It’s been such an historic turnaround for the Los Angeles Clippers over the last several years, so much so that their championship aspirations have completely surpassed their entitled Laker neighbors. With star power, a championship coach, and some of the most exciting basketball in the league, the Clippers too quickly earned the burden of an expected title contender. It’s somewhat understandable considering their progress, but so far prematurely mistaken, and after ending the season by giving up a 3-1 series lead to the Houston Rockets in the conference semifinals, the Clippers still find themselves having to get over the proverbial hump.
Since Chris Paul was traded to LA in 2011, and then since Doc Rivers joined the Clippers organization as head coach and senior VP of basketball operations in 2013, there’s been a shuffling of experimental tweaks to the roster in attempt to fit the right pieces around the Clippers’ talent core. Those surrounding pieces have varied from the likes of Chauncey Billups to Grant Hill to Antawn Jamison to Stephen Jackson to Danny Granger and others who were called upon to provide that supplementary support. Doc Rivers initially made the most important progressive move in trading for J.J. Redick and Jared Dudley, much needed shooting threats in his vision for more of a motion-style offense. Dudley has since left, but Redick just played his best NBA basketball this past season averaging over 16 points per game in Rivers’ system. With more shooting and a concerted emphasis on spacing, movement, and pace, the Clippers were the top-rated team in offensive efficiency for the last two seasons. Despite how this season ended, enormous strides were made that can be capitalized on with their progress thus far in the offseason.
First and foremost, luring DeAndre Jordan away from his verbal commitment to the Dallas Mavericks was the most critical victory for the Clippers this offseason. Losing Jordan would have presented a significant transitional setback. But in terms of the Clippers enhancing the necessities of this current roster, even with Jordan, and having another shot at that championship legitimacy, this offseason should be considered productive.
The most glaring and criticized weaknesses in the Clippers roster were lack of productive depth (ranked 23rd in bench scoring at 29.7 points per game) and lack of athleticism on the wing. When it comes to the latter, signing Wesley Johnson can be of real value. Johnson gives the Clippers a younger, more athletic look than the veteran Matt Barnes, who is now with the Grizzlies, and is capable of effectively filling Barnes’ role as a runner, spacer, and filler on the wing.
Roster depth is key, but just as vital for the Clippers is playmaking depth. The Clippers need more willing initiators besides Chris Paul and Blake Griffin, who accounted for 1,192 of the team’s assists last season, which was more than the rest of the team combined (the next highest after Paul’s 838 and Griffin’s 354 was Jamal Crawford’s 158, per NBA Stats). Lance Stephenson is seen as a gamble for the Clippers due to his known antics and a dismal stint with Charlotte last season, but there’s no question that he was a worthy risk in this regard. Doc Rivers doesn’t intend to start him, putting Stephenson’s responsibility with the second unit, which outside of reliable sixth man Jamal Crawford is void of dynamic threats. Although Lance isn’t the prototypical system player, he has an eagerness to make plays which adds to the Clippers offensive dynamism. His willingness to do so within the offense may or may not determine his ultimate impact, and that will manifest his individual challenge.
Signing Paul Pierce has similar implications as Stephenson, but on a different scale. The Clippers having Pierce is invaluable from standpoints of leadership and a winning mentality. Though his role is minimized, the fact that Pierce still possesses the confidence to contribute and make big plays is beneficial for a team like the Clippers. Of all the veteran bodies that have passed through over the years, Pierce is probably the most capable of doing so.
Johnson, Stephenson, and Pierce, and even new signee and backup center Cole Aldrich each represent something the Clippers didn’t have prior. They also just signed rookie second-round draft pick Branden Dawson. Nevertheless, there are reasonable questions to be acknowledged and there is time left in the offseason. Some of those questions include if the Clippers will be trading Jamal Crawford, perhaps for another reserve big, if Doc Rivers can coach Lance Stephenson back to life, and how lineups might adjust with these new additions. As far as the remainder of the offseason, the Clippers might not even be finished.
Josh Smith and the Clippers are “still having conversations,” per source. But Smith is also “talking with several teams.”
— Brad Turner (@BA_Turner) July 13, 2015
Darrell Arthur is another reserve big said to be in the Clippers’ sights, as they are clearly in search of a new back up forward for Blake Griffin that isn’t named Glen Davis.
With the right attitudes, the Clippers have the potential on paper to return even more dangerous than they were this past season. The Clippers looked nothing short of championship-assured after dethroning the defending champion Spurs in a roller coast Game 7 in the first round of the postseason. Blake Griffin was playing like the best player of the entire playoffs, Austin Rivers had been cooking, and collectively they developed a visible, staunch confidence that only championship teams are able to develop and bottle up. Either that progress can go to waste, or the Clippers will bounce back with new versatility and look to once again evolve from where they were. Addressing needs in the offseason has progressed them over the last two years, and while their moves this offseason aren’t pendulum-shifting game changers, they have the potential to be the kind of moves that fill their final needs before marching towards true title contention.
If the Clippers continue to successfully round out their bench this offseason and make ample use of these new additions, their chances of reaching that undisputed legitimacy becomes much stronger than it might have ever been in seasons past.
