The Los Angeles Clippers enter the next season with the same championship hope they've had for the last four seasons. Let us take a look at who Tyronn Lue has to get them there.
The Los Angeles Clippers have spent the majority of their offseason sitting around and doing nothing. The only thing Jerry West has done so far this offseason was re-signing Russell Westbrook and Mason Plumlee and trading for Kenyon Martin Jr.
One of the reasons that the Clippers offseason has been relatively quiet is the trade request from James Harden. Harden, after spending a season and a half with the Philadelphia 76ers, has made it very clear that he would like to be traded to the Clippers. The 76ers have planned to not trade Harden so the Clippers are left here trying to keep their pieces in case Philly is ready to move on.
In the 2019 offseason, the Clippers made shocking headlines as they successfully signed for Kawhi Leonard and traded for Paul George. The Clippers instantly became title favorites and have maintained that perception over the last four seasons — and continued to disappoint year after year.
In the 2020 playoffs, they blew a 3-1 to the Denver Nuggets in the second round. In the 2021 playoffs, they made it to the Western Conference Finals but, due to an ACL tear for Leonard, they lost in six games to the Suns. They lost in 2022 in the Play-In to the Timberwolves and Pelicans with Leonard injured again and Paul George testing positive for COVID-19 before the second game. Last season, they lost in five games to the Phoenix Suns with Leonard and George once again dealing with injury.
Tyronn Lue has made it clear that part of the reason for their failures has been that they have not taken the regular season seriously. Hopefully, they finally will and let's take a look at Tyronn Lue's roster for the start of the 2023-24 season.
Los Angeles Clippers starting point guard: Russell Westbrook
Russell Westbrook had one of the strangest seasons last year. He played in 73 games, 52 of them with the Los Angeles Lakers, and came off the bench for 49 games. The remaining 21 games he played with the Clippers and started all of them.
During his time with the Lakers, Westbrook received massive amounts of criticism, and it was somewhat deserved due to his inefficient play. The Lakers eventually traded him to the Jazz and he was soon released. He signed with the other Los Angeles team, the Clippers.
In his new situation, Westbrook began to rewrite the script and change the narrative that he had with the Lakers. In those 21 regular season games with the Clippers, Westbrook averaged 15.8 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 7.6 assists on 49/36/66 splits. Then in the postseason, he looked like he was back in his prime where he averaged 23.6 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 7.4 assists on 41/36/88 splits.
Westbrook is a very unique player. In order for him to be effective, you have to put him in the right situation. That is why he was much more effective with the Clippers than with the Lakers; the Clippers had the right situation for him.
Westbrook is still one of the best players in the league at attacking. The Clippers have a lot of great shooters around him, which should make him more effective. With Russ being a pretty good playmaker, having those shooters around him should stuff his stat sheet with a ton of assists.
The one thing that we can't deny about Westbrook is that he'll die on every possession he plays, which is one of the reasons he's a great rebounder for his size. Even though he plays hard, sometimes he tends to get very wild where he'll have an untimely turnover and take a really bad shot. When those moments happen Lue will have to make the decision on whether or not to keep him in the game, if does decide to take them out, the Clippers have depth to make up for it.
Primary backup point guard: Nah'Shon (Bones) Hyland
At the trade deadline last season, the Clippers traded away Reggie Jackson for another point guard in Bones Hyland. He only played 14 games with the Clippers and, in those games, he averaged 10.8 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 3.4 assists on 40/35/75 splits.
Hyland was originally traded because he wanted a bigger role than what he had with the Nuggets, and he won't have that with the Clippers. Even so, Hyland at times can be a great spark plug off the bench for the Clippers. He is a natural scorer, shooter, and a very solid playmaker. These are all attributes a team wants from their backup point guard.
Hyland is part of an elite bench unit with the Clippers along with all the other stars they have on this team. Do not be surprised if he has his most impactful season in the league yet and will help lead this Clippers bench unit along with Norman Powell.
Others who could receive minutes: Jason Preston, Terance Mann, Norman Powell
The Clippers don't have another true point guard on their roster besides Russell Westbrook and Bones Hyland. They do have some substitutes, though. If either of those guys get hurt Jason Preston is their best choice. He was a second-round pick in 2022 and played in 14 games last season. Westbrook is an iron man so the odds of him being hurt are low and the Clippers have thrown in Terance Man as a point guard before so Preston probably won't receive any playing time.
Los Angeles Clippers starting shooting guard: Paul George
Despite being 6-foot-8, Paul George has primarily been the Clippers' shooting guard for the last four seasons. Last season for the Clippers, George averaged 23.8 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 5.1 assists on 46/37/87 splits and was selected to the All-Star team.
George can do everything on the basketball court for being 6-foot-8. He is a great scorer, has a great ball handle, plays great defense, and is an above-average playmaker. He does miss the superstar X-factor, which makes him the perfect No. 2 option on a championship team.
The only question mark that surrounds George is that he has been injury prone his entire time in LA. In his four seasons with the Clippers, Paul George has missed 119 games out of 308, which means he's missed 39 percent of games due to injury.
George is an unbelievable talent which makes his injuries all the more costly to the Clippers. Being one of the two stars on the team, the organization has taken it perhaps too easy with him where he is allowed to take load management spells, even if the team has desperately needed him. George needs to start taking the regular season seriously so the Clippers are able to earn good matchups in the playoffs and not be bounced early again.
Primary backup shooting guard: Norman Powell
The Clippers getting Norman Powell in 2022 was one of the best things they could have done for their team. He was a backup for them last season and, off the bench, he averaged 17 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 1.8 assists on 48/40/81 shooting splits while finishing fourth in the Sixth-Man of the Year voting.
Powell is one of the best bench players in the league and having him on an already deep team makes the Clippers more dangerous. Powell is a pure and efficient scorer who can give the team a nice kick if the starters are struggling.
Every great team has had a pretty good sixth-man, but the Clippers have a great one. When either George or Leonard inevitably gets hurt, Powell is a more than suitable scoring replacement. He has countless games in his time with this club where he's taken over when the Clippers stars have been hurt. He proved this in the postseason where he averaged 21.8 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 2.2 assists on 47/41/77 shooting splits.
Others who could receive minutes: Terance Mann, Nicolas Batum, Amir Coffey, Brandon Boston Jr.
The thing that makes the Clippers very unique is that they have great wing depth where almost all of the wings can play the two, three or four. It is more than likely that either Amir Coffey and Brandon Boston Jr. will be the other two players who will receive minutes if someone gets hurt. Coffey got more playing time last year than Boston Jr. but expect to see them both on the court at some point during the season.
Los Angeles Clippers starting small forward: Kawhi Leonard
There should be no shock from anyone that the Clippers starting small forward will be none other than Kawhi Leonard. Last season, Kawhi averaged 23.8 points, 6.5 rebounds, 3.9 assists, and 1.4 steals on career-best efficiency with 51/42/87 shooting splits.
Leonard's season got off to an expectedly slow start as he missed the entire 2021-22 season with an ACL tear. He began the season off the bench, missed the next 11 games, then started but playing on a minutes restriction until the midway point. He played like his old self while load managing throughout the season. Unfortunately, Kawhi only played two games in the playoffs because he tore his right meniscus.
This is not out of the ordinary for Leonard as we've seen him load manage and win a championship while doing so. Seeing as that only worked for one season, it's also time for him to take the regular season a little bit more seriously.
Despite all of his injury issues and down year, Leonard is still one of the best players in the NBA. He has turned himself into an elite three-level scorer, an all-time great defender with those giant hands. Most importantly, Kawhi has been a winner throughout his career.
Leonard is one of six active players to be the best player on a championship team. It is still a fact that Leonard can lead this Clippers team to a championship, but that won't be possible if he and Paul George don't make the decision to try in the regular season. When you get a good position in the playoffs, it can lead to great things.
Primary backup small forward: Terance Mann
Terance Mann is another great piece to this deep Clippers team. He had another great year off the bench where he averaged 8.8 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 2.3 assists on 52/39/78 splits. In the playoffs, Mann averaged 10.6 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 2.2 assists on 58/47/67 splits.
Mann has become one of the best role players in the league over the last three seasons. He has been a consistent 3-point shooter, scorer, rebounder, a very solid defender, and most importantly for the Clippers, he's always available. There isn't much else you can ask from a role player in today's NBA.
Since it is almost inevitable that Paul George and Kawhi Leonard will either be hurt or load manage, Mann will get to start a decent amount of games. In the games that Mann started last season, the Clippers went 16-20, so his impact is much greater when he comes off the bench.
Others who could receive minutes: Paul George, Marcus Morris Sr., Nicolas Batum, Norman Powell
Los Angeles Clippers starting power forward: Marcus Morris Sr.
Marcus Morris Sr. first arrived with the Clippers at the 2020 trade deadline and has been the starting power forward ever since. He played in 65 games and started all of those last season. He averaged 11.2 points, 4 rebounds, and 1.8 assists on 43/36/78 shooting splits.
As Morris is going into next season at age 34, there may be a decrease in his role. But when he does play, he gives the Clippers consistent 3-point shooting, all-around scoring, rebounding, and defense.
The only knock on Morris is that he can be very hot-headed at times. There will be moments where he gets too aggressive and commits a few flagrant fouls. There will also be times where he gets into a ref and picks up a couple of technical fouls. Hopefully, for the Clippers' sake, it doesn't come at an untimely moment.
Primary backup power forward: Nicolas Batum
Nicolas Batum was practically out of the NBA before he got one more chance with the Clippers and did he ever prove that he can still play. He has been on the Clippers' backup forwards for the last three seasons. Last season, Batum averaged 6.1 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 1.6 assists on 42/39/71 splits.
At this point in Batum's career, he has been left to be mainly a spot-up 3-point shooter. Since he has been with the Clippers, he shoots just under 40 percent from deep — you can't get much better than that. He is also a pretty solid defender for his age too.
Batum provides great floor spacing and defense, which will be huge when Russell Westbrook is playing. He also provides a veteran presence to help lead along with Paul George and Kawhi Leonard. A lot of the pieces on this team are pretty young, so Batum's experience can help out a lot.
Others who could receive minutes: Kawhi Leonard, Robert Covington, Kenyon Martin Jr.
Kenyon Martin Jr. is the newest acquisition for the Clippers. Since their power forward position is kind of old, having Martin's young legs will be useful. He played in all 82 games for the Rockets and had a career-year, averaging 12.7 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 1.5 assists on 57/32/68 splits. Martin is also versatile enough to play as a small forward as well in case Kawhi or George get hurt.
Los Angeles Clippers starting center: Ivica Zubac
The Clippers stole Ivica Zubac from the Lakers in the 2019 season, giving up Mike Muscala — and Zubac has been the Clippers' starting center since then. Last season, he had the best year of his career where he averaged 10.8 points, 9.9 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks (all career-bests) on 63 percent shooting from the floor.
As Zubac's career with the Clippers has gone on, his minutes have increased year after year. But expect his minutes to be around what they were last year, around 28 minutes per game. On offense, Zubac is primarily a screen setter and threat in the pick-and-roll. He doesn't have much of an outside game and that's why he doesn't play high minutes.
The most important aspect that Zubac brings is his defense. Zubac is one of two true big men from the Clippers and is by far their best rim protector and rebounder. With the majority of the Clippers roster being 6-foot-8 and under, Zubac's rim protection is key to not giving an opposing team a highway lane to the rim.
Primary backup center: Mason Plumlee
Mason Plumlee was another midseason pickup for the Clippers and he was a big one. The Clippers got another center to play behind Zubac so they wouldn't always have to play small quite as often. In his 23 games for the Clippers, Plumlee averaged 7.5 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 1.7 assists, shooting 73 percent from the field and 77 percent shooting from the free throw line.
Plumlee is going to play the same role that he played last year with the Clippers. He is there to set screens, be a lob threat in the pick-and-roll, and rebound. As the other true big man for the Clippers, Plumlee is very important to the Clippers. He was one of their best defenders in those 23 games and the perfect backup behind Zubac.
Others who could receive minutes: Robert Covington, Nicolas Batum
With the Clippers being extremely deep, Robert Covington could play as a small forward, power forward or center. The times that he will be used as a center are obviously if the Clippers want to play small. Last season, he played in 48 games and averaged 6.0 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 1.2 assists on 45/40/75 while having a team-best 110 defensive rating. He is the perfect 3-and-D player.