3 Clippers who won't be back after injuries ruin another playoff run

Stop me if you've heard this one before — when healthy, the Los Angeles Clippers looked like a contender. But, once again, they were knocked out of the playoffs early with one of their stars watching in street clothes.

Kawhi Leonard was only able to play in the first two games of the first-round series against the Dallas Mavericks. The Clippers lost three of their four games he missed by a combined 53 points. Leonard is the biggest variable on this team but he's also just signed an extension and locked up for the next three seasons.

But the Clippers will go into this offseason needing to make big decisions about a slew of players. Norman Powell, Terance Mann, Bones Hyland and Amir Coffey are all going into the final year on their deals and extension-eligible. Paul George, Russell Westbrook and P.J. Tucker have player options and all three are strong candidates to decline looking for a better deal, even if they're open to returning to the Clippers. And then there are James Harden and Mason Plumlee who are unrestricted free agents.

With all those ball up in the air, these are three key players who probably won't be back.

3. Russell Westbrook

Westbrook has been a punchline often over the past few years but he was legitimately positive for the Clippers this season, working hard on defense and embracing a bench role once James Harden arrived and took over as the primary point guard. He appeared in 68 games, averaging 11.1 points, 5.0 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 1.1 steals per game.

However, he still presents a lot of the same team-building challenges he always has — his shot selection is problematic, his lack of outside shooting hampers spacing and he's struggled sometimes in key moments. Westbrook scored in double figures just once in six games against the Mavericks, had as many turnovers (10) as assists and shot 13-of-50 (26 percent) from the field and 4-of-17 beyond the arc.

He seemingly expressed a willingness to rejoin the Clippers but he has a $4 million player option and seems far more likely to decline it, looking for more money or more years from the Clippers or somewhere else. Given how everything has worked out, it's hard to imagine the Clippers wanting to invest much more in him than they did this season which means it could be the end of his time in Los Angeles.

2. Paul George

The Clippers inked Kawhi Leonard to a just-below-max extension early in the season and were reportedly in negotiations with George as well. However, a deal never materialized and all indications now are that George will decline his player option for next year to test free agency. The Clippers would probably like to have him back the question is how much they're willing to commit financially given how much they already have tied up in Leonard and how this season worked out.

George has been mentioned frequently as a possible free agent target for both the Orlando Magic and Philadelphia 76ers. Neither of those is clearly a better opportunity at championship contention than returning to the Clippers but neither is clearly a worse situation either. Playing third fiddle to Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid is a mangeable level of responsibility and an ideal complementary fit for his skills. He'd likely have to carry more of an offensive load in Orlando but it's still a great opportunity to play a lead role on a very competitive team with upside.

Continuity and inertia are powerful forces but the Clippers clearly have doubts about offering George a max extension or it would have already been done. Given that, it's hard to imagine they'll be able to match the combination of money and fresh opportunity another team can offer.

1. James Harden

Harden is an unrestricted free agent and will also be looking for a max(ish) extension. If the Clippers need to pay George the max to keep him, that likely means they can't afford Harden as well. The opposite is also true — a big deal for Harden early in free agency may mean George is heading elsewhere.

There are no easy answers here for the Clippers. The Harden addition was transformative and plugging him at point guard unlocked the best version of the George–Leonard duo we've seen since they teamed up. But the trio clearly wasn't good enough to get this team over the hump, injuries are only going to be a bigger and bigger concern going forward and it's not clear that investing heavily in just two legs of this three-legged stool is a viable solution either.

Keeping all three is incredibly unlikely but there's a good chance the Clippers may have to face the reality of losing both Harden and George and trying to build a new supporting cast around Leonard.