The LA Clippers may be focused on landing a superstar next summer, but the center position will also need to be addressed if they want to contend.
The LA Clippers need a center. “But Ryan! They already have Montrezl Harrell and Boban Marjanovic!” Yes reader, you are right. But if the team wants to be in serious contention next season, the position needs to be addressed.
If Trezz or Boban read this, please don’t take it personally. This piece isn’t here to trash either player as they are both key parts of the LA Clippers this season and hopefully beyond. Instead, it is here to address a shortcoming that will have to be addressed should the team land a superstar next summer and hope to contend.
The problem at hand
Trezz and Boban are great in their own rights. Bobi can become completely unstoppable on the offensive end given the right match up. Trezz’s energy is unmatched coming off the bench and in spurts. See how I had to qualify both of those statements? That right there is the problem.
If the Clips could grab some Potara or teach the two the fusion dance, they would have the perfect center. Each has benefits, but have shortcomings that the other compensates for. Harrell is very mobile and athletic, but is undersized for the position. On the flip side, Marjanovic is a monster, even by NBA standards, but cannot move effectively. Teams have begun to exploit both of these.
If Marjanovic is on the court, teams repeatedly put him into the pick and roll. Once he is switched onto a guard, it’s all but over. The guard can either blow past him or step back to shoot as he has trouble blitzing or even just showing during the screen.
Trezz on the other hand, will often get exploited in the post. While less teams are doing this, there are players such as Joel Embiid, Jusuf Nurkic and Nikola Jokic who he has very little chance of stopping down low.
Who’s even out there?
Now, this is the interesting part. While there are a ton of notable free agents next summer, only a few centers really pop out. For starters, Marjanovic himself will be a free agent. Do the Clippers bring him back? We would like to think so.
Take a look at the list of free agent centers next summer. The biggest names on the list and their age:
- DeAndre Jordan – 31
- Robin Lopez – 31
- Brook Lopez – 31
- DeMarcus Cousins – 29
- Nikola Vucevic – 28
- Enes Kanter – 27
- Willie Cauley-Stein 26
- Jordan Bell – 24
Both Bell and Cauley-Stein are restricted free agents and will likely be hard to pull away from their teams. It’s hard to see DJ coming back and everyone will be after Cousins, assuming he looks like his old self after returning from injury.
That leaves us with four options from the list: Vucevic, Kanter and the Lopez twins. Kanter can’t play defense, which is something the Clippers would need. Vucevic is younger then the twins, but is also a poor defender. He can score and rebound, but the Clippers already have that in their current centers.
Both Lopez twins are on the wrong side of thirty and while they aren’t the worst defenders, they still aren’t good.
Things don’t look too promising, do they? There is one option though who’s not on the list.
Horford
Al Horford will be 33-years-old entering the 2019-20 season, but his play style looks like it will age gracefully. He is a good defender, solid passer and great locker room presence. He does present a couple of issues though, mainly his unwillingness to play center full time and his possible contractual value.
Getting him to the Clippers would be hard, assuming he even declines his player option and enters free agency. Still, if the team could convince him to join the roster, he could be the starting center with the benefit of having Harrell and possibly Marjanovic there to allow him to slide over to the power forward spot quickly.
Horford is the ideal signing, but very unlikely. Essentially, he’s a pipe dream. What may ultimately happen, should the team land some superstars is the signing of someone like JaVale McGee who can start the game and then not be used in crunch time.
Whatever happens, the team needs to attempt to address the position if they want to win. What we have now is great but could still be much, much better.