We are now just four days away from LA Clippers media day, which for many fans will mark the unofficial start to the season. Players, coaches and everyone associated with the team with gather at Intuit Dome at 10:00 AM Pacific Time on Monday, September 30 to speak with media and make their first public appearance in the 2024-25 season cycle.
On that day, members of the team will disclose interesting details about their respective offseasons, plans for the future and more. The entire day will serve to give fans a more rounded view of what has been going on in the summer, as well as what they can expect from everyone in the coming season.
However, some pertinent details have already been shared with the public. On Tuesday, Tyronn Lue and Clippers President Lawrence Frank met with reporters to answer questions. They gave some insight into how they will be approaching this vastly new team now that Paul George is out of the equation.
One questions fans have been wondering for months is what the new starting lineup will look like. While Ty Lue did not directly say which five players will start, he did share an important detail according to Clippers reporter for The Athletic, Law Murray: the starting lineup is not set in stone, and "there will be competition for starting jobs."
Tyronn Lue says that there will be competition for starting jobs
— Law Murray 💡 (@LawMurrayTheNU) September 24, 2024
The Clippers' starting lineup is not set
This will undoubtedly get the gears in everyone's heads turning. There are a long list of possibilities when you talk about potential starting lineups for the Clippers, but we can assume there would be at least three constants.
Kawhi Leonard, James Harden and Ivica Zubac will almost certainly still remain as starters. The other two spots are much more uncertain, but these three would seem to be starting on October 23 regardless of how training camp and preseason go.
From there, the conversation becomes more about positions and what brand of basketball the Clippers will play this year. Since the team does not know their own identity yet, this is extremely difficult to pinpoint. However, Derrick Jones Jr. would seem like a relatively obvious fit to claim the starting power forward spot.
The last starting spot is a bit trickier, and it could end up being Kris Dunn with James Harden moving to the starting two-guard. But as Lue said, this will all likely come down to competition in training camp, and any number of outcomes could come forth. Regardless of the result, the uncertainty makes for an exciting timeline for Clippers fans to follow.