Armed with a pair of lottery picks and a desire to land a star player, the Clippers were the subject of a number of trade rumors this summer. Considering the Spurs wanted to acquire an impact scorer in any trade involving Kawhi Leonard, the Clippers were a realistic suitor, as they could have put together a package headlined by Tobias Harris. However, if they made a strong push for Leonard, that push ultimately fell short, with the Spurs sending the former Finals MVP to Toronto instead.
The Clippers explored ways to package their two late-lottery picks to move up in the draft, and multiple reports, both early and late in the pre-draft process, indicated that they had eyes for Luka Doncic. In the end, the franchise didn’t have enough ammunition to realistically move into the top three, and it was the Mavericks who traded up for Doncic.
While it’s possible that the Clippers were discouraged in the short term by their failed runs at impact players, the long-term outlook for the franchise remains promising. They may not have acquired any stars this summer, but by preserving cap room and other assets, the Clippers are well-positioned for 2019 to go after those top-tier targets, including at least one or two that they missed out on this year.
Key offseason losses:
Having already traded Chris Paul and Blake Griffin, the Clippers said farewell to the last crucial member of the Lob City core, allowing DeAndre Jordan to walk in free agency. Before he turned down his player option and signed with the Mavericks outright as a free agent, Jordan mulled the possibility of opting in to accommodate a trade, a scenario that would’ve allowed the Clips to get something in return for him. That didn’t happen.
Although Los Angeles’ front office surely would’ve preferred to have something to show for Jordan, letting him go for nothing was probably a better outcome than locking him up to a pricey long-term deal. The big man is now on the wrong side of 30 and his blocked-shot numbers have fallen off precipitously over the last couple seasons. He’s still a strong rebounder and solid finisher at the rim, but Jordan’s days as an All-NBA mainstay and a perennial candidate for Defensive Player of the Year are almost certainly behind him.
In order to secure a stop-gap veteran replacement for Jordan, the Clippers sent Austin Rivers to the Wizards in exchange for Marcin Gortat. Rivers, a solid defender, enjoyed his best season as a pro in 2017/18, setting new career highs in PPG (15.1) and 3PT% (.378), but given how crowded the backcourt in L.A. was getting, he was an expendable piece — especially since he was entering the last year of his contract.
While Jordan and Rivers will be the most impactful losses for the Clippers, guys like Sam Dekker, Wesley Johnson, and Jawun Evans are worth mentioning as well. All three were victims of a roster crunch after playing regular roles for the team last season. Of the three, head coach Doc Rivers may miss Johnson in the most — the veteran small forward started 40 games for the Clips in 2017/18, playing solid defense and making the occasional three-pointer.
Key offseason additions:
The Clippers didn’t make any massive trades this summer, but they were willing to surrender a pair of future second-round picks to move up just a single spot in the June draft. That deal was a reflection of how high the team is on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the first of two guards selected by L.A. in the lottery.
Gilgeous-Alexander, who didn’t conduct workouts with specific teams leading up to the draft, was one of the biggest mysteries of this year’s class, but the early returns are tantalizing. Even with plenty of competition for minutes in the Clippers’ backcourt, the former Kentucky standout should have a prominent role to open the season — in the team’s opener, he played more minutes than any other guard on the roster, including Avery Bradley, Patrick Beverley, and Lou Williams.
The Clippers’ other lottery pick, Jerome Robinson, hasn’t received the same sort of hype as SGA, and likely won’t play as much in the early going. However, he was an excellent scorer and shooter at Boston College, and projects to make an impact down the road for the club.
With an eye toward preserving their cap room for 2019, the Clippers’ veteran acquisitions this offseason were of the one-year variety — Luc Mbah a Moute and Mike Scott, two underrated pieces on playoff teams last season, will help fortify the club’s bench after agreeing to split the mid-level exception with a pair of one-year contracts worth $4.32MM apiece. Meanwhile, Gortat will help man the middle in 2018/19, but appears unlikely to be in L.A.’s plans beyond this season.
Outlook for 2018/19:
Few NBA teams have as many intriguing players, one through 15, as the Clippers. In our review of their offseason, we haven’t even mentioned returning players like Danilo Gallinari, Boban Marjanovic, Milos Teodosic, and Montrezl Harrell, of whom are capable of having a substantial impact in a game on any given night.
Still, this is a roster lacking star power. Gilgeous-Alexander could get to that tier one day, Harris isn’t far off, and Gallinari has shown glimpses when he’s 100% healthy. But virtually every other playoff contender in the Western Conference – including the Timberwolves, Trail Blazers, Lakers, Pelicans, and Spurs – has at least one legit All-NBA candidate, if not two. The Clippers lack that sort of player. Their depth is a strength, but it may not be enough to compete in the West.
Fortunately for the Clips, this isn’t a roster that the team is necessarily attached to for the long term. The front office will have an opportunity this season to assess what works and what doesn’t before potentially clearing space for two maximum-salary free agents in 2019. If the club strikes out at this point, it’d be a cause for concern, but for now the goals are simply to be competitive in a tough conference and to identify which players on this roster are keepers.
Salary information from Basketball Insiders was used in the creation of this post. Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Standard contracts: