The Los Angeles Clippers have finished their season early by the Denver Nuggets and look forward to the offseason and possible moves.
The Los Angeles Clippers were expected to be one of the worst teams in the Western Conference after moving ahead from Paul George and starting the 2024-25 season with Kawi Leonard’s health.
Instead, they won 50 games and made the playoffs, but they ran into the Denver Nuggets in the first round.
The early exit is just the latest chapter in the Clippers’ disappointing playoff appearance. Some are urging LA to demolish the roster.
But one expert thinks it is a serious mistake.
Winning 50 games in the NBA season is impressive, and key stars on the roster – Leonardo and James Harden can’t blame the early exit. They played in the playoffs more than in the regular season, if not better.
With 10 players expected to return reasonably well next season, fans can expect to see the same roster next year, but that may not be a bad thing.
“And now people laughed, ‘Oh, you could trade Kawi. You could blow up the roster. You can’t sign Harden,” Bobby Marks chuckled after the Clippers were eliminated. “Stop it. 50 wins is a good season.
“You know, there’s a mood in this world at times. We’re all wrong because just rewarding a team that reaches the NBA Finals or wins a championship, everyone else has to be blown up. What would happen if Cleveland lost the series against Indiana? Come on, embarrassing.”
Leonard is still a top 15 player and the Clippers seem to have found a schedule to work for him, allowing them to be in top position in the postseason. By missing the first three months of the regular season, he could continue all seven games and seemed ready to play another powerful series the Clippers won.
The Clippers are expected to sign a one-year extension with him, putting him and Leonard on the same schedule if Harden opts for his $36.3 million option this summer. The duo forces Los Angeles to stay in “Win Now” mode until those salaries fall out of the book.
They have won 50 under their belts and proved that they can actually win now.
The Golden State Warriors are tied to Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green for the same window. All five stars are aging and past prime, but they can play victory basketball, and the Clippers and the Warriors both stay on the course. They really don’t have any other options.
“What happens is that it looks like two versions of the Clippers,” Marks continued.
“Like what Golden State is experiencing, you’ll be looking at the two-year window version version. But after two years, you’ll see the two-year version, which is basically alongside Kawhi Leonard.
“And basically, when you reach the summer of 27, that’s basically when you’re doing Letours.
By the time Leonard, Harden, Curry, Butler and Green are out of the book, the draft topics that both teams spent building their cores have already been used by other teams, allowing them to begin a natural rebuild. As for the shots of winning the title, it’s hard to say that it’s not worth it if both teams are thought to be lacking this season.