Imagine trading and/or losing your five best players, but still competing for the playoffs with veterans and intriguing young players while having a legitimate pitch to high-profile free agents: you'd be the Los Angeles Clippers.
The 2018-19 season projected to be a season of uncertainty for the Clippers. They were a year removed from trading Chris Paul to the Houston Rockets and losing guards J.J. Redick and Jamal Crawford to free agency while trading Blake Griffin before the 2018 NBA trade deadline. They also lost All-Star center DeAndre Jordan to free agency in the offseason.
When you are devoid of your five best players and compete in a stacked Western Conference, more likely than not you're going to miss the playoffs and embrace a retooling project. While that may very well have been the case five months ago, the Clippers are currently tied with the San Antonio Spurs for the seventh seed in the West at 37-29. How is it possible?
They have a healthy balance of proven veterans and blossoming young players.
Before getting traded to the Philadelphia 76ers, forward Tobias Harris was having an All-Star caliber season, and Boban Marjanovic was one of the most reliable reserve big men in the NBA. Averaging a team-high 20.9 points and 7.9 rebounds per game, Harris was the focal point of head coach Doc Rivers' offense and their most significant figure. He was attacking the rack, playing at a high level on both ends of the floor, and shooting career-highs from the field (49.6) and beyond the arc (43.4). Meanwhile, Marjanovic was finishing inside and serving as a rim protector.
Harris and Marjanovic, as well as Mike Scott were dealt to the 76ers for two first and second-round draft picks, guard Landry Shamet, forward Wilson Chandler (who hasn't yet played for the Clippers), and big man Mike Muscala (who the Clippers later traded to the Los Angeles Lakers). But Harris and Marjanovic haven't been the only veterans to give the Clippers reliable production.
After a captivating season where he averaged 22.6 points per game and won the Sixth Man of the Year Award, guard Lou Williams has continued to be one of the best scorers in the association this season. Averaging 19.8 points and 5.4 assists per game in just 26.4 minutes a night, he has been efficient, in regards to getting to the rim and scoring, shooting off the dribble, and finding the open man. Without him the Clippers offense would go up in flames.
After an injury-riddled debut season with the Clippers, Danilo Gallinari has retuned to being a steady frontline scorer. Averaging 18.9 points and six rebounds per game while shooting a career-best 45.1 percent from the field and 42.9 percent from beyond the arc, he has been an integral source of offense for the Clippers. Whether it be playing in isolation, playing out on the perimeter, or finishing inside, Gallinari is a well-rounded scorer.
Like Gallinari, point guard Patrick Beverley saw his debut season with the Clippers get cut short due to injury, but he has returned to his old ways. Beverley doesn't provide an electric scoring presence, but he's one of the best defenders at his position, can get in players' heads, and is a respectable outside shooter (Beverley is shooting 39.0 percent from beyond the arc this season).
Since coming over in trades with the 76ers, Lakers, and Memphis Grizzlies, Shamet, as well as big men Ivica Zubac and JaMychal Green have assisted the Clippers on a nightly basis; Shamet is averaging 12.4 points per game while shooting an astonishing 46.2 percent from beyond the arc; Zubac is averaging 8.4 points and 7.3 rebounds per game in just 19.2 minutes a night; Green is averaging 8.9 points and seven rebounds per game in just 19.7 minutes a night.
Then there's the Clippers youth movement.
While they have several young individuals, rookie point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and forward Montrezl Harrell, in particular, are beginning to look like franchise players.
While the 10.0 points, three assists, and 2.7 rebounds per game Gilgeous-Alexander is putting forth don't scream excellence, they don't tell the full story. He's a lockdown defender capable of using his 6-foot-6 frame to agonize ball-handlers, handle the rock, and has been a steady force in the team's rotation. Plus, he's just 20.
On the other hand, Harrell has come into his own as one of the best young forwards in the NBA. Averaging 16.2 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks per game, he's a leading candidate to win the Sixth Man of the Year Award. Whether it be finishing inside, hitting the boards on both ends, finding his teammates, locking down his man, or finishing off fastbreaks, Harrell has been a two-way force for the Clippers.
While he has endured a discouraging rookie season, management likely won't call it quits with guard Jerome Robinson, considering they selected him with the 13th pick in last year's draft.
A great head coach gets the most out of his players. Brad Stevens did it in the 2018 playoffs when the Boston Celtics were playing without Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward; Gregg Popovich has always gotten players to step up and fill voids on both ends; Rivers is doing the same with the Clippers this season.
Rivers has taken heat throughout his entire Clippers' tenure. Whether it be Jordan's chaotic 2015 free agency, his relationship with Paul, treatment of his son, Austin, when he was on the Clippers, or decisions he made in his time as team president, Rivers has garnered mixed reviews. But this season is some of his finest work. He's getting contributions from several players, managing his rotation well in the face of constant roster change, and has no star players. Heck, the Clippers went into Thursday night seventh in the NBA in points per game (114.1), 10th in field goal percentage (46.8), and second in three-point shooting percentage (38.3).
How does this not warrant Rivers being a Coach of the Year candidate?
The Clippers project to have roughly $60 million in cap space this offseason — which is second in the NBA. With the likes of Irving, Kevin Durant, Kawhi Leonard, Klay Thompson, Kemba Walker, and Jimmy Butler set to be free agents, the Clippers will have the cap space to potentially squeeze two of those high-profile players under the cap. If they added one of them and a second-tier free agent, so to speak, the Clippers would be competing with the best in the West next season.
Even though this summer could result in some veterans departing via free agency, the Clippers still have a highly regarded head coach, promising young players, and are the best basketball team in Los Angeles. While the Lakers have LeBron James and a deep young core, they're 6.5 games out of the playoffs and continually point fingers amongst themselves. How is joining a soap opera more attractive than an up-and-coming Clippers team?
How many teams in the NBA have lost stars, added veterans on team-friendly contracts to take their place, have a bright young core, cap space, are in the playoff race, and a lure to impending free agents? The answer is one.
The Clippers are the most uniquely-designed roster in the NBA.
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