The Los Angeles Clippers have had just about the worst start to this season that one could possibly imagine. As things continue to unravel, the fanbase and nearly everyone on the outside looking in seem to be expressing the same sentiment: that the Clippers need to bring this experiment to an end, and look to start over.
In the offseason, this team was clearly being built around the idea that Kawhi Leonard was finally coming into the year healthy and not trying to get himself back to full health. On top of that, it was obvious that the plan from the start was to lean on the play of the veterans, no matter how aged and injury-ridden they were. That plan has blown up in the face of the Clippers in very short order.
Leonard is already struggling to get on the floor consistently. After playing in LA's first six games this season, he has now missed the last five in a row. We are once again in a place where Clippers fans are questioning if he can play the majority of the team's games this season. And naturally, that leaves James Harden having to do more as well. Deja vu.
On top of that, Bradley Beal is now out for the season with a fractured hip. The guy that LA traded Norman Powell to acquire and put so much stock into only played six games in a Clippers uniform. That leaves this team in an extremely difficult position in the most ironic way possible.
Maybe it's time for the Clippers to move on
Everyone was aware that it was going to be risky to place so much trust in these veteran guys who have a lot of miles on their bodies and lengthy injury histories. Now, the Clippers are essentially up the river without a paddle.
The Western Conference remains incredibly stacked, and getting to the postseason with this depleted roster is going to be a tremendous task. Ty Lue and the coaching staff are going to be forced to rely on more young talent than they initially planned to, and you're now hoping to build chemistry with some of the lesser-used guys on the fly.
All this confusion and frustration is making much of the fanbase think of blowing it all up, and starting over. And frankly, it might be time to rip off the band-aid and just do it. The Clippers have limited draft resources, and not a lot of surefire game-changing talents on the youth side of things. Exploring trades for James Harden and Kawhi Leonard might just be what has to happen, while those guys still have value.
No one could have pictured the Kawhi era going this way when he arrived in Los Angeles back in 2019. But the results of the last six years speak for themselves, and the truth is that this team hasn't truly accomplished anything in a postseason setting for over four years. The early-season struggles we're seeing unfold could be more evidence that it's time to end this era and move on.