Winger’s decision to stay shows LA Clippers have future worth looking forward to

LA Clippers GM Michael Winger’s decision to turn down a higher position in Minnesota should have fans feeling more optimistic about the team’s future.

Earlier last week, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that the Minnesota Timberwolves would be interviewing current LA Clippers GM Michael Winger to be their next President of Basketball Operations. Expectedly, Clippers fans were concerned.

Winger has been LA’s General Manager since the beginning of the 2017-2018 regular season, and the Clippers have made plenty of moves to improve since he’s been there. There was of course, the Blake Griffin trade that landed Tobias Harris, Avery Bradley, Boban Marjanovic and a few picks — one of which became Shai Gilgeous-Alexander — but we aren’t just talking big-name moves. Winger has also been there for the signings of guys like Mike Scott and Luc Mbah a Moute, and was there to re-sign Montrezl Harrell as well.

He doesn’t get the same recognition that the rest of the Clippers brass gets, like Jerry West or Lawrence Frank, but he’s likely been just as vital to the decision-making process as any other. Obviously, he’s not the person you’d choose to lose from your front office.

But to our surprise, The Athletic‘s Jon Krawczynski reported Saturday night that Winger had informed the Timberwolves organization of his decision to stay with the LA Clippers — before he even interviewed for the position.

According to Krawczynski, Winger came to the realization that he “could not consider leaving a competitive team so well positioned for the years to come.” In the same thread, Krawczynski noted that Winger named Lawrence Frank, Doc Rivers, Jerry West and Steve Ballmer among those he intends to continue working with, which is something else that Clippers fans should feel excited about.

Not only will Winger be staying with the organization, but it seems safe to make the assumption that the names he listed will be as well. That’s especially huge for consultant Jerry West, as his contract is due to expire this summer. And there may have been some substantial reason to worry about his return.

There have been rumors all over Twitter in the last few weeks connecting West to the Los Angeles Lakers, and it started to get national attention. However, Winger’s reported comments seem to shoot that idea down.

The big takeaway from all of this, though, isn’t about West or Ballmer or the rest of the front office. It’s that Winger wanted to return to the LA Clippers, and he turned down a position higher than his own in order to do so.

For years and years, basically throughout the entire history of the Clippers, the team couldn’t get a single player to re-sign, let alone a top executive. San Diego and Los Angeles were merely pitstops for those kinds of people, until they could get better deals and positions elsewhere. The idea that someone would want to stay with the Clippers is almost unheard of, and is yet another sign that the team truly does have a future to look forward to.

Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Lakers are on the other end of the spectrum, with Magic Johnson out as President of Basketball Operations and Luke Walton out as Head Coach. It’s a refreshing twist, and at least for now, the Clippers have all the right pieces to continue pushing the Lakers for the title of LA’s team.

As successful as this season was for the LA Clippers, it appears that it’s only the beginning of a run that could include a title or two sooner rather than later. And if nothing else, the Clippers are in excellent position to contend with the best for the foreseeable future, thanks to the work of this organization.