Clippers' patience, not future chance to contend, may be up

The Los Angeles Clippers still have the core to contend next year, but they may not have the patience to avoid trades and try one last time.

The Los Angeles Clippers’ season is once again coming to an end that is shrouded in doubts and “what ifs”. Unlike 2015, when a cataclysmic collapse to lose a 3-1 series lead against the Houston Rockets occurred, 2016 rid the Clippers of a briefly promising chance to make the Western Conference Finals with an onslaught of injuries, taking down their two best players, Chris Paul and Blake Griffin.

Now, the doubts aren’t just wondering what would have happened if they avoided a huge run from an opponent or executed better in a single fourth quarter.

Instead, the season’s end is an ultimate sense of what could have been if the Clippers were healthy. If Paul didn’t require surgery from a freak accident of getting his hand tangled in another player’s jersey and Griffin didn’t aggravate his quadriceps injury, everything could have been different.

Stephen Curry slipping on a wet patch of court could have been their golden opportunity, causing a Grade 1 MCL sprain that may have left the Golden State Warriors without their MVP for several games in the second round. At the very least, the Clippers could have stormed out to an early series lead if they were at full health, capitalizing on that chance to achieve a far better shot at the Conference Finals.

But we can’t know that now. Because in true Clippers fashion, they’ve been torn down prematurely in the playoffs, this time by injuries that cut short their potential rather than on-court failure.

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There’s still a chance they can beat the Portland Trail Blazers in the first round, of course. It certainly won’t be easy, requiring far more from reserves like Austin Rivers, Jeff Green and Cole Aldrich than should normally be necessary. Without Paul and Griffin, the offensive struggles may lead to the fired up Blazers running away with it, but the Clippers certainly aren’t a write off just yet.

What are they fighting for, though? If they defeat the Blazers it’s great. Winning a series after suffering the knockout punch of losing your two best players shows serious fight and ability. It will show how far the rest of the team has come from a year ago. Yet, it still doesn’t mean they’ll get anything better than a second-round sweep dealt to them by the Warriors.

And this is where the real question about the Clippers’ future comes into play.

Are they patient enough to have one more run in the final year of Paul and Griffin’s contracts in 2016-17? Or has the worst night in team history, with their injuries shattering any hopes of succeeding in the playoffs, served as a sign that their best opportunity is up and it’s time to move on?

"Rough night for the Clippers as CP3 and Blake suffer injuriesDoc Rivers: “It obviously doesn’t look very good.”https://t.co/Fic4NILXRu— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) April 26, 2016"

“We’re right on the borderline,” Doc said to Zach Lowe of Grantland before this season. “I have no problem saying that. I’m a believer that teams can get stale. After a while, you don’t win. It just doesn’t work. We’re right at the edge. Oklahoma City is on the edge. Memphis, too. We just have to accept it.”

Whether or not the panic or impatience hits this summer is yet to be seen, but it must be playing on Doc’s mind right now. Especially when the Warriors, as strong as ever, will still be in their way next season.

The fear of getting stale is well and truly here for L.A.

The first thought that comes to mind is Griffin’s future. The interest in him is already clear, with rumors emerging of teams pursuing him at the NBA trade deadline in February, also hinting that he’s the most likely member of the Clippers’ Big 3 to be dealt. After the misguided claims that the team are better without him due to their performance in his three-month absence, that narrative has only been encouraged further.

Griffin is in his physical prime at 27 and is still an absolute terror when healthy. Once he’s let his quadriceps heal fully this summer, he can make the team better whenever he’s on the court. It’s wrong to overlook his post play, exceptional passing ability, and triple-double nature simply because the spacing and three-point barrage was nice in his time out.

More to the point, what could the Clippers get in return for him with only one year left on his contract?

In order to take a step forward and keep a title-thirsty point guard like CP3 happy, trading Griffin for a few talented players — none of whom are a superstar — or young pieces like the trade the Nuggets proposed in February doesn’t take the Clippers any closer to a title than they are now. Unless L.A. land a new superstar in return, a trade isn’t going to suddenly revolutionize this team.

And on top of that, there aren’t exactly many superstars out there who could be traded for anyway, currently owned by teams who would prefer Blake instead.

Is a Griffin for Kevin Durant sign-and-trade really going to work? It may be the only situation that would improve the Clippers, but it’s hard to make any argue that it’s a realistic possibility.

Apr 3, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Clippers center DeAndre Jordan (6) hangs on the net as he waits to be introduced for the game against the Washington Wizards at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports /

More clippers: What do the Clippers need without Chris Paul?

After a season ending on devastating injury rather than losing in fair circumstances, it would take a great deal of impatience to shift pieces in an attempt to increase the likelihood of a title next year.

Paul shouldn’t be going anywhere as the Clippers’ obvious best player and arguably the best floor general in the league, meaning that the only other player in question — providing Doc doesn’t lose his mind by trading Paul for Kyrie Irving — is DeAndre Jordan. Who, even as an an elite defender and high-flying anchor of the paint, could be sent on his way without bringing the same level of star defense or talent in return.

Thanks to his disastrous free throw shooting and limited (albeit very slowly improving) offensive game, Jordan is an attractive but flawed commodity, especially in a trade. Yet again, if the Clippers don’t get a genuine star in return, what could motivate them to ruin their interior defense and break up one of the top few starting lineups in the NBA?

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A blockbuster trade would mix things up and it may well enhance the second unit, but it’s unlikely to garner much improvement in the immediate future. Which, unless the Clippers overreact and tank to grand proportions, seeking out young talent and draft picks, should be the goal.

Trading one of the Big 3 would be like asking for another card in a game of Black Jack when you’re already armed with 20. It’s far more likely that you’ll go too far and ruin the great hand you already had, blindly going for the chance to win even bigger; probably due to impatience that some other guy is beating you (in this case, the Golden State Warriors) and you never seem to be quite good enough to take home as much reward.

At this point, it’s important to respect the fact that these injuries couldn’t have been avoided. Making trades to adjust the bench rather than hitting the self destruct button on the core could be far more effective.

Next: The Clippers' injuries just saved the Warriors' title chances

Perhaps we’ll look back on the Lob City Clippers and forever wonder if they could have been more than a second round failure.

Perhaps fighting through this dire situation for one final last shot next year may change that.

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Clippers’ patience, not future chance to contend, may be up

By Tom West | Apr 27, 2016

The Los Angeles Clippers still have the core to contend next year, but they may not have the patience to avoid trades and try one last time.

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