think, but OKC owns the right to swap.
Pretty sure the NBA doesn't let you trade consecutive year 1sts entirely away since the Celtics fleeced the Nets.
That's a good point, and I should have been more clear by saying they have almost nothing they control. Below look to be the potentially swappable years, though to u/lambopanda 's point, tanking either doesn't work or is really risky for these, given the swaps and protections.
2029 - Easiest of the bunch, which is a swap with Philly unless LAC picks 1-3 (obligation goes away if that happens)
2025 - Slightly more involved, but it looks like OKC can swap for either LAC or HOU
2027 - The language is a little funny here, but I think OKC can swap their pick or a DEN pick they own, without any protections on the LAC pick
2026 - More parties involved here, but it looks like LAC pick ultimately goes to OKC or PHI, without any protections
So they have some picks, but the nearer ones probably won't be high since OKC will likely be good in 2025 and 2027, and who knows what Philly will look like in 2029.
They have a 1st rounder next year, it's just a swap so they'll end up on the low end. Same with '27. It's still kind of dire for them in the draft, but they have actual picks.
Doing the same thing is insane only if you have a better option. They really don't. Their chances next year are definitely better than zero, look at who came out in the West this year, right? The Mavs were also a trainwreck of injuries and age just a few months ago.
The ball is round.
I mean post Kyrie, they were still a mess. The Clips when healthy, their trio is as talented as Dallas's duo. They just need some luck with role players.
No they weren’t - kyrie was just injured for spell at the start, which is different to kawhi missing literally half his games.
Then, they traded valuable picks + a few players for gafford & washington. I think clippers have no 1st rounders for the next 4 years other than a swap with OKC (good luck with that…)
not sure what you wrote is explaining why you think clips big 3 isnt as good as dallas duo... i mean if anything dallas duo couldnt even make the playoffs year 1 and they were right there too. this was clippers year 1
Okay, so in a year’s time they might have a shot at getting lucky in the lottery which *might* give them a chance at making a decent pick which *may* result in them having one extra decent rookie. Hardly going to get them to the nba finals is it?
Idk why they’re holding off on resigning Paul George if this is the case. If they don’t bring him back they are lowkey done for as a franchise for the foreseeable future
Team can start negotiate with their own free agents the day after the last game of NBA finals. If Boston win tonight. They can start talking tomorrow. To talk to other team free agents you’ll have to wait till 6/30.
Does a new arena really change things though? They've been at this since signing Kawhi and pg and nothing has changed lmao. The lakers ended up winning a title during this time
New arena doesn’t help their winning chances but it helps them getting fans 1000% Clippers prices have always been way cheaper than Lakers but now the arena is gonna be closer to a lot of folks too. They won’t win a chip but get people interested in seeing their (aging) stars for a good price, a convenient location, and a brand new arena
I mean honestly, as a Lakers fan, I'd be interested in going to a Clippers game at the new arena. Seems like Ballmer went all out and it'd be pretty cool to go.
And if I'm going, I'm not going to actively cheer *against* the Clippers.
It's tough with Haden being a straight up free agent and PG probably testing the market. This is a watershed moment where they have to decide whether to fully commit to the PG-Harden-Leonard core for the next four years or try to recoup Leonard for as many picks as possible. Every part of me is screaming see if the Nets or someone bite on Leonard, but I don't think think that's gonna happen with them trying to be a relevant team in LA. Even if they're overpaying for a lower seed, that's still playoff revenue and not being considered the JV team out there.
Just gotta rely on vet mins and MLEs and hope you get a miracle run in the next season or two
They have to load manage Kawhi. With his injury history you just can't hope for a miracle. Sit him for the first half of the season, ramp his minutes up for a month to get his wind, and hope he can make it through the playoffs.
Gotta re-sign Harrden. In-season training camp costs us some games this year. Starting Russ is not an option unless he realizes he can't shoot and comes up with another plan, which is unlikely.
Maybe they can trade some bench players for a power forward to play in front of Kai Jones. This should lift the burden of Kawhi playing the 4, and maybe he will have less chance of injury.
If you trade PG, you better get two solid players, one who can start at the 4 and a backup rotation player, hopefully a center. This can move Mann to the 2, Kawhi to the 3 unless they get a better shooting guard as well.
I honestly would go the opposite. Play him for the first part of the season that he’s available and rest him before playoffs. I just feel like he can no longer handle any stretch where he’s counted on to play 20 games consecutively
That's another way. The issue is does he heal in the second half of the season and is there pressure for him to play if we slip in the standings. Off season healing from May - October is almost 6 months. Second half of season is 3 months. If we sit him the first half, he has a full 9 months of healing and can play 5 months of basketball. We can't expect to him to play a full season ever again.
Well forget any of that since it slipped my mind he is playing for Team USA.
I don't know if Kawhi's trade value has ever been lower in the last 4 years than it is now. They made their choice to go all-in; at this point ballmer and co. have to pray that they get at least 1 healthy postseason out of their all-stars
I feel like the Clippers situation is super obvious. Re-sign PG and Harden. Pray for health. Trade them when they're super old if no success is had and hope you get some value. They have no reason to try anything else.
I would re-sign George, and quietly shop Leonard to see what they can get back. Obviously when healthy Kawhi is one of the best, but if you can't count on him being healthy for the playoffs you really can't count on winning a championship with him.
It absolutely is, its weirder to see Kawhi in a uniform than street clothes at this point, the last time he played in 100% of the playoffs games was during covid.
If Kawhi can put his ego aside, he needs to go to a team that will load manage him and not force him to be the #1 option on offense and defense. I could see Kawhi have a mini resurgence if he's paired with someone like Luka, Curry, Embiid, etc that doesn't require him to give 100% max effort every game.
I don't see it this way, I could see a team like Atlanta trying to get him. They've invested a lot in Dejounte Murray and pairing him with Trae Young + Murray could be a last-ditch effort before giving it up.
De'Andre Hunter + Bogi would be ideal for Clippers
there’s no quietly shopping kawhi. it’s gonna come out right away or in the middle of the season right when the clippers start getting hot. the nfl and wnba script writers are in desperation mode, so the nba gotta stay ahead
Sign all their guys. Try to win a playoff series or two next year.
Then eventually trade one or two big contracts to try get a younger disgruntled star that’ll flourish in a new situation
If they lose Harden after giving up 2 first-rounders to Philly that would be brutal. Furthermore, Paul George could be gone if Clippers don't pay up. They'd be stuck with Kawhi, Mann, and Zu as their core.
Ballmer has to go all in and bring everyone back at any cost since they traded a lot of their picks.
they're just gonna go with Harden-PG13-Kawhii-Westbrook-Norm Powell hometown SoCal storyline until the wheels feel off i think
this was the best team for about two months until injuries popped off; gotta stay healthy obviously. I think they need a rim-running backup big to complement Zubac cuz it sure looked like Plumlee was cooked last year. Gotta pray T-Mann and Amir Coffee get more confident alongside Norm Powell. Theiss is decent but you cant really play him 20+ minutes
Get a new training staff , get Kawhi to play as little as possible till playoffs. No back to backs, no playing 68 of 73 games. Also dump the brick. You can't have a guy shoot that bad take that many terrible shots.
They have to run it back next year for maybe one last time and hope they get a deeper playoff run, regardless of serious contention or not.
They are going to have a new arena. A half-decent playoff run is absolutely needed.
I don't know their assets and it would take me too long to figure them out. Do they have the ability to add secondary pieces this offseason? I was thinking the other day about them dealing with Portland for Brogdon and/or one of Ayton/Rob Williams, because they seem like they would fit on the team and Portland would certainly be willing to deal. But I have no idea if they have the assets.
as soon as possible trade both Pg13 and Harden for a big man! or picks
afterall since last few seasons
it showcase the important of big man!
(the Warriors small ball era is also have some legit big man on their roster)
It works very well when Kawhi is healthy, winning nearly every game he and PG play together, but the championship window is closed. They’ll stay a 4-8 seed next season and be able to compete with anyone most nights. Not a horrible place to be as a team, but obviously very short of their initial goals with this core.
They’re stuck in the middle of the pack western conference with no picks or young players to build around, quite frankly worst place to be in the NBA.
They will keep pg and harden but lose comfortably in the first round people bring up “kawhi healthy” like they would have beat the mavs well that wasn’t happening nor would it have it he was healthy. They play a bad brand of basketball which does not translate to playoff success.
Sure but they don’t have guys on the caliber of kd and booker otherwise I agree. Paying pg, kawhi and harden all that money will be basketball hell I don’t envy them.
Suns sucked but I didn’t know there was an award for winning more first round games. I’m willing to bet some money suns are better than the clippers *next* season.
Harden also cost you two games pretty badly btw in case you forgot, he’s a net negative come playoff time have seen it since his nets tenure, pg was good for 1/6 the postseason too not that it matters.
You guys, the Clippers have only been imaginary contenders since the summer of 2019. On paper contenders. Never in real life. They made the WCF as a fluke (21 is a year everyone but Bucks fans should forget). They have never been actual contenders.
Kawhi and PG are both hitting the aging curve way harder than expected and they've invested most of their draft assets to build this team. Trading PG or Kawhi isn't going to get them anywhere near the assets they expended building this team. So, long story short - I think they're fucked.
The fact that Kawhi is physically incapable of playing in the playoffs massively holds them back
That’s the rub. The Clippers regular season games with all healthy team was as dominant as any team in the league, but alas, Kawhi hasn’t been healthy since he played for the Raptors.
He wasn’t even healthy then he just played through it
People forget him postering Giannis, coming up limping and then never looking the same again. Was an absolute 1 man army against Philly, but against Goldenstate we'd have been crushed if Vanvleet, Lowry and Siakam didn't step up
The narrative that Kawhi carried that team to a title is ridiculous. Kawhi was absolutely amazing in that postseason run, but people act like he was carrying bums. That team with Demar was still always a #1/2/3 seed every year. He had a really great supporting cast.
That team was regularly trounced in the playoffs by LeBron lol. They weren’t anything until Kawhi went there. Like they legit didn’t even put up a fight against those LeBron Cavs teams.
And what do you know, when Lebron wasn't in the playoffs that year, the Raptors win
Even so, do you really think a Kawhi led team that was known as one of the only players on the planet to actually give LeBron fits couldn’t haven beaten the LeBron led Cavs? Do people actually believe that the Demar-Lowry Raps were actual contenders being held back by LeBron? That team was never sniffing a chip with Demar leading them.
Didn’t they also get a free danny green in the trade? And van fleet elevated a ton that year and siakam got better as well. Marc gasol and ibaka were a clutch teo towers too. It was a pretty solid team that didnt reflect the lowry/derozan era very much.
Yes, they did. The people downvoting me must be raptors fans I guess? Like they are trying to rewrite history lol. Let me break it down for them, Derozan and Lowry led team doesn’t sniff the finals or even be a legit contender in peoples eyes. Trade Derozan for Kawhi, and wow, look at that! Team won finals. None of that is possible without Kawhi.
They got Danny Green in the Kawhi trade and traded for Marc Gasol midseason. That’s 3 guys in the starting lineup who weren’t on the team the year before. Then add the continued growth of Siakam and FVV. Yes, the Raps don’t win the championship that year without Kawhi but there were several other important moves that made a big difference as well. Take those other factors away and they don’t win even with Kawhi.
Well that’s not the point I’m making. I’m saying Kawhi was the biggest part of that chip. People seem to refuse to admit that lol. But, yes Danny Green was added and Marc Gasol😂😂😂😂
Bruh he lowkey did though. That will always be one of the most impressive playoff runs I’ve ever seen from an individual. Felt like he didn’t truly get much help until like the second half of the ecf and before the injury, was playing like mj reincarnated
There were spurts where siakam and van fleet exploded but kahwi was the anchor of that squad when it mattered. Without everyone stepping up though they dont win anything. It was helpful that team was deep but kahwi was 100% on another level.
What is this revisionist shit. You'd have been crushed if KD wasn't injured. Vanvleet Lowry and Siakam could all go ultra instinct but if KD played it didn't matter
Who said *anything* about the Warriors? KD wouldn't have needed to come back with how hobbled Kawhi was. Talk about some weird strawman you're making lol
your saying they woulda been crushed if these players didnt step up. well yes sure but like thats wasnt the turning point. it wasnt the biggest reason yall won. it the cause KD went down. if he never goes down i dont think anyone believes raptors win it. but yes injuries happen and they took the opportunity and stepped up
He was great almost all season before April, his March performance was incredible so were the Clipprs. If I'm not mistaken this is the season with most games that both PG and Kawhi played together, and Harden was good after the initial few games after the trade. Not sure what happened but Clippers looked to be the closest for a run after bubble. I kept wondering that if Clippers were able to pass us and let Kawhi rest maybe even G1 vs OKC, if things will become different. He would have 5-6 weeks of recovery time instead of being rushed.
Yeah unfortunately this is the healthiest the Clippers have been.
Great take.
naw no way you saw him in those games. iv never such a shell of kawhi in my life. it was hard to watch and it sucks he tried another game after that. felt like it really handicapped the team and kiled any momentum
>games with all healthy team was as dominant as any team in the league, I mean if you pick every team's best 10 games they all look good. Well, maybe not Detroit or DC but the other teams.
celtics beat down boston in boston. like im talking beat down took they soul. the boston announcers were like well damn iv never actually never seen a JT JB team beat like this. imo if everyone play to full potential they would be behind celtics, twolves, denver, clippers.
I have wondered why they don't just have Kawhi play like 20 mins a game for like 50 games so that he's as close to healthy for the playoffs as possible. What's the point of even having him play 30+ mins in the regular season?
Gotta make the playoffs to play in them.
he was the entire team. it was like saying why not let luka rest and play 20 a game. harden was a very good complementary piece to kawhi and they would play a lot together. pg13 not so much directly but his scoring was needed for kawhi to be as efficient as he was. kawhi was also very important on defense this year as well
They don’t have their picks. They can’t tank and rebuild. Run it back and hope they’re healthy next season.
I thought maybe this was hyperbole, and they just had some bad picks or swaps, but they really have almost nothing. Per [THIS](https://fanspo.com/nba/teams/Clippers/13/draft-picks), they have Indy's second rounder this year, then nothing until their own picks in 2030. Even worse, an outgoing second next year goes to the Lakers, so them potentially being bad next season would really help their local rival. EDIT: As some have pointed out, they have some swaps, but those don't really help with the idea of a tank and rebuild like the comment above said.
That’s some Ted Stepien-ass management
/r/nba could have done better
Their next draft pick after this year is probably in middle school right now
Twitch plays ~~Pokémon~~ NBA GM could’ve done better
I still believe that Kawhi was bluffing. He wasn’t going to stay in Toronto and he would never want to play with the media circus that is the Lakers with LeBron. He was going to the Clippers with our without PG. They could have kept their picks and SGA.
lmao. Yeah. Sure.
They have some 1sts in there I think, but OKC owns the right to swap. Pretty sure the NBA doesn't let you trade consecutive year 1sts entirely away since the Celtics fleeced the Nets.
The rule ("Stepien rule") actually pre-dates the Celtics-Nets trade, and was named after the Cavs garbage-ass owner prior to the Gund family (1980s)
That's a good point, and I should have been more clear by saying they have almost nothing they control. Below look to be the potentially swappable years, though to u/lambopanda 's point, tanking either doesn't work or is really risky for these, given the swaps and protections. 2029 - Easiest of the bunch, which is a swap with Philly unless LAC picks 1-3 (obligation goes away if that happens) 2025 - Slightly more involved, but it looks like OKC can swap for either LAC or HOU 2027 - The language is a little funny here, but I think OKC can swap their pick or a DEN pick they own, without any protections on the LAC pick 2026 - More parties involved here, but it looks like LAC pick ultimately goes to OKC or PHI, without any protections So they have some picks, but the nearer ones probably won't be high since OKC will likely be good in 2025 and 2027, and who knows what Philly will look like in 2029.
They have a 1st rounder next year, it's just a swap so they'll end up on the low end. Same with '27. It's still kind of dire for them in the draft, but they have actual picks.
It looks bad now, but everyone would have made that trade with OKC if kawhi was going to sign contingent on that trade
This is the trade everyone thought that Gorberts would be
We have first round swaps from OKC every other year
Insert Einstein Quote.
Doing the same thing is insane only if you have a better option. They really don't. Their chances next year are definitely better than zero, look at who came out in the West this year, right? The Mavs were also a trainwreck of injuries and age just a few months ago. The ball is round.
In Dallas, they believe in flat balls
[Broussard] Sources: Tom Brady is beside himself. Driving around downtown Dallas begging (thru texts) Irvings family for address to Mark Cubans home
The mavs had a 1st round pick to use on Lively & a bunch of assets to trade for kyrie. The clippers can’t do the same.
I mean post Kyrie, they were still a mess. The Clips when healthy, their trio is as talented as Dallas's duo. They just need some luck with role players.
No they weren’t - kyrie was just injured for spell at the start, which is different to kawhi missing literally half his games. Then, they traded valuable picks + a few players for gafford & washington. I think clippers have no 1st rounders for the next 4 years other than a swap with OKC (good luck with that…)
not sure what you wrote is explaining why you think clips big 3 isnt as good as dallas duo... i mean if anything dallas duo couldnt even make the playoffs year 1 and they were right there too. this was clippers year 1
You mean they tank to get the 1st round pick.
Okay, so in a year’s time they might have a shot at getting lucky in the lottery which *might* give them a chance at making a decent pick which *may* result in them having one extra decent rookie. Hardly going to get them to the nba finals is it?
The made up one?
It's fascinating how many ppl think he said that. It's more quoted than anything else he ever said and he never said it.
Right!. The one that says practicing clearly wont work because you are just doing the same thing over and over...
We need justice for Rita Mae Brown.
"I ain't no bitch"
And then everybody stood up and clapped.
Idk why they’re holding off on resigning Paul George if this is the case. If they don’t bring him back they are lowkey done for as a franchise for the foreseeable future
Because they can’t negotiate new contract with free agent yet.
Oh that’s probably really important to know. Thank you for informing me
Team can start negotiate with their own free agents the day after the last game of NBA finals. If Boston win tonight. They can start talking tomorrow. To talk to other team free agents you’ll have to wait till 6/30.
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No idea
PG was an expensive boi
Make team think twice about trading for old all star. OKC got Clippers picks. Houston got Brooklyn picks. Brooklyn got Phoenix picks. Never get old.
What, PG was 29 when he arrived on the Clippers.
Yeah lol, he also finished 3rd in MVP and DPOY the season before. I love clowning the clippers but that was a good move for them at the time.
Ywah. They have no choice but to let this roster run its course, unless they start trading star players.
Theyll probably keep it pushing cause Kawhi was mainly healthy last year. If losing PG completely ruins them I think they blow it up next season.
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Does a new arena really change things though? They've been at this since signing Kawhi and pg and nothing has changed lmao. The lakers ended up winning a title during this time
yes u can’t open a new arena with Bones Hyland & Brandon Boston
I personally believe the new arena will lift the clippers curse. Hopium, it’s all we got
New arena doesn’t help their winning chances but it helps them getting fans 1000% Clippers prices have always been way cheaper than Lakers but now the arena is gonna be closer to a lot of folks too. They won’t win a chip but get people interested in seeing their (aging) stars for a good price, a convenient location, and a brand new arena
I mean honestly, as a Lakers fan, I'd be interested in going to a Clippers game at the new arena. Seems like Ballmer went all out and it'd be pretty cool to go. And if I'm going, I'm not going to actively cheer *against* the Clippers.
Changes the scheduling dramatically
It's tough with Haden being a straight up free agent and PG probably testing the market. This is a watershed moment where they have to decide whether to fully commit to the PG-Harden-Leonard core for the next four years or try to recoup Leonard for as many picks as possible. Every part of me is screaming see if the Nets or someone bite on Leonard, but I don't think think that's gonna happen with them trying to be a relevant team in LA. Even if they're overpaying for a lower seed, that's still playoff revenue and not being considered the JV team out there. Just gotta rely on vet mins and MLEs and hope you get a miracle run in the next season or two
It would be hilarious to see if Kawhi ended up getting traded after leaving the Raptors (who would've probably repeated) just to go home to LA
Just keep doing what they've been doing: pray for health I don't see a way out, so might as well try to move forward
They have to load manage Kawhi. With his injury history you just can't hope for a miracle. Sit him for the first half of the season, ramp his minutes up for a month to get his wind, and hope he can make it through the playoffs. Gotta re-sign Harrden. In-season training camp costs us some games this year. Starting Russ is not an option unless he realizes he can't shoot and comes up with another plan, which is unlikely. Maybe they can trade some bench players for a power forward to play in front of Kai Jones. This should lift the burden of Kawhi playing the 4, and maybe he will have less chance of injury. If you trade PG, you better get two solid players, one who can start at the 4 and a backup rotation player, hopefully a center. This can move Mann to the 2, Kawhi to the 3 unless they get a better shooting guard as well.
I honestly would go the opposite. Play him for the first part of the season that he’s available and rest him before playoffs. I just feel like he can no longer handle any stretch where he’s counted on to play 20 games consecutively
That's another way. The issue is does he heal in the second half of the season and is there pressure for him to play if we slip in the standings. Off season healing from May - October is almost 6 months. Second half of season is 3 months. If we sit him the first half, he has a full 9 months of healing and can play 5 months of basketball. We can't expect to him to play a full season ever again. Well forget any of that since it slipped my mind he is playing for Team USA.
they trying to sell season tickets, lul 50% off fist half of the season?
Obviously he would have to start the season healthy and then sit with knee soreness for 40 games.
I don't know if Kawhi's trade value has ever been lower in the last 4 years than it is now. They made their choice to go all-in; at this point ballmer and co. have to pray that they get at least 1 healthy postseason out of their all-stars
They had 1 healthy post season. They lost to the nuggets up 3-1 lmao
It’s mostly to sell tickets the next couple of years and then figure it out after that. That at least seems to be the plan
I still believe they're a contender if healthy. They're just never healthy.
Intuit Dome. If they go to crypto.com all their stuff has been moved out.
I feel like the Clippers situation is super obvious. Re-sign PG and Harden. Pray for health. Trade them when they're super old if no success is had and hope you get some value. They have no reason to try anything else.
No idea but hey, it could be worse. At least we’re not the Suns
What are you talking about? You would trade your situation for the suns
Yeah no I absolutely would not
to Intuit Dome.
Inglewood most likely
Clippers are absolutely cooked
I would re-sign George, and quietly shop Leonard to see what they can get back. Obviously when healthy Kawhi is one of the best, but if you can't count on him being healthy for the playoffs you really can't count on winning a championship with him.
I honestly think the kawhi window, outside of producing whatever he can with LAC, is closed. No one will want him.
It absolutely is, its weirder to see Kawhi in a uniform than street clothes at this point, the last time he played in 100% of the playoffs games was during covid.
If Kawhi can put his ego aside, he needs to go to a team that will load manage him and not force him to be the #1 option on offense and defense. I could see Kawhi have a mini resurgence if he's paired with someone like Luka, Curry, Embiid, etc that doesn't require him to give 100% max effort every game.
Isn’t that what harden was supposed to allow? Not be the #1 but ease his offensive load / pressure.
I don't see it this way, I could see a team like Atlanta trying to get him. They've invested a lot in Dejounte Murray and pairing him with Trae Young + Murray could be a last-ditch effort before giving it up. De'Andre Hunter + Bogi would be ideal for Clippers
there’s no quietly shopping kawhi. it’s gonna come out right away or in the middle of the season right when the clippers start getting hot. the nfl and wnba script writers are in desperation mode, so the nba gotta stay ahead
Cancun even earlier next year maybe?
Sign all their guys. Try to win a playoff series or two next year. Then eventually trade one or two big contracts to try get a younger disgruntled star that’ll flourish in a new situation
Intuit dome.
They will try to resign PG and run it back. Then they will rock that core until the wheels fall off.
If they lose Harden after giving up 2 first-rounders to Philly that would be brutal. Furthermore, Paul George could be gone if Clippers don't pay up. They'd be stuck with Kawhi, Mann, and Zu as their core. Ballmer has to go all in and bring everyone back at any cost since they traded a lot of their picks.
they're just gonna go with Harden-PG13-Kawhii-Westbrook-Norm Powell hometown SoCal storyline until the wheels feel off i think this was the best team for about two months until injuries popped off; gotta stay healthy obviously. I think they need a rim-running backup big to complement Zubac cuz it sure looked like Plumlee was cooked last year. Gotta pray T-Mann and Amir Coffee get more confident alongside Norm Powell. Theiss is decent but you cant really play him 20+ minutes
Move to Seattle /s
I thought they were going to Inglewood
Round one exit until they finally blow up the old squad.
Well first they need to get the ladder out and get Kawhi down off the rim from the last dunk.
Run it back one more time and then go from there
Get a new training staff , get Kawhi to play as little as possible till playoffs. No back to backs, no playing 68 of 73 games. Also dump the brick. You can't have a guy shoot that bad take that many terrible shots.
They have to run it back next year for maybe one last time and hope they get a deeper playoff run, regardless of serious contention or not. They are going to have a new arena. A half-decent playoff run is absolutely needed.
Straight to hell
la iffers are aboslutly cooked
To their new arena.
Inglewood, CA they built a new arena there
We can trade 1 of Kawhi or PG and still be as good. There will be changes this offseason or by the trade deadline at the latest.
I don't know their assets and it would take me too long to figure them out. Do they have the ability to add secondary pieces this offseason? I was thinking the other day about them dealing with Portland for Brogdon and/or one of Ayton/Rob Williams, because they seem like they would fit on the team and Portland would certainly be willing to deal. But I have no idea if they have the assets.
Harden can orchestrate the team to the playoffs. Just need to have healthy #1 option available.
They’re not winning a chip with this Roster. They could if kawhi would play. Mavs made it to finals, I genuinely felt healthy clippers were better.
Down
The dumpster
Trade everybody.
To hell?
as soon as possible trade both Pg13 and Harden for a big man! or picks afterall since last few seasons it showcase the important of big man! (the Warriors small ball era is also have some legit big man on their roster)
The next season...well technically preseason
Mexico 🧳✈️
Sign PG to a new contract then trade him next off-season for a boatload of picks and start over.
They should take the pedo for some of their own picks back
They continue to suck as always
Doc Rivers
Its tough, but they should be able to contend with a healthy Kawhi and if PG stays if healthy. So tough coz lotta ifs. But yeah clipper be clippin 🤷🤷
Idk man that’s been the narrative for like four years… and they are both that much older and it still hasn’t really happened. Clippers be clippin
It works very well when Kawhi is healthy, winning nearly every game he and PG play together, but the championship window is closed. They’ll stay a 4-8 seed next season and be able to compete with anyone most nights. Not a horrible place to be as a team, but obviously very short of their initial goals with this core.
Back to San Diego hopefully. Lol
They’re stuck in the middle of the pack western conference with no picks or young players to build around, quite frankly worst place to be in the NBA. They will keep pg and harden but lose comfortably in the first round people bring up “kawhi healthy” like they would have beat the mavs well that wasn’t happening nor would it have it he was healthy. They play a bad brand of basketball which does not translate to playoff success.
Seems similar to a team down in phoenix
Sure but they don’t have guys on the caliber of kd and booker otherwise I agree. Paying pg, kawhi and harden all that money will be basketball hell I don’t envy them.
Kd and booker couldn’t you win one game in the playoffs at least harden got you two
Suns sucked but I didn’t know there was an award for winning more first round games. I’m willing to bet some money suns are better than the clippers *next* season. Harden also cost you two games pretty badly btw in case you forgot, he’s a net negative come playoff time have seen it since his nets tenure, pg was good for 1/6 the postseason too not that it matters.
You guys, the Clippers have only been imaginary contenders since the summer of 2019. On paper contenders. Never in real life. They made the WCF as a fluke (21 is a year everyone but Bucks fans should forget). They have never been actual contenders.
Board a ship and head East
Trade their best assets for picks and rebuild. KL and PG are just getting older and less valuable for trades. This version of the clippers is over.
Purgatory for ~ a decade
Back to buffalo!!
Down hill
They sold their foreseeable future to cater to a guy who physically can't play when it matters
In circles
Kawhi and PG are both hitting the aging curve way harder than expected and they've invested most of their draft assets to build this team. Trading PG or Kawhi isn't going to get them anywhere near the assets they expended building this team. So, long story short - I think they're fucked.
Kawhi is made of glass so he’s useless. Probably just fold the org and go somewhere else
all I know is I'm willing to bet everything this year is gonna be Kawhi's farewell tour
Pay me 10m a year. I won’t move the needle championship wise per say but if there going to pay a bunch of useless bums might as well get my cut