Three offseason moves the Clippers must make
The Los Angeles Clippers must make changes after another disappointing playoff exit before the NBA Finals — the fifth of the Kawhi Leonard-Paul George era.
However, with a move to the $2 billion Intuit Dome this fall, it seems unlikely majority owner Steve Ballmer and his management team will opt for a full-scale rebuild.
Thus, here are three moves the Clippers should make this offseason to retool while maintaining high interest for their inaugural season in a new arena:
Acquire a starting power forward
For the fourth season in a row, injuries prevented Leonard — the 2019 NBA Finals MVP — from contributing to the fullest in the playoffs.
Knee injuries seem inevitable at this point in the 32-year-old's career, but it would behoove the Clippers to keep Leonard. They have limited options to pivot from the six-time All-Star, who is owed $152.4 million over the next three seasons. Plus, his shaky injury history doesn't help his trade value.
One way the Clippers could preserve Leonard, without load management, is to slot him back into his natural position of small forward and acquire a starting power forward. This move would allow Leonard to avoid the toll that comes with banging and bumping in the post with power forwards, affording him the opportunity to maximize his offense.
The Clippers could target Charlotte's Grant Williams for this role. The Hornets are amid a rebuild, and they would likely be willing to deal Williams, who is within the Clippers' budget (roughly $13 million in 2024-25 with reasonable increases the two following seasons).
Williams provides spacing (37.5% from three this past season), size (236 pounds) and playoff experience (61 playoff games).
Acquire a backup point guard
For the Clippers' sake, they must hope Russell Westbrook opts out of his $4 million player option and signs elsewhere.
Westbrook put up decent stats this past season (11.1 PPG and 4.5 APG) for a player on a $4 million deal, but he is an awkward fit for the Clippers. This became especially apparent in the playoffs (6.3 PPG on 26% shooting from the field).
Westbrook's subpar shooting in the playoffs and regular season allowed defenders to double off of him and easily disrupt the offense.
The point guard free-agent pool isn't remarkable, but remarkable isn't what the Clippers need — they need competency and fit.
Los Angeles could target a cheap, young point guard on the trade market such as Tre Mann, who showed promise with the Hornets (11.9 PPG and 36.4% from three) after his acquisition from Oklahoma City in February.
Re-sign Paul George and James Harden
The Clippers have one first-round pick in the next six years, largely due to the deals to acquire George and Harden. The lack of picks alone gives Los Angeles little incentive to tank, increasing the pressure on Ballmer to pony up the money and re-sign both players to contract extensions.
Even if the team lets either Harden or George go this summer, the Clippers would likely be over the first apron, restricting the team's ability to do a sign-and-trade to bring in someone of their caliber to replace one of them. (Harden is on an expiring contract, while George could be an unrestricted free agent this summer.)
Although George and Harden aren't the players they once were, they still hold trade value, and if the Clippers want to move on from them, they'll have the option to do so. Losing them for nothing would be unacceptable given the price already paid by the team.
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