How to blow up the Los Angeles Clippers
If the Los Angeles Clippers are going to blow it up, how should they go about doing it?
The writing has long been on the wall. Of course this would never work out, this is the Los Angeles Clippers we’re talking about — the perpetual little brother of the NBA. If any team could figure out how to ruin the combination of an all-time great point guard, a jaw-dropping athletic power forward and perennial First Team All-Defense center it would be this franchise.
Masked by their five straight seasons of regular season competence, this roster has been flawed dating back to the days Vinny Del Negro was on the sidelines. Chris Paul is a pit bull in a Yorkie’s body. Blake Griffin is a laissez-faire competitor. DeAndre Jordan has been lost or misaligned in his role for most of his basketball life. Throw in two Rivers’, Doc and Austin, and that’s a combustible NBA team.
During their last five playoffs runs, we’ve seen them spontaneously combust time-after-time in late April or early May. For example, they are the first team in NBA history to blow a lead in a playoff series five consecutive years. With the 2016-17 season being the latest in a line of disappointments, the Clippers face an impending crossroads. Three of their four core players have the opportunity to play elsewhere next season, which is not ideal.
Griffin and Paul can (read as “will”) opt-out of the final year of their contracts and become free agents. J.J. Redick is an unrestricted free agent as his deal expires this summer. However, what’s the fun in turning this five-year 50-win no conference finals appearance run into a 10-year, 50-win, no conference finals appearance run? It’s time for the Clippers to fully lean into their Hollywood roots and get a makeover. This summer the Clippers should blow it up.
There are five key pieces with their futures to be decided upon. Let’s go through piece-by-piece and see what the future should hold for each.
Chris Paul
The Point God couldn’t work his miracles on the Clippers. Paul now owns the record for most postseason games played without ever making the conference finals (76). Despite what your Twitter timeline might say, Paul is arguably the greatest point guard of his generation. Having a blemish like his team’s inability to stay in the playoffs longer than two rounds on his resume allows for people to downplay his greatness.
While it will be hard to turn down $200-plus million from Los Angeles in free agency, it’s time for Paul to think about (conference) championships over compensation. Paul needs to find a team that is the complete opposite of the Clippers. A storied winning franchise, a team that is in the news more for it’s on the court play than what happens off of it, an organization that can perform salary cap gymnastics and keeps its roster stocked with valuable role players.
I’m talking about the Spurs, of course.
Despite the team posting 61 wins this year, San Antonio is a flawed team. Kawhi Leonard is one of the five best players in the NBA, but his supporting cast has been lacking this season. It’s due to talented players under performing. LaMarcus Aldridge looks nothing like the player we saw in Portland. Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker are losing the race against father time (and trust me this is no tortoise and the hare situation). Danny Green has been wildly inconsistent. Yet, somehow Gregg Popovich got this team to win nearly 75 percent of their games this year.
These flaws were highlighted by the Rockets in Monday’s destruction in Game 1 of the Western Conference Semifinals. However, simply adding Paul would turn this team right back into the superpower it has been for the past 20 seasons. A defensive trio of Paul, Green and Leonard would allow the Spurs to be formidable against any perimeter player — coming from the team that finished first in defensive efficiency, the repercussions could be huge. Just imagine them being able to rotate those three defenders on James Harden this series.
With both Parker and Patty Mills possibly off the team next season, the addition of Paul looks like a preordained conclusion.