Captain Ballmer wrote:If we did blow up this team last summer, our squad would consist journeymans or prospects that hasn't worked out like Payne, Oubre, Bamba, Batum, KJ Martin etc. And that would be more enjoyable and exciting than whatever this team put out there.
If so, I'd say only because our expectations would be far lower. The big problem with blowing up the team is the lack of our own picks, that being said before the Harden trade we would have had our own 1sts starting in 2027 (plus whatever returns from trading PG and/or Kawhi.)
Sofia wrote:How long til we get some picks back in our control?
I think this is the best chart. Our next 1st round pick with no swaps is 2030:
https://fanspo.com/nba/teams/Clippers/13/draft-picksWe traded our 2028 1st and I think 2027 and 2029 swaps for Harden. The 2027 swap involved OKC and I'm not sure of exact details.
I think this right here sums up the situation pretty well both before and after the Harden trade, if this team doesn't turn it around the situation does look pretty bleak:
Yes, the Clippers overpaid to build this team when they gave up the world for George. That's a sunk cost. What gave the Clippers a relatively bright future before this trade was how close they were to regaining control over their future drafts. They owe out picks to Oklahoma City through 2026, but none afterward. In a world in which Phoenix controls none of its picks for the rest of the decade, that's not half bad. Leonard and George are on expiring contracts. If the Clippers hadn't made this trade, they could have subtly pulled the plug on this roster if they'd so chosen, taken their lumps for two years and then been right back in the fray with their full complement of first-round picks and the Los Angeles market at their disposal.
That option is gone now. This is their team. For better or worse, the Clippers are now married to a 32-year-old Leonard, a 33-year-old George and a 34-year-old Harden until the wheels fall off. All three will almost certainly sign contracts next offseason that wind up aging poorly. Their rebuilding window has been pushed back even further now that the 76ers control two of their four picks between 2027 and 2030. There is no escape hatch here. The Clippers have to win a championship to justify this trade. The odds of actually doing so are relatively low. The odds of a very grim period beginning a few years from now are exceedingly high.
https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/james-harden-trade-grades-clippers-take-massive-risk-while-76ers-win-big/If things don't work out, perhaps the best case scenario is sign-and-trade PG somewhere and hopefully get some decent young players back to run with a Harden/Kawhi led team. The ironic thing is that the Harden trade is what facilitates the Sixers cap space this coming offseason and a chance to sign PG outright.