Projecting the Clippers' starting lineup and rotation after trading Kawhi Leonard

The Los Angeles Clippers bid farewell to Kawhi Leonard and begin anew, acquiring Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick, two futue first-round picks, a first-round pick swap, and two second-round picks from the Toronto Raptors, per ESPN's Shams Charania.

This leaves the Clippers in an uncomfortable limbo. The NBA's new lottery setup does not promote active tanking, but Los Angeles is clearly not built to contend. L.A. also does not own its first-round picks outright over the next three years, with their 2027 pick owed to OKC, unprotected. Their 2028 first-round pick and 2029 swap rights are owned by Philadelphia.

If any coach can get a misfit roster to dramatically outperform expectations, however, it's probably Ty Lue. He's what he is working with now:

Projected LA Clippers starting lineup and depth chart with Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick

The Clippers have a lot of work left to do this offseason. The Kawhi trade (in addition to last season's Ivica Zubac and Darius Garland trades) does give L.A. more flexibility to attack the trade market and target quality free agents. It's not out of the question that we see the Clippers turn their attention to Jaylen Brown or another high-profile star. Steve Ballmer has never shown much of an inclination to rebuild and the Clippers have a shiny, new arena in need of patrons.

That said, it really does feel like L.A. has accepted its fate. The Kawhi era reached a dead end. This team is poorly positioned for a full-scale rebuild, but the Clippers can look to win moves on the margins and spin their wheels under Ingram until he is off his contract and their draft future is restored. This could be a years-long reclamation process for the Clippers.

Which players take on bigger roles?

In the meantime, this isn't necessarily a bad team. Ingram is deeply flawed, but he's a proven All-Star talent. Same for Darius Garland, who's better positioned than ever to commandeer the offense and showcase the full breadth of his skill set.

Rookie Keaton Wagler will face a steep NBA learning curve. His strength and athleticism deficits will be put to the test — hard — against pro defenders. And yet, he feels like a solid bet to contribute from day-one with his nuclear shooting and advanced feel. Wagler always handled pressure well at Illinois, where he made the Final Four as a freshman. He doesn't turn it over, he's a very malleable player, and he has added over 20 pounds of muscle in the past year. At 6-foot-5, there's a world in which he continues to fill out and becomes a legitimate plus defender next to Garland, although it's probably not a year-one development.

Bennedict Mathurin is perfectly cast in the sixth man role. He's such a talented microwave scorer. Brook Lopez will stick around and probably start at center now. He's well past his prime, but if Lopez can hold up as a rim protector and floor-spacer for 25 minutes a night, the Clippers' starting lineup won't be terrible. Derrick Jones Jr. is the kind of uber-athletic defensive playmaker and above-rim finisher who pairs nicely with this lineup.

The bench unit is largely TBD, with the exception of Kris Dunn (an awesome, awesome defender) and the aforementioned Mathurin. Isaiah Jackson and second-year string bean Yanic Konan Niederhäuser should compete for backup center minutes. Gradey Dick can shoot and defend a bit, and he has good size on the wing. Jordan Miller and Kobe Sanders did not have their club options picked up, but both received qualifying offers and thus are restricted free agents.

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