Kevin Durant Speaks on the LA Clippers Younger Roster
By Paul Tooke
LA Clippers fans may not agree with Kevin Durant’s actions, but we can sure agree on the statements he made about our roster’s condition on The Bill Simmons Podcast.
"“You could tell that at some point that everybody there needed some new life and energy. Whether it as somebody was leaving or somebody was bringing in another big player, (the Clippers) needed some new energy, and you could sense that now.” -Kevin Durant"
Thanks to CBSSports.com for this quote.
“New energy” was a big positive in the Chris Paul/Rockets trade, bringing Sam Dekker, Montrezl Harrell, and Lou Williams to our roster. It has been emphasized before how crucial and impactful that trade has been for our roster (Remember, the draft pick we received from the Rockets made the Gallinari trade possible). Like Chris Paul said after he found himself on a new team, “it was time for a change.” Our chemistry may need a lot of work after all the new additions this offseason, but they should work out for the better in the end.
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One reason why the roster shake-up is bound to be a good thing: The average age of the LA Clippers’ 2016-2017 15-man roster at the start of the regular season was 30 (rounded up). You can blame veteran legends Paul Pierce and Jamal Crawford and their respective ages of 39 and 36 at the time last season for that number. This seasons’ average age at the start of the season is 26 (rounded down with one spot left on the official contracted 15-man roster). Unless a dinosaur joins our team to fill the last spot on the roster, the age should stay between 26 and 27, and that is a good thing!
Youth is taking over the league. Franchise stars are being bred at a much younger age than perhaps ever before in the NBA’s existence. One thing to take note of is that you cannot claim that this team is younger because of Doc Rivers being removed from the front office; many of the players acquired this offseason were done while he was still present as GM. This younger Clippers team leaves more time for improvement, and also a higher ceiling for overall improvement. It also naturally brings in “new energy” as KD described. Younger players are typically more hungry, and haven’t developed egos yet. They are still trying to make their name known, leaving no need to hold anything back on the court.
Our team’s new found youth at an average age of 26 is a breath of fresh air for LA Clippers fans, and Kevin Durant is liking it. Too bad he chose to join Golden State and not LA!