Post Mortem #21 - Los Angeles Clippers

[Green89]

Kawhi leaving a championship team was the stupidest decision a player has ever made.

I'll defend the decision. It wasn't about basketball. It was about where he wanted to live. He isn't the first or last player to prefer a weaker franchise in their home city.

I’ll never blame a guy for wanting to live in beautiful sunny Los Angeles, California. But leaving that team, at that time, is something we gonna have to look back on as a major ‘what if’ . Raptors easily could’ve repeated lol

A player with his salary can live anywhere in the country during the offseason. And during the season, you're traveling half the time anyway.

[flow]

If any team signs Harden after this they will be admittedly crippling their franchise.

I've been saying this for many years now. Teams don't care. NBA front offices are comprised of some very stupid people.


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[tamaraw08]

Kawhi leaving a championship team was the stupidest decision a player has ever made.

KD might disagree

[Ssj16]

Kawhi leaving a championship team was the stupidest decision a player has ever made.

We had everything to go back to back in the bubble. We matched up extremely well against that Lakers team.

[facothomas22]

Despite of the improvements Zubic and Powell made, it wasn't enough for the Clippers to avoid getting bounced in the 1st round.James Harden has proved what a lot of people have already known. His play drops when it matters the most.Kawhi Leonard is still very good, but he's not the Kawhi Leonard that we are used to seeing.The Clippers have enough cap flexibility to sign someone decent, but not enough to get a star through Free Agency(no one is available, but still). The Clippers asset broad becomes decent once you include Ivica Zubic and Norman Powell, but I don't see the Clippers trading them together unless they get a younger star back.Without those those 2 included, the Clippers asset board looks thin. 2 1st round pick(including 1 this year that's going to be 30th pick in the draft). They got guys on solid contracts, but don't have a lot of value by themselves.The Clippers may have need to retool where they keep Kawhi/Zubic to stay competitive, but trade Norman Powell and James Harden for draft compensation and get a guard on a discount.

[okboomer]

If any team signs Harden after this they will be admittedly crippling their franchise.

I've been saying this for many years now. Teams don't care. NBA front offices are comprised of some very stupid people.


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From their point of view it makes sense. A player of his regular season caliber gets his teams into the playoffs and always has. As long as he is a great regular season performer he will always be highly coveted.

[Godymas]

So basically they are going to have to run it back, also they have to extend Harden and basically they won’t have control of their picks until 2030. Expect a slow decline for the Clips. Next year is likely the last year of their window, then the years to follow are 100% about treading water.

The fact the FO has secured so many good vets is a testament to their ability. Also their willingness to let PG13 walk is the biggest W of their season.

At this point the Clippers might actually be a FA spot once Kawhi and Harden hang it up. It might get rough around 2029

[flow]

If any team signs Harden after this they will be admittedly crippling their franchise.

I've been saying this for many years now. Teams don't care. NBA front offices are comprised of some very stupid people.


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From their point of view it makes sense. A player of his regular season caliber gets his teams into the playoffs and always has. As long as he is a great regular season performer he will always be highly coveted.

No team that acquired him post-Houston did so to get into the playoffs.

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[___Rand___]

Outside of a major trade, without picks there isn't much they can do. They can tweak around the edges, hope to find UDFAs that work out, pray that Kawhi stays healthy. 1st round playoffs is their ceiling.

[Lala870]

Kawhi leaving a championship team was the stupidest decision a player has ever made.

Uh why?

Ironically if Kawhi stays healthy Clippers easily have at least one title right now.

Watch on YouTube

This was a franchise defining moment (for the worst)

[pipfan]

I think they hope Harden opts in. Don't extend him-if he walks, try to sign vet FA's who will take a 1 year deal
Go for the playoffs again, and they could have A LOT of cap space in 2026, with Leonard/Zubak/DJones as their core

They owe picks for a few years, so no reason to do anything too drastic. Just DON'T trade more future picks

[flow]

Kawhi leaving a championship team was the stupidest decision a player has ever made.

Uh why?

Ironically if Kawhi stays healthy Clippers easily have at least one title right now.


This was a franchise defining moment (for the worst)

And if Kawhi simply agrees to sign without conditioning Paul George.... Well, it's probably too painful to think about.

That was the franchise defining moment.


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[Lala870]

Kawhi leaving a championship team was the stupidest decision a player has ever made.

Uh why?

Ironically if Kawhi stays healthy Clippers easily have at least one title right now.


This was a franchise defining moment (for the worst)

And if Kawhi simply agrees to sign without conditioning Paul George.... Well, it's probably too painful to think about.

That was the franchise defining moment.


.

Ermmm what exactly do you mean here?

[flow]

Uh why?

Ironically if Kawhi stays healthy Clippers easily have at least one title right now.


This was a franchise defining moment (for the worst)

And if Kawhi simply agrees to sign without conditioning Paul George.... Well, it's probably too painful to think about.

That was the franchise defining moment.


.

Ermmm what exactly do you mean here?

1. The team would have been great if Kawhi had signed without the Paul George acquisition.
2. The Paul George trade killed the franchise.
3. The trade happened only because Kawhi demanded it (acquiring Paul George) as a condition of his signing with LAC.

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[Lala870]

And if Kawhi simply agrees to sign without conditioning Paul George.... Well, it's probably too painful to think about.

That was the franchise defining moment.


.

Ermmm what exactly do you mean here?

1. The Paul George trade killed the franchise.
2. The trade happened only because Kawhi demanded it (acquiring Paul George) as a condition of his signing with LAC.

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In that case what would the ideal roster/franchise situation looked like without the PG trade?

[flow]

Ermmm what exactly do you mean here?

1. The Paul George trade killed the franchise.
2. The trade happened only because Kawhi demanded it (acquiring Paul George) as a condition of his signing with LAC.

.

In that case what would the ideal roster/franchise situation looked like without the PG trade?

In which season?

[Lala870]

1. The Paul George trade killed the franchise.
2. The trade happened only because Kawhi demanded it (acquiring Paul George) as a condition of his signing with LAC.

.

In that case what would the ideal roster/franchise situation looked like without the PG trade?

In which season?

From 2019 onwards after LA got PG.

The funny thing is PG was supposed to be the hottest trade target in recent memory and Laker fans were willing to mortgage the future to get him. I remember the edits and how many Lakers fans were desperate to get him.

Clippers sign him and all of a sudden hes overrated, not worth it etc

[flow]

In that case what would the ideal roster/franchise situation looked like without the PG trade?

In which season?

From 2019 onwards after LA got PG.

The funny thing is PG was supposed to be the hottest trade target in recent memory and Laker fans were willing to mortgage the future to get him. I remember the edits and how many Lakers fans were desperate to get him.

Clippers sign him and all of a sudden hes overrated, not worth it etc

People seem to have forgotten that the season before signing Kawhi, the Clippers became a hard-nosed team on the rise with great chemistry. Think Pistons this year.

Montrez Harrell, Lou Williams, Pat Bev developed a nucleus. Galinari, Zubac, Shamet, JaMichael Green, and a rookie named SGA, rounded it out. They played hard and increasingly well together as the season went on. Took two games off GSW in round one, which was a testament to how well they were playing. Simply dropping Kawhi in the middle of that would have been incredible. The chemistry would have remained intact. They just would have been a lot better.

Bringing in Paul George on top of it, though, changed the structure and dynamic of the team. PG is a chemistry-killer and a poor team player. Always has been. It was a different team now. And of course, a team without SGA. And without other depth. And without all the draft picks they would have used to make that would-be, non-PG, incredible situation even better as the years went on.

[clippertown]

Clippers are going to hold the line and run with their current squad next season. Kawhi has no value with $100M on the books, but in the 26/27 season he will be a very high performing expiring deal that is easily traded for a team looking for cap relief. Harden is likely to stay with the squad till he retires as he has less perceived value than he is actually worth. He will likely get an extension in the offseason. Clips will also try to keep Batum but I don't have high hopes. Next season will be about developing Kobe Brown and Jordan Miller who both look ready for more minutes.

As always, if Kawhi stays healthy the Clippers will likely be a play-in team. I think ensuring that Kawhi has a long season prior to him expiring, will be the focus of management so expect to see lots of load management. This season was our best shot, and it was not enough.

[TravisScott55]

Kawhi leaving a championship team was the stupidest decision a player has ever made.

Uh why?

Ironically if Kawhi stays healthy Clippers easily have at least one title right now.

Watch on YouTube

This was a franchise defining moment (for the worst)

what happened in 2020?