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The Los Angeles Clippers entered the 2025 NBA playoffs with so much hope that they could finally get a fair shot at mounting a deep playoff run, what with Kawhi Leonard being healthy and looking like the superstar of yore. Leonard was especially brilliant in Game 2 of their first-round matchup against the Denver Nuggets (scoring 39 points on 79 percent shooting), which had Clippers fans dreaming of a potential championship push.
But in the end, the Clippers broke their fans' hearts yet again, losing Game 7 of their series against the Nuggets in heartbreaking fashion, 120-101, and seeing their season come to an end in the first round of the playoffs for the third consecutive season. And this time, they have no Leonard injury to hide behind as an excuse, unlike in 2023 and 2024.
A cursory look at the Clippers' cap table shows that, for better or for worse, they are locked into their current core, unless they decide to pivot and transform the team via trade. Nearly all of their key guys are under contract for next season, with only James Harden and Nicolas Batum having to address the player option that they have for the 2025-26 campaign.
The best bet for the Clippers to keep on competing is to run it back. They cannot yet start over, for they have no control of their first-round pick until 2030 at the earliest. This means that the number one priority for the team is to bring Harden back, especially when he was crucial in lifting them to 50 wins in the loaded West despite being thought of by many as the team that would fall off in the aftermath of Paul George's departure.
And on the trade market, their best option if they were to search for an upgrade is to dangle this veteran player.
The Clippers should dangle Bogdan Bogdanovic in a trade
The Clippers decided to move Terance Mann, former playoff hero, during this year's trade deadline in exchange for Bogdan Bogdanovic to bolster the team's floor-spacing. With the team having Derrick Jones Jr. and Kris Dunn on bargain deals, Mann's defense-first, glue-guy ways became superfluous, and the Clippers struck gold when they brought in the battle-tested Bogdanovic to give them another catch-and-shoot guy as well as someone who could create off the dribble in a pinch.
Bogdanovic, however, ended up struggling in the Clippers' seven-game series against the Nuggets. He averaged a paltry 6.4 points per game on 36.4 percent shooting from the field and 29.2 percent from beyond the arc while being a major defensive target in pick-and-rolls.
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While the shooting threat that Bogdanovic gives is welcome for any contending team, this year's playoffs have shown that the best way for teams to thrive in the grand postseason stage is to have as few defensive weaknesses as possible. The game is much faster and requires teams to cover so much ground due to the skill of the players on the court, which means that having as many stout defenders who aren't liabilities on offense is a must.
For the Clippers, it's all about finding a two-way balance, and against the Nuggets, they fell short in doing that in a more sustained manner. Derrick Jones Jr. and Kris Dunn, despite fortifying the team's defense, are always going to be dared to shoot (they shot 35.7 and 30.0 percent, respectively against the Nuggets), while Nicolas Batum is already 36 years of age and cannot handle a heavy minutes workload anymore.
To that end, the Clippers should look to add another 3-and-D wing in the mold of, say PJ Washington, and their best shot at doing so is by dangling Bogdanovic and his contract worth $16 million for next season.
Maybe someone like Jonathan Isaac could be of interest, but his three-point shot deserted him last season. Could someone like Herb Jones be attainable? His three-point shot isn't the best either.
The best target for the Clippers is Washington himself, although it's not likely for the Dallas Mavericks to trade him away anytime soon. Washington shot 38.1 percent from deep last season, has proven himself to be fearless in the playoffs, and is a stout defender who guarded the likes of Paul George, Jalen Williams, and Jaylen Brown during the Mavs' run to the NBA Finals in 2024.
Every team needs their own version of Washington; the Nuggets have Aaron Gordon to do that for them, someone who relishes doing the dirty work, fights hard on the glass, is a tenacious defender, and most importantly, never shies away from the moment. And the Clippers may want to test their luck and inquire about the Mavericks forward's availability.
