Most Glaring Roster Hole Clippers Must Fill This Offseason

The Los Angeles Clippers have important roster decisions to make in the offseason. GM Lawrence Frank revealed the organization's offseason approach after their elimination at the hands of the Warriors. The Clippers will keep Ty Lue in charge and try to build a winner around Darius Garland and Kawhi Leonard.

If that is the plan, the Clippers have to build a roster that makes sense around the two All-Stars. At the top of the list of needs is a starting center.

Clippers Must Invest Significant Resources in Center

In the Play-In loss, the Clippers were hurt by their lack of depth and quality at center. Brook Lopez had to play the entire fourth quarter, and the Clippers couldn't stop Steph Curry and the Warriors.

That was the case in the regular season after the Clippers traded away Ivica Zubac at the deadline. LA struggled to rebound the ball and protect the rim after Zubac's departure. The problem only grew after Yanic Konan Niederhauser suffered a season-ending injury and Isaiah Jackson missed the final few weeks of the season with an ankle sprain.

The Clippers have a team option on Lopez for next season. They can either keep him around for $9.1 million for another season or create more cap space by letting him walk.

On paper, it makes sense for LA to retain Lopez. He was decent in the second half of the season, and his shooting is still valuable on the offensive end. At the same time, $9.1 million may be a bit rich for a backup center who will ideally play around 15 minutes per game. The Clippers may be better off giving those minutes to Niederhauser instead.

This will obviously depend on who the Clippers can bring in. The free agent market for centers is not deep this season. Unrestricted free agents Mitchell Robinson and Rob Williams III would be decent options, or the Clippers could pursue one of Mark Williams and Walker Kessler in restricted free agency. If the Clippers don't have to break the bank to sign a center, then bringing back Lopez could make some sense, too.

The trade market also remains an option. The Clippers have multiple first-round picks that they can trade after the draft. Because of their cap space and financial flexibility, the Clippers can take back more salary than they give up, increasing their trade possibilities.

Regardless of whether the Clippers go the free agency or the trade route, they need to invest significant resources to upgrade their center rotation. That is a non-negotiable if they want to go back to being a playoff team next season and beyond.