Wouldn’t it be perfect if this was when it finally all came together for the Los Angeles Clippers? Six years after Kawhi Leonard chose the Clippers in free agency, he and the team are involved in what could turn out to be the biggest cap-circumvention scandal in NBA history. While they’re being investigated, though, the Clippers are entering the season with perhaps the best roster they’ve ever had.
Los Angeles had a deep roster last year, but now Brook Lopez is the backup center, and Chris Paul is back in the building. The front office effectively turned Norman Powell into Bradley Beal and John Collins, and, unlike 2023-24, Leonard is ready to play right away. This is an old team, and it’s coming off a nightmarish Game 7 performance against the Denver Nuggets, but it had an amazing offseason. Until the Sep. 3 episode of “Pablo Torre Finds Out” dropped, that is.
The State of Play
Last year: Despite letting Paul George walk in the summer of 2024, the Clippers outscored opponents by 1.3 points per 100 possessions without Leonard on the floor (in non-garbage-time minutes, per Cleaning The Glass) and went 24-19 in the games he missed. Leonard was one of the league’s best players in March and April, but Los Angeles’ 50-32 record was a testament to James Harden’s playmaking, Powell’s scoring and the team’s third-ranked defense. With a series of moves in February, they acquired Bogdan Bogdanovic, Drew Eubanks, Patty Mills, and a couple of extra second-round picks in exchange for P.J. Tucker, Mo Bamba, Kevin Porter Jr., Terance Mann and Bones Hyland, and then they signed Ben Simmons off the scrap heap. Harden made his first All-NBA team since he left Houston, Ivica Zubac made his first All-Defensive team and the first six games of the Clippers’ series against Denver were incredible. The final one, though, was a disaster: they were outscored 72-40 in the second and third quarters and trailed by as many as 35.
The offseason: The biggest news was the aforementioned scandal, but, before all that, the Clippers traded Powell and a 2027 second-round pick for Collins and split their non-taxpayer midlevel exception between Lopez (two years, $17.9 million, team option) and Beal (two years, $11 million, player option), the latter of whom accepted a buyout from the Suns. They also re-signed Harden (two years, $81.5 million, player option) and Nicolas Batum (two years, $11.5 million, team option), signed Paul for the minimum and drafted big man Yanic Konan Niederhauser with the No. 30 pick. Amir Coffey left for Milwaukee, and Simmons and Mills remain unsigned.
Las Vegas over/under: 48.5 wins, per BetMGM
The Conversation
Clippers believer: Everyone calls the Clippers “deep,” but I’m not sure that word adequately captures what their front office has put together. It’s not just that they have 11 players who deserve to be in an NBA rotation; it’s that they have every player archetype you can think of. They have an abundance of playmaking, shooting, perimeter defense, length and size. Tyronn Lue is going to have so much fun putting lineups together! I know you’re going to complain about how old a lot of these guys are, but no team is better positioned to withstand injuries.
Clippers skeptic: I mean, it’s at least a little weird that John Collins, who just turned 28, is the youngest player who will regularly see the floor, isn’t it? I get that the depth should help them deal with injuries that pop up during the regular season, but it doesn’t make me feel much better about them getting through multiple playoff rounds. We just saw Lue go away from Derrick Jones Jr. and Kris Dunn in the postseason because the Nuggets were completely ignoring them on the perimeter. And if they get marginalized again, then I don’t think you can say the Clippers have “an abundance” of perimeter defense.
Clippers believer: Kawhi Leonard is a pretty damn good perimeter defender, too. Same with Nicolas Batum. But the point is that Lue has more pieces to play with this season, and the new ones will enhance what was already here. Both Jones and Dunn will be more viable in the playoffs because Brook Lopez and Collins can stretch the floor at the 5 spot. Jones is going to love screening for Chris Paul and rolling to the rim for easy dunks. The Clippers are going to be vastly improved on offense because their spacing is going to be better and they’re going to take better care of the ball. I’m sure James Harden will be more efficient, too.
Clippers skeptic: Doesn’t this depend on who’s actually on the floor? On paper, yeah, the Clippers look like a better, more well-rounded offensive team than they were, but we shouldn’t be assuming Bradley Beal is going to stay healthy, especially since they’re asking him to exert more energy on the defensive end than he has in recent years. They’ll turn the ball over less frequently if Paul is the backup point guard every night, sure, but is that even the plan for him? In fairness, I totally understand talking yourself into this team. I’ve done that with previous Clippers teams, though, and I just don’t buy that this year is going to be significantly different in the end. Beal is basically Powell with a more prestigious brand name. Lopez and Collins can make 3s, but playoff opponents aren’t exactly going to be terrified of them spotting up. If the Clips are fortunate enough to make the second round, Paul will turn 41 during the series. Also, I know it’s a small thing, but I’m confused about them letting Amir Coffey walk. He made 42.1% of his catch-and-shoot 3s last season!
Clippers believer: Coffey would have been their 12th-best player! I liked him just fine, but come on. Don’t do the thing where you dismiss the Clippers because they’ve disappointed you in the past. Don’t pretend the front office didn’t transform the team in the summer. They’ve never had a 4/5 like Collins in this era, and, they’ve never had a guy like Lopez, either, unless you count The Idea Of Mo Bamba. This is an ideal situation for both of them, and I think it’s the perfect place for Beal, too. I suspect Paul will be in the rotation much more often than not, but he’s a home-run signing regardless. Last season, they really needed another steady hand, especially when Powell was hurt. This iteration of the Clippers would have beaten last year’s Nuggets, and I’d pick them against the new and improved version of the Nuggets, too. I’d pick them against anybody except OKC right now, actually, and in a couple of months I might be ready to say they’ll win the whole thing.
Clippers skeptic: As long as Leonard’s contract doesn’t get voided, I can see the Clippers winning 50-plus games. They outscored opponents by 12.4 points per 100 possessions with Leonard on the court last season, and they’ve been similarly dominant in his minutes for most of his tenure. His health is a massive variable, though, and the same is true for virtually everybody else on the team. I was hoping they’d get younger and faster in the offseason, but they did the exact opposite, so I’m not sure where the big advantage is against a team like Denver. If the goal on an organizational level is not to win a championship but to put up a good fight while maintaining financial flexibility, then they’ve done an awesome job. I would hope, though, that they have higher aspirations than that.
