5 Clippers who definitely won't be back next season
By Will Eudy
It is safe to say the 2023-24 season did not turn out how nearly anyone could have imagined for the LA Clippers. Beginning the year with a mostly healthy roster for what felt like the first time ever, the Clippers were poised to run it back with their same core group from the previous season until a massive development one week into the season changed everything.
At the tail end of October, the front office opted to take a chance on adding more high-end talent and traded for James Harden, which completely changed the dynamic of LA's on-court process. Getting an additional ball-handler was in theory going to open things up for Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, allowing Russell Westbrook to thrive in a bench role.
For a while, that process worked exceedingly well. The Clippers were one of the best teams in basketball for much of the winter, climbing to the top of the Western Conference standings. But as injuries and other inconsistencies cropped up to end the year, it was the same old story: The Clippers did not have their best player healthy when he was needed most.
As the offseason arrives, there is potential for massive change within the Clippers' locker room before the 2024-25 season begins. There are five players that will almost assuredly not be back with the team.
Xavier Moon
After losing in six games to the Dallas Mavericks, LA will have some serious soul-searching to do. For the last five seasons, they have chosen to build their roster around two superstar wings who are both uniquely talented and uniquely flawed. But regardless of whether both Kawhi and Paul remain with the team past this summer, certain role players do not seem to have a path forward with the Clippers.
One of the most obvious players on that list of role players is Xavier Moon. After going undrafted in the 2017 NBA Draft out of Morehead State, Moon spent multiple stints with overseas professional teams. He played in France, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Israel before getting his NBA chance by signing with the Clippers' G League team in 2021.
In his three seasons in the NBA thus far, Xavier has not shown much to prove that he belongs in the league as a rotation player. This past year, he played in just 14 games and shot 32% from the floor. Since he is already 29 years old, the chances that he takes a leap or vastly improves as a player are slim to none, and there would be little reason for the Clippers to keep him around for next season.