The LA Clippers have to make changes after falling short. Here are their top three questions in the offseason.
I didn’t think I would be writing this piece this soon in the offseason but here we are. The LA Clippers dropped game seven to the Denver Nuggets and are now forced to make decisions on how to go forward in the last year of Kawhi Leonard and Paul George.
A championship is still the goal for next season but to reach that peak, what has to happen? Here are the top three questions heading into the offseason.
1. How do the LA Clippers improve?
We’ll start with free agency and the trade market. The LA Clippers don’t have many assets after trading away most of them to acquire Paul George (and by association, Kawhi) this past offseason. By getting those two stars, the team also put themselves over the salary cap, limiting what moves they can make this offseason.
First, let’s look at the team’s own free agents.
- Montrezl Harrell (more on him later)
- Marcus Morris Sr.
- JaMychal Green
- Reggie Jackson
- Patrick Patterson
- Joakim Noah
- Johnathan Motley (restricted)
The top four players on that list cracked the playoff rotation. Without much besides the mid-level exception to use on free agents, the team will have to look in house. Marcus Morris and JaMychal Green will likely get looked at by several teams but the Clippers absolutely need to bring both back.
Morris got his payday last offseason by signing with the Knicks. At 31-years-old, perhaps he takes a slight discount to stay in Los Angeles for the chance to help win a ring. Green had a great year for the team and might explore the market but with the salary cap so in flux, hopefully, the Clippers can retain his services.
Jackson, Noah, and Patterson can be brought back on veteran’s minimums but I doubt they get much more from the team. Motley might be worth another two-way contract but isn’t material to this team’s title chances.
Re-signing these guys doesn’t necessarily address the Clippers’ issues though at the point guard and center position. The team needs another true big who can play in the rotation and a playmaker.
The former has a lot of options, including Aron Baynes, Robin Lopez, Tristan Thompson, and Marc Gasol who could all fall with the team’s MLE range. The latter though isn’t as enticing. Perhaps the only players in our price range on the list are Jeff Teague, Matthew Dellavedova, and D.J. Augustin but none of those guys seem like big improvements.
The team will have to find small ways to improve, especially if any of their free agents do bolt. Now, let’s look at the main one.