They say that it never rains in southern California. Well, global warming and LA sports teams will beg to differ. Southern Cal has been devastated by a deluge of rainstorms over the past few weeks. Their sports teams have also been overwhelmed as the seasonal graveyard is filled with the broken dreams of USC, the LA Rams, the Chargers, the Dodgers… basically every major sport. The NBA’s LA Clippers could finally be healthy for the playoffs and are guaranteed to be buyers at the trade deadline. As the only hope for Los Angeles, let’s see what the Clippers need to improve.
Clipped Dreams
Four years ago, the Clippers welcomed three-time NBA champion Kawhi Leonard fresh off a championship run with the Toronto Raptors. They paired him with All-Star Paul George via a massive trade with the Oklahoma City Thunder. The acquisitions were seismic moves at the time, and the Clippers threatened to upend the NBA hierarchy.
The two players are electric when they are both on the court. The team pairs arguably the two best two-way forwards in the entire league. Leonard and George are each capable of 40 points and double-digit rebounds while simultaneously shutting down the opposition on defense. The problem has been keeping both players healthy. Kawhi has missed a whopping 125 Clipper games due to injury. The games lost include all of last season with an ACL injury. Before that, he was a two-time NBA Finals MVP and two-time Defensive Player of the Year. His accolades and experience make his presence and leadership essential.
Paul George carried the Los Angeles Clippers to their first-ever Western Conference Finals appearance in 2021. Progress! However, the four-time All-Defensive player played 85 games in the two seasons before this one. 82-game seasons require more participation to develop chemistry.
Fast forward to 2023, and the Oklahoma City Thunder are tied in the loss column with the Clippers. How is the team that traded you an All-Star competing on your level? OKC has future Clipper draft picks and Chet Holmgren preparing for his debut. The Clippers have the second-highest payroll in the league at over $192 million. George and Leonard each make $42 million a year. Something has to give, right?
The Trade Deadline
The NBA trade deadline is February 9, 2023. In most instances, the deadline is a team’s last chance to improve significantly before the playoffs. The Clippers have an immediate need for improved point guard play. What they currently have on the roster are shooting guards masquerading as point guards in Reggie Jackson and Terance Mann. Additionally, they have former All-Star John Wall, a sieve on defense who has lost many games to injury since 2017.
The disorganization on the court is apparent on offense. The Clippers rank near the bottom of the league in turnovers per game. Some possible trade options for the LA Clippers include Fred VanVleet from the Toronto Raptors and Kyle Lowry from the Miami Heat. I’ll spare you the trade scenarios, but the rationale is straightforward. The Raptors would do it since retaining VanVleet still parks them at 12th in the Eastern Conference (they should tank for French star and future number-one pick Victor Wembanyama). The Heat would do it because the Lowry partnership has produced few net positives for them on the court, and they seek more size. Lowry and VanVleet were teammates with Leonard during the Raptors’ championship season.
The Clippers also need length in the middle to protect the paint. I’d like to know how the Clippers rank 19th in blocks per game because I have watched the Clippers in person this season. They have zero rim protection. The LA Clippers should make trade offers for the Orlando Magic’s Mo Bamba or the Indiana Pacers’ Myles Turner. The Magic have the number one overall pick Paolo Banchero and a slew of other centers. Bamba has one team-friendly year left on his contract after this season, so he is most valuable to trade at the deadline. Bamba’s 3.7 blocks per game dwarf the typical Clipper output. The former University of Texas Longhorn Myles Turner has similar block numbers and led the league in blocks twice in his career. Turner stated this season that he would welcome a trade to Los Angeles (across the hall to that other team, though).
The Other Team in Los Angeles
It is incredible to think of the Los Angeles Lakers as the other LA team, but it’s true. The Lakers have had their share of injury woes (somewhat mitigated by the NBA Championship they won during the pandemic bubble playoffs in 2020). Their entire 2023 season revolves around watching NBA superstar and future Hall-of-Famer LeBron James rack up points. James will surpass fellow Laker Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the most points in NBA history sometime next month.
A fully healthy Clippers team is better than the Lakers. The LA Clippers have more trade assets, a more experienced coach in Tyronn Lue, and management more willing to make a splash deadline move to salvage the season. And contend for a title with some injury luck. The Clippers and the Lakers share the same home stadium in Crypto.com Arena. Cryptocurrency is just as up and down as they are.
What is a Clipper
Fun facts, in case anyone was wondering! A Clipper is an old 19th-century name for a type of sailing ship previously prominent in San Diego Bay. Formerly the San Diego Clippers, the team moved to Los Angeles in 1984 and retained the same name. Several NBA teams have moved cities without switching team names. Now we have disparate name associations like the Utah Jazz (formerly of New Orleans) and the Memphis Grizzlies (originating in Vancouver). The Clippers franchise was first born in New York as the Buffalo Braves before relocating to San Diego and changing the name in 1977.
Catch up on all the NBA teams here with my New Year’s resolutions for the Western Conference and Eastern Conference teams.
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