With their move to a brand new arena just around the corner, the LA Clippers will be doing everything they can to improve their roster this summer and get more fans in seats when the new season officially tips off in the fall. The Clippers have of course been a perennial playoff contender for years, but their constant playoff letdowns are a clear sign there is still more they can do to improve.
Of course, their plans for the offseason will revolve heavily around whether or not Paul George chooses to exercise his player option for the 2024-25 season. If he does, the Clips can continue building with he and Kawhi Leonard as their framework. But if he opts to take his talents elsewhere, it could dramatically change what this team looks like come October.
The Clippers' options to make trades this summer will ultimately be limited by the fact that they have virtually no draft picks to work with. After trading away so many picks to acquire the current talent they have, LA is left with just a 2024 second-round pick, a 2030 first-round pick and a 2030 second-rounder. With that in mind, these are the six most valuable trade assets the Clippers have as of right now.
5. 2030 First-Round Pick
The fifth-most valuable overall trade asset and undoubtedly the Clippers' top draft pick they have to work with is their own first-round selection in 2030. LA dealt away their own 2024, 2025, 2026, 2027, 2028 and 2029 picks in the first round in trades over the last several years, so the 2030 pick is the only one they can reasonably use in any dealings this summer.
Many teams could be interested in getting this pick because the assumption would be that Kawhi Leonard and Paul George would have either left LA or retired by this point, leading to a potentially high lottery pick. It is one of the last picks the Clippers have left to use, so they should be mindful of that when dealing it away.
The biggest reason this pick is not higher on the list is how far into the future it will be. Obviously, the pick cannot be used before six years from now, so it will be of little use for teams trying to draft a star prospect within the next couple of seasons.
4. Norman Powell
The next highest-value asset the Clippers have to work with this offseason is Norman Powell. The quick and high-level scoring guard has been in LA since he was traded to the Clips back at the 2022 trade deadline. Since then, he has been one of the most consistent and reliable bench scorers in the association, putting up back-to-back seasons in 2022-23 and 2023-24 where he finished in the top four for Sixth Man of the Year voting.
Playing around 26 minutes per night in both of those seasons, Norman has made a big impact for the Clippers as an offensive spark plug, coming in the game and torching defenders with his lightning-quick first step and shot-making ability from from all over the floor. There has been a consistent belief expressed around the league that he is a starter-level player buried behind the depth of a talented roster like the Clippers'.
Plenty of teams around the association would be thrilled to gain Powell's services. He is currently under contract until 2026, and set to be paid $19 and $20 million over the next two seasons respectively. That is a relatively modest pay stub given his production, and the Clippers would likely be able to get a considerable return for him in any potential dealings.
3. James Harden
Now we get to the biggest of the big-name players on the Clippers' roster. When it comes to James Harden, there have been plenty of mixed feelings expressed about his game over the years, even from Clippers fans over the course of the last eight months. Last fall, when rumors began circulating that LA could be interested in the aging point guard, there was a mix of excitement and distaste from Clipper nation.
Obviously, Harden was one of the best isolations scorers of this generation at his peak, and he had an unbelievable run to end the 2010s with the Rockets. But is has been clear for some time that he is no longer that caliber of player anymore. When he made his move to the Brooklyn Nets and then the Philadelphia 76ers, it was clear he did not play with the same burst or elite athleticism he once had. Many were skeptical of whether or not he could actually elevate the Clippers.
But all things considered, James has been a positive addition in LA. He has not needed to always fill up the box score to be an effective playmaker and knock down timely shots. Harden is an unrestricted free agent this summer, so the price of a new contract would certainly affect his trade value, but multiple teams would likely still have interest in him.
2. Kawhi Leonard
Once considered to be in the best player in the world conversation when he first joined the Clippers in 2019, Kawhi Leonard has had plenty of ups and downs over the course of the last five years. At his peak and when fully healthy, Kawhi can still be considered an elite two-way superstar with the ability to affect the game at a higher level than 99% of players in the league.
His elite shot-making from all over the floor and lockdown one-on-one defense are the biggest reasons the Clips saw him as their next franchise player. Since 2019, he has not become "washed" or lost a step in terms of what he is best at, but he has certainly been limited by injuries. Already coming to LA with a history of debilitating injuries, things have not gotten any better for the superstar wing. Kawhi has finished only one season as a Clipper fully healthy.
That is the main thing keeping him off the top place on this list. At full health and with no concern for future injuries that would sideline him or limit his effectiveness, Leonard would easily be the Clippers' top trade asset, even given his massive contract extension that will pay him north of $50 million for each of the next three seasons.
1. Paul George
The other half of the Clippers' superstar pairing created in 2019, Paul George has been nearly as effective as Kawhi since 2019. Of course, he has suffered from his own injuries as well, and his limited availability and usefulness has been just as big a factor in the Clippers not living up to their potential over the last five seasons.
George's paycheck for next season could look similar to Leonard's if he opts to pick up his player option. But if he declines, that is where things could get really interesting. Several teams around the association have been rumored to have interest in George as a second star next to their already-established franchise player.
Combine that with the fact that his injury history is viewed in a slightly more positive light than Kawhi's, and it makes plenty of sense that PG is the Clippers' most valuable trade asset. He may be two years older than Leonard, but George can still likely be a 1B on a championship squad, and there will be a healthy market for his services this summer. If LA ends up executing a sign-and-trade for Paul George, it is likely they would get a bigger return than they would for any other asset they own.