With their loss to the Mavs last night the Clippers are eliminated in 6 games. They go into the offseason with a lot of questions so lets see how it’s shaping up for them:
Cap Space
Cap Holds
Deadlines
Draft Picks
1st Round
2nd Round
Active Roster Contracts
Outlook
The Clippers go out in the first round with another year of Kawhi missing playoff games. They go into the offseason unsure of which key players outside of Kawhi will still be on the team next year. Harden is an unrestricted free agent, Paul George and Westbrook have player options, and they don’t control a first rounder until 2030.
They will likely try to run it back since they extended Kawhi already and are moving to the new $2 billion Intuit Dome and will need to sell tickets. They will have some optimism since there were stretches where the team looked like contenders but despite Kawhi playing the most regular season games since the 2016-2017 season he wasn’t healthy when it mattered most again leading to a back to back first round exits for the Clippers.
Call me crazy but I think Kawhi has shown he’s way past prime/dependable and his offensive play style doesn’t fit the run and gun NBA and since his body clearly can’t hold up for the season or even the playoffs what is the point of having him? Maybe one of the best wing defenders ever in his prime but those years are gone. Few players better if you need a bucket but he wants slow isos.
George, on the other hand continues to look like what you anchor around, with harden as ball dominant scorer, those two are compatible. Get rid of Russ.