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Three ways in which the LA Clippers could improve this summer

By Garrett Chorpenning

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - APRIL 21: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander #2 of the LA Clippers steals the ball away from Kevin Durant #35 of the Golden State Warriors during the first half in Game Four of Round One of the 2019 NBA Playoffs at Staples Center on April 21, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - APRIL 21: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander #2 of the LA Clippers steals the ball away from Kevin Durant #35 of the Golden State Warriors during the first half in Game Four of Round One of the 2019 NBA Playoffs at Staples Center on April 21, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. /
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LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 21: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander #2 of the LA Clippers steals the ball away from Kevin Durant #35 of the Golden State Warriors during the first half in Game Four of Round One of the 2019 NBA Playoffs at Staples Center on April 21, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 21: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander #2 of the LA Clippers steals the ball away from Kevin Durant #35 of the Golden State Warriors during the first half in Game Four of Round One of the 2019 NBA Playoffs at Staples Center on April 21, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /

The LA Clippers finished the 2018-2019 campaign well above expectations, and they could realistically improve this summer if they make a few key decisions.

The 2018-2019 campaign was a special one for the LA Clippers. In addition to finishing the regular season well above expectations, the team pushed the defending champions to six games in the first round of the playoffs and made their point heard. Without a single All-Star, past or present, they could still succeed.

It would have been impossible to achieve if not for players like Patrick Beverley, who set the tone for the team both on and off the court. At the same time, it’s difficult to single out any other player based on their individual impact because this team was exactly that — a team. No player in particular demanded more glory than the rest, and they all unified in order to achieve one common goal.

Still, though, the Clippers as they’re currently constructed is not a title-contending team. If we’re being completely honest about it, what they managed to achieve this past season is likely their ceiling. And with lofty goals of hanging their own banners in the STAPLES Center rafters, it’s clear that some changes will need to be made this offseason in order for the Clippers to continue pursuing that goal.

Some of it will be out of their control. Unrestricted free agents like Beverley and JaMychal Green, each of whom played a big role in LA’s postseason performance, have the ability to control their own destinies this summer. They can sign wherever they please, depending on what their needs are, and it’s looking increasingly likely that both will play for teams not named the Clippers next season.

LA did help bolster their bench via the NBA Draft, adding a stretch-forward that should be able to make an immediate impact in Mfiondu Kabengele and a do-it-all wing in Terance Mann that could spend some time at the G League level as well as the pros.

So while some steps have already been made to begin progressing into the 2019-2020 campaign, there are still plenty of orders of business that must be achieved in order for the Clippers to improve upon one of their most memorable seasons to date. But where should they begin?

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