I am fully aware that it is still early in the 2016 NBA free agency bonanza, and although the market has officially dried up there is nothing to say that teams won’t make huge roster moves or shake-ups through trades in the next few months leading up to the 2016-17 season. Where we stand though, after a tele novela-esque offseason last year and numerous trade rumors circling around Blake Griffin in February the Clippers roster essentially looks identical to the way it did at this time last year.
Is that a good thing? I say no.
The Clippers currently have very little opportunity to compete with the “Splash Family” Warriors or the freshly Gasol-ed Spurs in the west and with their two biggest stars able to opt out of their current deals for a mega deal in the $150-$200 million range in 2017, the status quo and hoping for different results seems like a risky move.
Chris Paul is 31 and you don’t have to do much research to see how rare it is for an elite point guard to continue to play at an elite level into their mid-30s.
The list is slim:
John Stockton
Steve Nash
Gary Payton
Chauncey Billups
Numerous others including Isiah Thomas, Magic Johnson, Kevin Johnson, Walt Frazier and now Tony Parker but their production dipped dramatically by the time they reached 32 or 33.
Paul is going to want to win a ring and solidify his legacy and it seems as though this Clippers team, as constructed, is just not quite good enough to do that.
The Clippers two biggest issues (besides Blake Griffin punching equipment guys) last season were depth in general and finding a small forward who is an average to above average NBA defender and isn’t a complete zero as an offensive player.
It was also the lack of a dependable backup point guard who can limit the amount of wear and tear on Chris Paul and command the offense adequately while not being a defensive liability. That is not Austin Rivers.
Rivers is an inefficient point guard that only averaged 2.4 assists per 36 minutes and is a minus defender.
The Clippers had an opportunity through the draft and the cap rise this offseason to make some real improvements to their team, namely adding a tow-way 3-and-D type wing, a better backup point guard and a backup big man who can play the four or five and stretch the floor for spacing. They did find the backup big man who can spread the floor and play the four or five in Marreese Speights.
In order to address their other needs though they have spent $34 million in salary this season to re-sign Jamal Crawford, Austin Rivers, Wesley Johnson and Luc Richard Mbah A Moute. They also selected Brice Johnson with the 25th pick of the 2016 NBA Draft.
They could have used that same money to sign a great 3-and-D wing like Kent Bazemore or Courtney Lee, signed a backup point guard like Ramon Sessions or Ish Smith or drafted one like Tyler Ulis.
Let me break it down like this: Instead of Crawford, Rivers, Brice Johnson and Wesley Johnson, the Clippers could have drafted Dejounte Murray out of Washington to be their younger, much cheaper Jamal Crawford and signed Kent Bazemore and Ramon Sessions/Ish Smith in addition to their signing of Speights and still spent about $34 million exactly. They would still be able to bring back Mbah A Moute for the $2.25 million salary he is currently slated for.
This would have made the Clippers much more athletic, younger, quicker, deeper and more equipped to compete in the western conference.
They wouldn’t have to depend on a 36-year-old Jamal Crawford, an offensively challenged Mbah A Moute, an NBA vagabond in Wes Johnson and Austin Rivers for huge contributions to add their core four players: Paul, Griffin, Jordan and Reddick.
The Clippers may very well win 50-60 games yet again in the west but they have done nothing at this point to improve and better position themselves to actually take the next step and compete for an NBA title in 2017 and that is a mistake.
