During the Clippers’ media day, LA’s newest star, Brandon Ingram, spoke about how the team could surprise a lot of people this upcoming season. In the midst of his response, Ingram said, “We have enough in the building to compete.” That’s a bold statement, and more importantly, an optimistic one, which is a sight to see for the fans. It’s certainly nice to know Ingram is hopeful, despite everything that has happened over the last few months.
Brandon Ingram on the Clippers surprising people this season: "I know it's little to no expectations for us this year. We have enough in the building to compete. This is what we love to do. We go out and compete every single night."
— Farbod Esnaashari (@Farbod_E) September 28, 2026
In all honesty, though, the Clippers are one trade away from Ingram’s claim being true. Why is that? Because they don’t have anyone who can rebound the ball at a high level. This primarily applies to the starting five, as a known flaw of Rui Hachimura and Brook Lopez, the projected power forward and center, is grabbing boards.
In no world will LA be able to compete if they can’t box out and crash the glass effectively.
The Clippers won’t be able to compete until they trade for a rebounder legitimately
Despite the LA Clippers having young guys who can score, make plays, defend, and take initiative, they won’t be able to compete in the stacked Western Conference legitimately, and ultimately live up to Brandon Ingram’s standard, if they can’t rebound.
We are already aware that’s something Brook Lopez and Rui Hachimura struggle with, but beyond them, the best the team has while Yanic Konan Niederhauser recovers is Derrick Jones Jr. and Isaiah Jackson.
Keep in mind, both will likely be coming off the bench, and neither has averaged more than 5.5 rebounds over the course of a 65-game season. This leaves a genuine concern in that department.
Given that it’s late in the offseason, the Clippers could just sign someone off the free-agent market, like Mason Plumlee, and call it a day. The problem is that they may bring in another flaw that could make them unplayable.
As a result, the Clippers’ only option is to make a trade.
Who are some candidates? Daniel Gafford of the Dallas Mavericks, Jakob Poeltl of the Toronto Raptors, and Domantas Sabonis of the Sacramento Kings. These are players that could be moved soon and would immediately give the Clippers enough of a chance to be seen as a threat, even if their contracts aren’t necessarily the best.
Until then, they will be stuck in the category of teams one move away from where they want to be.
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