We're back again with another rendition of one of the poorest franchises in league history, the Los Angeles Clippers. They've managed to spend another season in the depths of hell at the bottom of CSL purgatory. Fans have been seen with "SELL THE TEAM" signs and players relish the opportunity to grab a free one in the win column whenever they see the LAC on their next game's scouting report. Despite being the laughing stock of the league, team ownership seem to be content raking in profits every season. They consistently sell out the Staples Centre, the benefit of being in the biggest market in the league.
Last season's Clippers were no different to previous renditions. Let's take a quick recap of last season to see how bad they truly were, and if there were any bright spots at all.
For starters, the GM made some ballsy moves in the offseason in an attempt to field a competitive roster; This failed miserably, as half the team and last season's signing were shipped out for expiring or bargain contracts. Singh, Banchero, Caroline, and Birsen were all shipped out for bargain/expiring contracts or a couple picks. All that was left of last season's signings were Livers, Omot, Kabengele, and De Vico. None of them played spectacularly, but some(emphasis on SOME) of them played well in their roles. As a team, they finished with a bottom 5 offense, often finding more rim than net. Their inability to score led to some truly atrocious games, like their 96-71 point loss against the Washington Wizards on January 9th, where they shot a combined 34% as a team. Or their 98-69 point loss against the Sacramento Kings on March 16th, where they shot a combined 30%. THIRTY PERCENT?! Horrid. Flatly put, they were inept scoring-wise, and it showed in the stats.
There were some positives, however. Jalen "J-Dub" Williams put in another stud season, averaging approximately 13/4/1.5 on 51.8% FG. Jeremy "Eremy" Sochan established himself as one of the best passing big wings in the league in spite of his inefficiencies. Nikola Topic established himself as a capable starting point guard in his rookie season, averaging 11/2/3 on good efficiency as well. And the team hustled themselves to about mid-tier on defense, which... isn't great, but isn't a bottom 5 defense at least. Yeah, that's it. That was the gist of last season. Nothing much else to write home about. Wendell Carter Jr. joined midseason on a trade to shed salary. His veteran presence alone was extremely influential on the youth of the team. Isaiah Livers is probably the worst defender the league has ever seen, but boy can that man shoot the rock. Markus Howard fits the bill too. And Nuni Omot is still here. But that's about all the positives to write home about. It was a pretty shocking season, and a disaster on all fronts.
So the postseason came around, congratulations to the Brooklyn Nets for winning their 2nd championship in 4 seasons. It was rather chaotic in Los Angeles, with both hometown teams focused on the draft. The Lakers came away with an intriguing young talent in Kel'el Ware. The Clippers? They finished the draft with an undersized small forward by the name of Vince Williams Jr. VW, a bit of an older rookie, showed out at Virginia Commonwealth University with his shooting flare and all-round offensive ability. It'll stand to be seen how effective he will be, but VW flashes shades of another similarly sized swingman on the same team, J-Dub. Only time will tell how he'll fit on the roster. One thing is for certain though, the team is rounding out with some talented players.
One of the Clipper's priorities this offseason was to emphasize keeping things in-house and not getting too overly rambunctious with noise. In essence, they kept their plans to themselves. The Clippers had a relatively quiet free agency, sticking their head out a couple times to poke and prod at other teams, but overall sitting on their cap space. They pushed Houston to sign a big 3 year $45,000,000 deal for Kenneth Lofton Jr. and poached Jalen Duren from the Lakers on a 4 year deal just under $30,000,000. Outside of that, they signed players to fill up roster spots of need. Franks and Brantley fill out their wing needs and push VW down the ladder so his weaknesses don't steal the spotlight too much. And that was about it. Nothing else changed for the team.
This iteration of the LA Clippers is at a bit of a crossroads. The clock is ticking for the team to start being more competitive. These players are only getting older and closer to their first big contract, and none of these guys will come cheap. But are they ready to compete? History has shown that the LA Clippers are never ready to compete until they have a generational talent on the team. Yet again, this season there is no generational talent. Just a bunch of guys who are trying their best to play well together. Let's see how well the 2034-2035 Clippers are going to do. Will it be another season in basketball purgatory? Only time will tell.
Topic | Williams | Sochan | Brantley | Duren Johnson | Omot | Livers | Franks | Kabengele Howard | Sword | Williams Jr. | Baldwin Jr. | Yu
Anton Watson (Two-Way)
Such a pessimistic tone for what is shaping up to be an interesting core
J-Will at maximum endurance will make this a dangerous team. I dont think its contender but it could be a fun season and perhaps even a playoff run in the putrid West
It is hard to stay optimistic when you go thru the rebuilding phase. It is all about adding young talent and they tend to bring a lot of headaches during their first years.
But I really like the trio of Topic, J-Will and Sochan!
I would expect another loosing season, even with the western conference a bit top heavy. Focus on the next draft, adding one more piece to this group could be the next step.
I wanted to try something a little bit different from the whole optimistic schtick. Guess it didn't hit like I wanted it to.
In regards to my team, I'm cautiously optimistic with what we're building here. The team is finally starting to round out, and we are mostly lacking a C who can be a difference maker. It might take another season, but the team is looking much better and healthier, salary and talent wise, than it did about 4 seasons ago
This team has some nice young pieces for sure. I think J-Dub is a fantastic glue guy, and Topic is a legit PG of the future. Need to figure out if guys like Sochan are legit pieces that can win games, and be part of the future or is he just a stat stuffer with fancy looking ratings.
Overall this team is slowly shaping up nicely. Definitely need to find an alpha on offense, as I think you have some strong secondary pieces already. Use that cap space aggressively next offseason and go after the big fish!
Rebuilding takes a lot of time and patience and requires smart decisions over and over and over again. Even smart decisions can backfire with bad luck (e.g. the dreaded "slow developers").
But the young building blocks in Clipper land are taking shape. Jalen Williams is a 2-way stud and continues to improve. I have mixed feelings on Sochan but you can win with guys like him so long as you limit his shots and surround him with other guys that can score. He's so good at everything except trying to shoot the ball. I'm a fan of Topic, and I also liked the Williams Jr. pick this year. Both guys that will help the team's shooting, especially from outside. There's still work to be done, but there's plenty of reason for optimism.
Rebuilds can always be tough but you do have all your first rounders and that UTA 1st, so you have the draft ammunition to add to your core. The issue is a lot of your young guys need PT, so I would prioritize identifying your core and really work on developing him. Topic/Sochan gives you plenty of playmaking but they need the ball in their hands a lot so perhaps trying to add low USG% defenders around them might help? Still, the raw young talent on this team is tremendous.
Love me some Williams as Ramcus knows but he's the perfect glue guy or second/third option. Sochan and Topic round it out but it would be handy getting a scorer in to take most of the shots.
On the up though, good work.
sacramento kings
dyson daniels | yuki togashi | blake wesley | brendan adams
matisse thybulle | jaylen wells
jalen johnson | darius bazely |
kofi cockburn | antun maricevic | kyle filipowski
laurynas birutis | norvel pelle | charles bediako | James Nnaji
I personally not a fan of a poor defensive PG so Topic is not what I would have run at PG if I were in-charge but he's talented elsewhere so he's a keeper, maybe just maybe not as a starter. He could blossom as a 6th man if you have a better option as a defensive PG in his place. You could use better frontcourt as well, don't think Brantley and Duren gives you any advantage against any other frontcourt in the league.
Philadelphia 76ers
Depth Chart Starters: Alvarado-Bowen-Jeter-Taylor-Ayton Bench: Roddy-Reddish-Mane-Ongenda-LaRavia-Santos-Holmes II IR: Makoi-Killeya-Jones-Hifi 2W:
I like the core. You've managed to reduce Sochan's shots so much he became a passable offensive player and his defensive and rebounding contributions, along with elite playmaking as a big, it's such an unique player really.
J-Dub is a stud. He's not a creator but you got two elite ones in Sochan and Topic so he gets to put the ball inside the basket. That's all you need.
Reading the article I remembered you got Vince Williams Jr in this draft and this is another great playmaker at the two and top tier shooter, but his defensive fit with Topic is terrible. Beyond terrible. By the year you are looking to jump into a playoff team, one of them has to go and I believe you are really invested into the Topic / J-Dub / Sochan trio and Williams will end up leaving for more defense. Which is necessary for good team building here.
And then you still lack that big that gets everything together. Trading Banchero was not a good move for me but you'll rebound from that surely. Just suck enough to get a good C in the draft and the core is complete to continue to grow into a good team. With the right trades and solid development, you'll be a playoff roster in no time. Just don't rush!
18-19 Chicago Bulls: CSL Champions
#1 D.Rose #11 J.Holiday #21 J.Butler #42 A.Horford #13 J.Noah
29-30 Philadelphia 76ers: CSL Champions #1 L.Ball #15 M.Beasley #23 B.Bowen #21 M.Wagner #51 K.Towns
Needs a high STL SF and you can shift Sochan down to PF while installing a high pressure defense. Not sure why Kabengele isn’t starting. He’s your best center and it’s not even close.
2020, 2023, 2027, 2035
