This was the season a lot of things went right for the Clippers: James Harden stayed healthy and played in 79 games, Kawhi Leonard was healthy at the end of the season and heading into the playoffs, Norman Powell and Ivica Zubac each took steps forward and had career years, and the franchise opened the impressive new Intuit Dome. In a deep Western Conference, the Clippers finished with 50 wins — despite letting Paul George walk out the door for nothing last summer — and were the No. 5 seed.
Los Angeles also got bounced in the first round of the playoffs for the third straight year — this time by Denver, with Harden and Leonard fading as the series went along.
Does that mean this era of Clippers basketball has played out to its logical conclusion, and it’s time for a radical change?
Don’t bet on it. While there is a segment of the fan base — and plenty of national analysts who root for chaos — calling for the Clippers to tear it all down and rebuild, that’s not a real option. Los Angeles doesn’t control its own pick until 2030, which takes that path off the table. While the Clippers could go big — they are rumored to be one of the teams that would try to get in a Giannis Antetokounmpo sweepstakes if he asks for a trade — that all coming together is a long shot.
Instead, expect the Clippers to add a little, not subtract, and run it back next season with Harden and Leonard.
“I definitely believe in those two…” said Lawrence Frank, Clippers president of basketball operations, at his postseason press conference, via the Associated Press. He later added that Los Angeles can take a step forward with players like Powell, Zubac and Nicolas Batum (who has a player option).
“It was great that we were healthy for the first time in a long time, but that doesn’t mean you only get one shot at it,” Frank said. “We’ll keep on taking cracks at it and at the same time, we’ve always been open-minded and learning from the errors of our ways and finding areas where we can correct them and get better.”
Frank went on to praise both of his biggest stars.
“There’s another level for [Leonard] out there that he’s going to get to next year,” Frank said, noting he missed the opening months of the season coming off knee surgery. “I think looking at next year that we can be better with more games from Kawhi…
“We have a great level of appreciation for what James did this year. I’m going in with the intent that if he doesn’t pick up his option that we’re going to be able to reach an agreement that works well for James and works well for the Clippers.”
Harden is not expected to pick up his $36.4 million player option, looking for the security of a longer deal at age 35. Frank said he was open to talking to Harden about that, and the Clippers have the flexibility to give him a raise, use the mid-level exception to add talent, and still not move into the luxury tax. Los Angeles also can talk extension with Powell. However, the Clippers have set themselves up to make a pivot in the summer of 2026, with cap space and expiring contracts that would let them change course. They want to keep that path on the table as well.
This means that next year’s Clippers will look a lot like this year’s Clippers, which was a good team, even if it had a ceiling.
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