LA Clippers off season moves

[PeteyPablo]

The Los Angeles Clippers lost to Denver Nuggets in 7 games in the first round of the playoffs. They could have advanced if not for some buzzer beater put back by Aaron Gordon in game 4 or some last minute turnovers in game 1.

The Clippers have resigned James Harden to a 2 year 80 Million deal. The second year is partially guaranteed.
They have Kawhi Leonard locked up for 2 more years.
They resigned Nic Batum to 2 years 11 million.
They signed Brook Lopez to 2 years 18 million.
They traded Norman Powel for John Collins.

The rumors circulating around are that the Clippers are a shoe in to sign Bradley Beal once he gets bought out. Chris Paul has also been linked to returning Los Angeles. If true , the roster is looking like this
below :

PG - James Harden , Cris Dunn , Ben Simmons
SG - Bradley Beal , Bogdan Brogdanovich
SF - Kawhi Leonard , Derrick Jones Jr
PF - John Collins , Nic Batum
C - Ivica Zubac , Brook Lopez


Third string :

PG - Patty Mills , Trenton Flowers
SG - Amir Coffey , Cam Christie
SF - Patrick Baldwin Jr
PF - Kobe Brown
C - Yanic Niederhauser



What are your thoughts or feed back ?

[Scoundreldays]

Looks solid but like the past 6 years it's been a question of health particularly Kawhi and now you have to factor in age with him and Harden

[ConSarnit]

If they can Beal for nothing they’ve done really well. The Clippers main problem is that Harden and Kawhi are no longer good enough to make them real contenders. I thought Kawhi might have turned the corner after that 39 point game but he just sort of went back to all-star level (when they need him to be MVP level if they want to contend).

[HardenGoat]

considering where they were when PG13 left for nothing they have done really well and look poised to have solid cap room come 2027. I think they would have eliminated Denver last year if they hadn't rewarded Jokics flopping. Still a darkhorse team but I have them landing around the 4 spot. Denver got better, Rockets got better, OKC is still the team to beat.

[UcanUwill]

Not going to be deep and just say that they sound old. It is interesting group of talent, but I would not bet on them getting into top 8.

[ShootersShoot]

Not going to be deep and just say that they sound old. It is interesting group of talent, but I would not bet on them getting into top 8.

They won 50 games last year and were 5th seed with kawhi missing 45 games and bogdanovic missing 50. They add collins and brook to the frontcourt while presumably not losing anything if they sign beal to replace powell...yet all of a sudden they drop out of top 8?

[NO-KG-AI]

Not going to be deep and just say that they sound old. It is interesting group of talent, but I would not bet on them getting into top 8.

They won 50 games last year and were 5th seed with kawhi missing 45 games and bogdanovic missing 50. They add collins and brook to the frontcourt while presumably not losing anything if they sign beal to replace powell...yet all of a sudden they drop out of top 8?

They might not slip this year, but 99.9% of times, old teams don’t age out slowly and gracefully. It crashes down all at once.

That said, given what they had to work with, I thought they had a nice off season. I feel like they’ve had the same mold for so long that clearly was neber gonna work. Just wings on wings. They still could use another real PG. But for once, I actually like the mix of bigs up front, and Kawhi and Harden is just such a better blend than Kawhi and PG.

[TheAlchemist]

I understand they're gonna get Bradley Beal, but I really feel giving away Norm was a big issue. The continuity with Harden was important. Who knows what Beal will fill in.

As well as Colins, might occupy some of the same spaces that Kawhi does.

I really thought their window was last year but they did lose to the better team in Denver and hardly put up the same fight (not a surprise with Harden led teams).

[Bobbymcgee]

Not on the team:
Ben Simmons
Amir Coffey
Patty Mills

[Optms]

Actually, they could have walloped the Nuggets if they had a competent 2nd option. Hell give Kawhi Aaron Gordon or Braun in place of Harden and its over in 6.

Instead they have the greatest choke artist of the modern era. And still took the Nuggets to 7 with that. Fast forward to now and how they are going into 2026 with Harden still on the roster is baffling. You are gonna get the same result.

[_NoMas]

They were a solid team last year with one glaring issue. Size. Kawhi was playing out of position at the 4, and any time Zubac sat they were giving up offensive rebounds galore. They now have a solid back up centre to play 12-15 reg season mins in the same drop coverage (Brook Lopez), and size and athleticism at the 4 in Collins (letting Lawhi go back to the 3).

If they can get Beal, this team is loaded and very much reminds me of the Pacers (Hali/ Siakam - Harden/Kawhi… a solid big and tons of depth). I can see a 4-5 seed finish and second round minimum.

[ShootersShoot]

Not going to be deep and just say that they sound old. It is interesting group of talent, but I would not bet on them getting into top 8.

They won 50 games last year and were 5th seed with kawhi missing 45 games and bogdanovic missing 50. They add collins and brook to the frontcourt while presumably not losing anything if they sign beal to replace powell...yet all of a sudden they drop out of top 8?

They might not slip this year, but 99.9% of times, old teams don’t age out slowly and gracefully. It crashes down all at once.

That said, given what they had to work with, I thought they had a nice off season. I feel like they’ve had the same mold for so long that clearly was neber gonna work. Just wings on wings. They still could use another real PG. But for once, I actually like the mix of bigs up front, and Kawhi and Harden is just such a better blend than Kawhi and PG.

It will be interesting to see how harden ages throughout the next few seasons. If I had to guess, I would say his age 37 season is when everything starts to unravel. Kawhi of course is expected to miss at least 20-30 games

[UcanUwill]

Not going to be deep and just say that they sound old. It is interesting group of talent, but I would not bet on them getting into top 8.

They won 50 games last year and were 5th seed with kawhi missing 45 games and bogdanovic missing 50. They add collins and brook to the frontcourt while presumably not losing anything if they sign beal to replace powell...yet all of a sudden they drop out of top 8?

And they are older now and Powell is not there anymore, Powell was huge for them, I do not believe Beal could replace that, not 1 to 1 at least.

[ShootersShoot]

Not going to be deep and just say that they sound old. It is interesting group of talent, but I would not bet on them getting into top 8.

They won 50 games last year and were 5th seed with kawhi missing 45 games and bogdanovic missing 50. They add collins and brook to the frontcourt while presumably not losing anything if they sign beal to replace powell...yet all of a sudden they drop out of top 8?

And they are older now and Powell is not there anymore, Powell was huge for them, I do not believe Beal could replace that, not 1 to 1 at least.

I agree powell is the better player. I dont think the drop off is that drastic if we consider the additions of collins and lopez to drop them 4 spots.

Which 4 teams will overtake them? Minny and maybe the warriors? I dont see any others capable of passing them.

[manlisten]

Their strength last season was defense and you would expect that to regress if they add Beal and CP3 along with Collins. Lopez was a target in the playoffs but might be at least serviceable in the regular season. Harden has been declining and Kawhi is Kawhi. They'll do well to avoid the lottery this season.

[God Squad]

Relying on Kawhi, Beal, and Harden seems like a fool's move, IMO.

[Up-And-Coming]

I understand the Beal to Clippers rumors but I’d wait until it happens. They certainly have a slot open for it but there’s still a lot of dominos to fall around the league and there’s a couple other spots that can offer him more money along with just as large a role if not larger.

I also think that slot may be filled with Chris Paul instead for his return and retirement tour.

With that said the Brook Lopez and John Collin’s acquisitions add size and were solid value additions. The Clippers do fall on the older side but assuming healthy they remain one of the better Western squads.

[zimpy27]

They will look excellent to the ASB, then a series of unfortunate events will hit them before playoffs.

It's the Clippers

[clippertown]

The Clippers have already had a fantastic offseason. They resolved a massive problem that has plagued them for more than 5 years. For the first time since Blake Griffin was traded, the Clippers now have a legitimate starting stretch power forward (and they also have a solid stretch Center backup).

For all the success the Clippers have had recently, it all came with Kawhi being forced to play the PF position. Now that the team is set with Collins, expect Kawhi to make a jump in productivity as a dominant wing (that and him being 100% healthy right now).

Beal and CP3 would be a bonus, but even if the team misses out on both of them, it will be a better team than was fielded last season.

[og15]

Not going to be deep and just say that they sound old. It is interesting group of talent, but I would not bet on them getting into top 8.

They won 50 games last year and were 5th seed with kawhi missing 45 games and bogdanovic missing 50. They add collins and brook to the frontcourt while presumably not losing anything if they sign beal to replace powell...yet all of a sudden they drop out of top 8?

Bogdanovic didn't miss 50 games, Mann was traded for Bogi at the deadline.

The thing about Kawhi missing games is that you can't now adjust the teams record for the next season with an assumption that he won't miss a lot of games.

The team has done well to make "win now" moves without sacrificing flexibility. That's what Frank et al kept trying to have people understand when PG was not resigned, you need to be flexible, especially with an older team/older players. Can't lock yourself into things like the second apron and limit your flexibility for a player like PG, especially at his age.