The Clippers are bad, expensive and owe their first-round pick to the Thunder — now what?

Amid all the Western Conference drama — the gambling scandal that rocked the Blazers, the Mavericks firing their general manager, a disgruntled Ja Morant on the Grizzlies, the Pelicans axing their coach and another atrocious start for the Kings — the under-investigation Clippers have begun the season 4-10.

They are bad, tied for the West’s 11th-best record, owners of a -4.6 net rating that has them on pace for a 29-win season. They are one of the NBA’s most expensive rosters and its oldest team by a fairly wide margin. And they owe their first-round draft pick — a potential lottery selection — to, of all teams, the Thunder.

Advertisement

So, where do the Clippers go from here? (On the basketball court, we mean. They have separate issues off the floor, where the league is currently investigating them for, mainly, alleged salary cap circumvention.)

They can bank on the fact that, over the final six weeks of last regular season, they were arguably the conference’s top team, compiling league bests of an 18-3 record and a +13.3 net rating — drawing dead even with the eventual champion Thunder in that span. In the first round of the playoffs, they lost a seven-game series to the Nuggets, who took Oklahoma City to seven games. The Clips were right there.

The Clippers are leaning heavily on a 36-year-old James Harden. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

(Maddie Meyer via Getty Images)

And they theoretically got better over the summer, trading away Norman Powell in a move that made way for a trade for John Collins and the signings of one-time All-Stars Bradley Beal and Brook Lopez. They were sound decisions, presuming Beal could replace some level of Powell’s production and adding some versatility in the frontcourt around Ivica Zubac. The Clippers were even deeper, at least on paper.

Advertisement

Then, Beal fractured his hip, not that he was any great shakes to begin with. Lopez, a 37-year-old 7-footer, has very much looked his age. And Collins has been who he has been for nine seasons, never quite fitting in as a more traditional power forward. He has not been spacing the floor the way they needed, shooting 33.3% on 2.6 attempts from 3-point range a game, and he cannot keep up with athletic wings on defense.

Collins, like the Clippers, is better in theory than in actuality. They play like a team of individuals, like a team that was bought and paid for by Steve Ballmer, one of the world’s richest men, and like a team that is more concerned with the familiarity of the names on its roster than whether or not they fit together.

They play like a team led by a 36-year-old James Harden, who is still operating as if he is a perennial MVP candidate. Few regulars have a higher usage rate than Harden’s 30.4%, and few teams have so low an assist percentage as the Clippers’ 60.7%. No team runs a greater percentage of its plays in isolation.

Advertisement

This is not a fun way to play. Not when Harden is incapable of carrying the load he did when he was a top-three MVP finisher for four straight seasons from 2017-20. Not when he is a greater defensive liability than ever before. And not when a quarter of the league is throwing 300 passes per game.

The Clippers are easy to solve. Handle Harden, and they will crumble. It is a recipe that has worked in the playoffs every year. And it is easier to handle Harden, in his advanced age, than at any other point ever.

It does not help that Kawhi Leonard is hurt again. He is nursing a sprained ankle and foot injury that has sidelined him for the past eight games, when the Clippers are 1-7. His return from injury, which head coach Tyronn Lue categorized as “nothing serious,” should stabilize an offense rated 21st and a defense that is even worse.

[Get more Clippers news: Los Angeles team feed]

But how long can the Clippers bank on Leonard being healthy? It is the same old Clippers existence, one that they have lived for as long as Leonard has been on the roster. And we are going on seven years now.

Advertisement

Every year we think it is time to write off the Clippers, and every year they pull us back in. As we said, they closed last season on an 18-3 stretch that convinced us they may be bound for another conference finals, where they peaked as a franchise in 2021. We at least figured them as fringe contenders each year.

This year feels different, and not just because they have endured their worst start of the Leonard era. It is impossible to think that, as Harden marches towards his 37th birthday and Leonard is a well-worn 34, they can together find the magic required to win four playoff rounds. Remember, this is James Harden, who, with two chances to defeat the 76ers on the final possession of Monday’s game, missed badly twice.

No, this is a team going nowhere. Fast. Or slow. It has taken awhile for us to get here, but we are definitely here: The Clippers are no longer contenders. They are firmly in the class of pretenders.

And it is not like they can tank to the bottom of the standings, as they do not control their own first-round pick for the next four years, owing the next two to Oklahoma City and two more to Philadelphia.

Advertisement

That lack of draft assets also makes it impossible for the Clippers to enter any serious trade conversations for a superstar. For all the talent the Clippers do have, the Bucks are not about to take Los Angeles’ bloated salaries, without much draft compensation, in exchange for Giannis Antetokounmpo.

More likely, the Clippers would have to assume some risk to make improvements, taking on another team’s trouble. The oft-injured Anthony Davis may soon become available in Dallas. Morant is displeased in Memphis. Atlanta is playing awfully well without Trae Young. The Kings may host a fire sale. And Zion Williamson is floating out there in New Orleans. There is talent to be had if the Clips would take a swing.

Advertisement

But do any of those names inspire confidence that they could solve what ails these Clippers, given how much they would have to give up — likely in a three-team deal — just to acquire any available star player.

No, the Clippers are stuck. And we have barely mentioned the allegations of salary cap circumvention against them, for which they are currently being investigated by the league. That is but one of their problems now. The Clips are the Clips again, their outlook in the standings as dire as it is for the future.

Source link