It really would be nice to see the Clippers win. Just as a concept. I can’t say I’m particularly attached to any of the players on the team like I am with most teams, but there’s a strong part of me that just wants Clippers fans to be happy. Not just “we have a sliver of hope” happy but a more solid base of “at the minimum, even during bad games, we’re still pretty stoked.” I want that for a while.
When they first traded for Paul George and Kawhi Leonard, they had that for a bit! Years of two of the best players in the league choosing to team up on this somewhat moribund franchise! On purpose! As time went on, it stopped being so fun. Paul George is gone now. James Harden is here. It’s hard to say if the vibes are all that positive.
However, one rumor coming through from Brian Robb on Masslive.com is that should the Celtics decide to move on from Jrue Holiday this offseason, the Clippers could be one of the top teams in contention for acquiring him.
Would Jrue Holiday help the vibes? Well, he would very quickly become my favorite player on the Clippers, so that’s pretty cool. He’s a two-time champion with big playoff moments in his past. The Clippers could definitely use some playoff help. So the vibes are good, in my brief estimation. Like, he’s still really good.
But there is a problem.
Jrue = old. Clippers = old. Jrue + Clippers = 2old
That’s math. The Clippers would make an old team even older. Harden is clearly slowing down, even though he is still All-Star caliber. Kawhi at his best is still one of the most unstoppable forces in the league, but who knows when that happens. Jrue Holiday is one year removed from a starting role on a dominant championship team, but while I can’t say I’ve noticed it myself, I’ve seen it mentioned that maybe he is slowing down a bit this year too.
It’s a risk. I’m not sure what they do instead, though. It seems they’re locked into this core until the Kawhi Leonard experience is over. Who knows when that might be. Maybe Jrue will lead them to a threepeat, and the Kawhi Leonard experience goes until 2032, playing only in the playoffs for the last five years. Maybe.