It’s May and Clippers basketball is a long way away. The long wait feels eternal as teams remaining in the playoffs battle for the title. Meanwhile, Clipper fans are forced to root for teams they despised just a season ago. But with no basketball in LA, the churns of trade machines and machinations of jersey swaps are running rampant. In light of this, I dig into potential offseason moves for the LA Clippers to make in order to achieve the ultimate goal next season.
Potential Offseason Moves for the LA Clippers
There are many scenarios for the Clippers coming into this offseason. But what moves are necessary and which are merely flashy? From pursuing stars to signing point guards, the options are plentiful.
Pursue a Point Guard
The offseason move that feels the most necessary (apart from re-signing) free agents, is to pursue a point guard. Whether it be a backup or a starter is a different story. If a backup is most desired, there are plenty of options.
Personally, Delon Wright makes the most sense for this iteration of the Clippers. The southern California native has solid experience under his belt. What makes him the most intriguing fit, is his length at 6″5 and sneaky pursuit of rebounds. Consequently, adding him to LA’s backup unit gives them a defensive-minded player that contrasts with Reggie Jackson. Wright and Norman Powell, Terance Mann, and Nicolas Batum (if he opts in) give the Clippers excellent and playable guys in the postseason. Additionally, it gives them a good foundation for players to win games in the regular season. Assuming their stars do not play all 82.
There are other options such as Dennis Schroder, Goran Dragic, and Tyus Jones. Heck, even pursuing John Wall on a buyout, Malcolm Brogdon via trade, or somehow Kyrie Irving(?) are all possibilities. While it truly depends on the market, the Clippers’ ability to afford younger players like Jones and Wright could be stricken. So settling for vets like Schroder and Dragic may be in the works. But with this front office, nothing is for certain. And we should look for them to make a potential move, even if it surprises us.
Swing on Rudy Gobert
A popular trade buzzing around the Clippers-sphere is acquiring a three-time defensive player of the year, Rudy Gobert. With the Utah Jazz seemingly in shambles after their loss to the Dallas Mavericks, it appears a roster blow-up is inevitable.
I won’t lie, at first I was enamored with the defensive potential. The lineup of Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, Robert Covington, Batum, and Gobert can be the basketball equivalent of Alcatraz. I cannot imagine a team scoring on that defense with ease.
But, there are definitely drawbacks to acquiring Gobert. The first is his contract. Gobert is made $35M last season. And the annual amount goes up each year. But with Gobert, you do get what you pay for in an elite rim protector and roller that can change the complexion of a game. The biggest concern is his fit with Ty Lue’s small ball philosophy. Lue clearly has an identity that he shows down the stretch. It’s a reason why the front office loaded up on wings in order to help maximize his abilities as a coach. If Gobert can buy into potentially not playing in crunch time, great. But having $40M+ sitting on the bench in critical moments when it could be used on other areas is definitely the biggest gripe I have about the fit.
Standing Pat
Many have said after the Clippers’ trade with the Portland Trail Blazers that landed them Powell and Covington that they would be favorites in the 2022-23 season. And who can blame them? The wing depth and scoring punch under contract in Leonard, George, Jackson, Powell, Marcus Morris, and Luke Kennard is a force to be reckoned with.
While a ton of talent is already under contract, the Clippers need to retain potential free agents. This starts with exercising the club option to keep center Ivica Zubac for another season. Zubac is a stout defender and rim protector. And is a reason why the Clippers were able to be a top-10 defense in the league. His understudy Isaiah Hartenstein is also a reason for their success on that end. Hartenstein is a free agent and will demand a solid amount of money considering he is coming off a great season. Keeping him would be ideal as they can retain his playmaking and rim protection off the bench.
The Clippers may have to move a contract to retain their free agents. Whether it be Kennard or Morris, it is the right thing to do if they want to retain key connectors and versatility coming into the season. The front office already showed their first priority by extending Covington for two years. And with next season being a massive opportunity, they cannot afford to mess it up.
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