PLAYA VISTA, CA – Entering what very much feels like a do-or-die season for the Los Angeles Clippers, the plan appears to be continuing to build around Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, as well as the potential return of Russell Westbrook.
Following a rather uneventful 2023 NBA Draft in which the Clippers selected two of the four oldest players in Kobe Brown and Jordan Miller, President of Basketball Operations Lawrence Frank met with members of the media, where he addressed everything from the draft selections and the health status of Kawhi Leonard to the future of Paul George and the plans for the point guard position.
Despite entering the final year of their deals before they can both potentially opt-out and enter unrestricted free agency, the Clippers say they want to continue the roster construction with a focus on complementing Kawhi Leonard and Paul George.
“It's still the plan,” Lawrence Frank said on Thursday night. “What we are trying to do is how can we put together the best team around these guys and we look at the different things. What worked, what hasn't worked, the job that we have to do better, the job that we challenge our players to continue to do better. But yes, we're trying to maximize these two and figure out ways that we can get better.”
Leonard and George will be entering their fifth year together as members of the Clippers, and the pair haven't been able to finish a season healthy together since the 2020 NBA bubble in Orlando. Here's a summary of how their first four seasons ended:
The Clippers haven't had either of their two stars to close out the last two seasons, making their tenure all the more frustrating. Paul George just turned 33 years old in early May and Kawhi Leonard will turn 32 at the end of June.
“I think they are disappointed with the way our season ended,” Frank added. “They are disappointed that they couldn't finish the season. With both those guys, they take unbelievable pride in trying to do something that's never been done here as Clippers, and so it's incredibly frustrating for them, especially not to be on the floor, to be able to do what they came here for.
“Those guys are very determined. They are great workers. We are fortunate. Our two best players, they like, appreciate and respect each other, and their teammates like and respect them. We will continue to do a better job in all areas, how we can get better, and hopefully we get some better fortune that at least we see where we're at because this is a very competitive league.
“I think one of the lessons that we learned and we talked about it when we sat down last time, is the importance of those every day habits. I mean, Denver was the best team in the Western Conference for basically the entire year and they proved to be the best team in the world.”
Both Kawhi Leonard and Paul George will earn $45.64 million for the 2023-24 season and have the ability to opt out of the final year of their deals in 2024-25, which would pay each player around $48.79 million.
Although their specific dates are different, both Leonard and George are eligible to sign contract extensions worth up to $220 million over four years this offseason. That would mean each player would earn an average of *gulp* $55 million per season.
Is a four-year, $220 million extension worth giving to one player who missed a whole regular season and two postseasons due to a torn ACL in addition to a third postseason because of a torn meniscus in the same knee most recently?
How about a four-year, $220 million extension for a player who has played just 61 percent of games with the franchise due to hamstring, toe, knee, and elbow issues over the last four seasons?
President of Basketball Operations Lawrence Frank declined to reveal whether he expects Kawhi Leonard and/or Paul George to sign those extensions this summer.
“It's premature because Kawhi is, I think he's July extension eligible, and Paul is [eligible] in September. We do talk about kind of what the plan is, but we really can't get into those specifics until the appropriate date. And we'll just have the dialogues as we do. We'll just have very, very honest and open conversations and see if there's something that makes sense for all sides.”
Kawhi Leonard came back from his torn ACL and played at a level everyone was used to seeing him at within a few weeks. At this point, there are no doubts about Leonard's ability to lead and consistently carry his teammates in the playoffs.
But that right knee of his has been through a lot. Right quadriceps tendinopathy late in San Antonio, right knee tendinitis in Toronto, a torn right ACL and a torn right meniscus in Los Angeles.
The question with Leonard is will the two-time Finals MVP's body be able to make it through a load-managed 82-game season and an entire postseason? Leonard hasn't been able to since 2020, and that featured a three-month hiatus due to COVID-19.
Paul George's consistency as a superstar and how significantly it has dropped off since his arrival in Los Angeles is also a real concern for a team that may have to sign him to that type of extension. Whether it's the inability to stay healthy, the mind-boggling turnovers, the lack of desire to be the primary ball-handler, or the struggles to embracing being the number one option, the Clippers have not gotten the George they thought they were getting in 2019.
Since his return from a broken leg with the Indiana Pacers in 2015 until the end of his tenure with the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2019, Paul George played 312 out of a possible 328 games. That's a whopping 95.1 percent of games! Over four seasons with the Clippers, George has played in 189 of a possible 308 games. That just won't cut it.
As far as point guard Russell Westbrook, the Clippers remain open to bringing him back. The most the team can offer him is a minimum deal, and most consider that to be much less than he could command on the open market.
“Very much so,” Lawrence Frank stated when asked if the hope is still to bring back Westbrook. “Now, Russ is an agent and he gets to choose, as he's shown. He did a phenomenal job during his time with the Clippers. He's obviously had a Hall-of-Fame career, one of the Top-75 of all time. We want Russ back, but also respect the fact that he's a free agent and has the right to choose. Hopefully we can keep him a Clipper.”
Westbrook has been linked to numerous teams this summer, including the Miami Heat and New York Knicks. There's a feeling that Westbrook could take the discount and re-sign with the Clippers, which would then give them his Early Bird Rights, allowing them to re-sign him to a first-year salary of up to the greater of 175% of his salary in the last season of his prior contract or 105% of the average player salary for the prior season.
If the plan is to run back this iteration of the Kawhi Leonard and Paul George Clippers with Russell Westbrook at the point guard position, there will surely be some level of disappointment. Although the trio hasn't played more than two handful of games together, there's a weariness of seeing a supposed championship contender being put together in June only to be injured again and playing from behind by December.
Aside from that, Paul George's claim that Russell Westbrook was, ‘the leader that we need at the point guard position going forward,' is somewhat alarming considering George is paid handsomely to be *THAT* leader, and Westbrook was a buyout addition with 21 games left in the regular season. He played very well, especially on the defensive end, but is still relatively easier to gameplan for in the postseason than other guards.
Paul George on Russell Westbrook:
“I'm definitely vouching for him to come back. I just think he brings so much to his team… I just think he's the leader that we need at the point guard position going forward and would love to have him back.”pic.twitter.com/Ai7e0oAiNM
— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) April 25, 2023
Russell Westbrook also brings a pace that no one on this Clippers team can, and his availability is something to value considering neither of the big guns on the team have proven they can play more than a few games without picking up an injury. His highly respected voice and leadership is also something the Clippers sorely lacked since the departure of Patrick Beverley in 2021.
At the same time, how sustainable is Westbrook's great 21-game stretch to close out the Clippers' season? Historically, he's a 44 percent scorer from the field and 30 percent three-point shooter, Westbrook shot 50 percent from the field and 36 percent from three. That doesn't mean it can't happen, and playing alongside Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, as well as the shooters the Clippers have is probably his best chance to be efficient.
Does it make sense to run it back with him as your starting point guard for the regular season only to have to change up your process because of how he's being defended in the postseason? What does that mean for Terance Mann, who still doesn't have a defined role four years into his NBA career despite only being a positive when he plays? And what about Bones Hyland, a 22-year-old guard just begging for an opportunity to show what he can really do?
When asked about the Clippers' point guard situation and if that player is one they need to add — Russell Westbrook — or it's one already on the roster — Terance Mann and Bones Hyland —, Lawrence Frank deferred to the usual, ‘Tyronn Lue can adapt,' line.
“I think, yes, in the sense that what I would say is the great thing about Ty is he is highly adjustable,” Frank responded. “The term traditional point guard refers to tradition. We've seen them. What we are looking for is who can initiate an offense that can get the ball to Kawhi and PG in their spots, who can push tempo, play with pace, who can run pick-and-roll and make pick-and-roll reads.
“Now, that's a traditional point guard. I think we saw with Russ, Russ can make passes that some of our other guys can't make. But I think the more guys that can initiate, we talked about this before, you look at the teams beating us, they don't all have a traditional point guard. In fact, I would challenge you to say very few do. They play to their best players. Point guard of the Nuggets is probably Jokic. Jamal Murray is quote, unquote the point guard. Golden State, like Steph is one of the all-time great but you could argue Draymond is the trigger. For Miami, Gabe Vincent starts at the point but Bam is the trigger man.
“So I think you have to play off your best players and play to their strengths, but I think with Ty, we are trying to do everything we can to get the players that he likes and I think Ty also does a great job of like, hey, front office is trying their best but I'm also going to be flexible and adaptable. We have good players and I'm going to do my best to take advantage of their abilities.”
After their season ended early again in April 2023, Frank mentioned the need to get younger, more athletic, healthier, and to a point where the team respects the regular season.
Those are still needs and goals for team entering free agency next week.
“In team building, the draft is just one part of the process,” Frank explained. “We'll have free agency. That starts in a week. Then there will be different opportunities in terms of looking for different avenues that will make the team better, and we'll be very intentional about our goals, and look, sometimes you're able to achieve many of your goals prior to training camp. Sometimes it's going to be something you have to do along the way.
“[New General Manager] Trent [Redden] has said this since the time we started to work together: the team you have in June isn't necessarily the same team you have in February or the same team you have in April. So it's a methodical process. The group does a great job with their planning and preparation. You try to identify targets. Sometimes you can obtain those guys. Sometimes you can't.
“I think it's still the same. We are looking for a better balance between guys in their pre-prime and on the other side of it, I think that's important. So we'll continue to work hard and try to find the best fits.”
The NBA Draft may be over, but Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, and the Clippers are still on the clock. Their clock runs until the end of the 2023-24 season, which could effectively see the end of the 213 era in Los Angeles as they head into their new arena: The Intuit Dome.
Follow Us
Subscribe