Clippers could pursue DeMar DeRozan as a Paul George backup plan

The Los Angeles Clippers are in a tough spot after once again losing in the first round of the NBA playoffs. They have Kawhi Leonard under contract, but co-stars Paul George and James Harden are unrestricted free agents.

When it comes to George's free agency, nobody seems to have a clue as to what's going on. George is seeking a max contract, while the Clippers are showing little interest in meeting his demands.

What's very clear is that the Clippers will not open their new arena without a co-star for Leonard. George is almost certainly the preference, but he's not the only player they can pursue. Chicago Bulls beat writer K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago linked DeMar DeRozan to the Clippers as a potential George fallback plan.

DeMar DeRozan could be Clippers fallback plan if Paul George departs

The DeRozan link makes a lot of sense. He's a California native who has been linked to the Los Angeles Lakers in the past, and while he's not Paul George, he's still very good.

This past season, DeRozan averaged 24.0 points per game on 48.0/33.3/85.3 splits to go along with 4.3 rebounds and 5.3 assists. He did this while playing in 79 games and leading the league averaging 37.8 minutes per contest.

DeRozan has been an All-Star in two of the last three seasons, has loads of postseason experience, and is very clutch as well.

No, DeRozan is not the shooter or the defender that George is, but he's an efficient scorer, can distribute, and would presumably require less term. Additionally, DeRozan has been mostly durable in his career, which is something that George cannot say despite him staying mostly healthy this past season.

The Clippers' ceiling is higher with George, the better player, in the mix, but DeRozan is more reliable and shouldn't cost them the four years that George will likely get. There are pros and cons to both sides of this debate of whether the Clippers should be signing George or DeRozan, but there's no arguing that DeRozan isn't a horrible backup plan if George departs.