{"id":158367,"date":"2025-10-04T14:29:47","date_gmt":"2025-10-04T18:29:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=158367"},"modified":"2025-10-12T19:02:09","modified_gmt":"2025-10-12T23:02:09","slug":"los-angeles-clippers-burning-questions-heading-into-2025-26-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/10\/04\/los-angeles-clippers-burning-questions-heading-into-2025-26-season\/","title":{"rendered":"3 Burning Questions For Clippers Heading Into 2025-26 Season"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Los Angeles Clippers are heading into one of the most important seasons in franchise history with their name in the news for all of the wrong reasons, thanks to Steve Ballmer and Kawhi Leonard<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Clippers Play On The Court, Not In The Court<\/h2>\n

Fortunately for the Clippers, basketball isn’t played in the court of public opinion, let alone a courthouse. All they have to worry about is the glossed wood that spans 94×50 feet. Keeping that in perspective, they have a number of important questions that must be answered in 2025-26.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Sep
Sep 30, 2024; Inglewood, CA, USA; Los Angeles Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard (2) talks with team owner Steve Ballmer during media day at Intuit Dome. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Can Clips Compartmentalize Kawhi Leonard Contract Drama?<\/h3>\n

When the Clippers signed Leonard in 2019, they thought they had landed the Big Kahuna. He had just led the Toronto Raptors to the first championship in franchise history and the second of his career. His trophy case included two Finals MVP awards and two Defensive Player of the Year trophies. After coming into the league primarily known for his perimeter defense and 3-ball, he had developed into one of the most technically sound scorers in the league.<\/p>\n

To be fair, Leonard and the Clippers have reached the playoffs in five of the last six seasons. Yet, L.A. has had just one Western Conference Finals appearance and three first-round playoff exits. In that time, Leonard’s constant appearance on the injury report has been their biggest obstacle. Now, his strong-arm negotiating tactics<\/a> have culminated in an NBA investigation that puts his future with the franchise<\/a> in question.<\/p>\n

All of this looms over the 34-year-old as he prepares for Year 14. Facing the most scrutiny that he’s ever been under, will he be able to compartmentalize<\/a> and keep his focus on the game itself? Will his teammates?<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"\"
Sep 29, 2025; Inglewood, CA, USA; Los Angeles Clippers guard Bradley Beal (0) photographed during media day at Intuit Dome. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Will Offseason Additions Leave The Right Mark?<\/h3>\n

The Clippers made multiple offseason moves that could have the sun peeking through the clouds.<\/p>\n

John Collins<\/a> has been trying to find his way after peaking in his third season. In 2024-25, he was pretty close to his 2019-20 form, averaging 19.0 points, 8.2 rebounds and 1.0 block per game. Acquired by Los Angeles in a three-team July trade, the springy 6-foot-9 big man now gets the best pick-and-roll partner he has had since his days with the Atlanta Hawks in 2018 NBA MVP, James Harden<\/a>. He’s currently projected to start at power forward for the Clippers.<\/p>\n

Bradley Beal<\/a>\u00a0comes with much more individual success than Collins. After being bought out of his $53.7 million expiring contract by the Phoenix Suns, he signed with the Clippers for two years and $11 million. He’s now poised to start in place of Norman Powell<\/a>, who was traded to the Miami Heat as part of the deal that sent Collins to Los Angeles. As the Clips needed a starting wing who’s more dangerous in iso situations, replacing Powell with Beal should work out well.<\/p>\n

Chris Paul<\/a> is the biggest name to join Los Angeles this offseason. Retirement appears to be on the horizon for the 39-year-old, who isn’t expected to have a steady role in 2025-26. With that being said, Paul is back in his old digs but in unfamiliar territory<\/a>. Still, his body will likely be fresher in the playoffs than usual. Furthermore, even when he’s not on the court, his well-documented basketball IQ will be beneficial.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"James
May 3, 2025; Denver, Colorado, USA; LA Clippers guard James Harden (1) prepares to pass the ball in the second quarter against the Denver Nuggets during game seven of first round for the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

How Much Does James Harden Have Left?<\/h3>\n

The Clippers’ championship window is open but it probably won’t be for long. Frankly, age and durability concerns will likely follow them throughout the 2025-26 regular season and beyond. Rest assured, those issues will be magnified if or when they go on an extended losing streak.<\/p>\n

Given the questions about their age and health, the biggest question many may have about the Clippers is the same one they’ve asked year after year. Will Leonard be healthy? More to the point, will he be healthy in the playoffs, when it matters most? However, while Leonard’s ability to get through a season without a major injury is of supreme importance, so is Harden’s ability to play at an elite level<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Now 36 years old, there’s no doubt that Harden is on the decline. Yet, given where he was at the height of his powers, that’s a long way to fall. Therefore, they don’t necessarily need him to have vintage performances<\/a> night-in and night-out. If he can be even 75% of the player he was with the Houston Rockets, that’s a win for Los Angeles. Nothing from last season would suggest that he can’t but Father Time is sneaky<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, if Harden’s performances fall flat, they can turn to Paul if health permits. At the same time, Paul is even further into the twilight of his career. He also isn’t a naturally aggressive scorer. Just consider, while Harden averaged 22.8 points per game last season, Paul posted 8.8 points per game.<\/p>\n

\n

\u00a9 Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Los Angeles Clippers are heading into one of the most important seasons in franchise history with their name in the news for all of the wrong reasons, thanks to Steve Ballmer and Kawhi Leonard. Clippers Play On The Court, Not In The Court Fortunately for the Clippers, basketball isn’t played in the court of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5008,"featured_media":161487,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[27,1608,2,62,1248,3],"tags":[311,229,444,998,168,716],"class_list":["post-158367","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-clippers","category-basketball","category-featured","category-nba","category-nba-season-previews","category-news","tag-bradley-beal","tag-chris-paul","tag-james-harden","tag-john-collins","tag-kawhi-leonard","tag-norman-powell"],"modified_by":"Quenton S Albertie","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/158367","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5008"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=158367"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/158367\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":161490,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/158367\/revisions\/161490"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/161487"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=158367"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=158367"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=158367"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}