Los Angeles Clippers: 2016 Offseason Grades

The Los Angeles Clippers needed a big summer to preserve the Lob City era for the long-term, but had to settle for re-signing the bench. Here are their complete 2016 offseason grades.

Another season in the Lob City era, another premature playoff exit. Not getting over the hump has been a consistent theme for the Los Angeles Clippers in the Chris Paul–Blake Griffin era, but in 2016, it reached a depressing new low when both had to watch from the sidelines.

Even worse, their second round opponent would’ve been a Golden State Warriors team playing without Stephen Curry.

But with CP3 and Griffin sustaining playoff-ending injuries in the Clippers’ first round series against the Portland Trail Blazers, yet another season ended before Lob City’s two stars could taste their first conference finals.

With the Warriors and San Antonio Spurs re-upping this summer, the Clippers desperately needed a strong offseason to have any hope of making their move in the playoffs next year. Next season’s success is crucial, since Griffin and CP3 can opt out of the final year of their contracts and hit free agency next summer.

Sporting a lackluster bench that underwent a complete makeover last summer, did the Clippers do enough to make a legitimate playoff run in 2017? Or did they just settle for bringing everybody back for another go-round in the hopes they’ll be healthy this time?

Here’s a look at the Los Angeles Clippers’ complete 2016 offseason grades.

Next: Draft Pick No. 1

Draft Pick No. 1

At this point it’s hard to tell what’s more frustrating: general manager Doc Rivers‘ tendency to trade away future first round picks in ill-advised deals, or his inability to put them to good use when he actually does keep them.

As if the Clippers hadn’t already learned their lesson about drafting tweeners or low-upside draft prospects from North Carolina like Branden Dawson and Reggie Bullock, Rivers used the 25th pick in the 2016 NBA Draft on Brice Johnson, a 6’10” forward from North Carolina.

To be fair to Johnson, he was a great rebounder and shot-blocker in college, averaging 17.0 points, 10.4 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game in his senior season. In five NBA Summer League games, he posted 15.4 points and 6.8 rebounds per game on 50 percent shooting.

He has an efficient midrange shot, posted a 61.4 field goal percentage in his final collegiate season and has plenty of bounce.

But for a player who really needs to get stronger and expand the range on his jumper, his role as a modern-day 4 remains questionable. If he can’t battle down low or stretch the floor, how much better does he really make the Clippers next season?

Like many of Rivers’ selections over the last few years, Johnson also doesn’t have much upside at age 22, so if he’s unable to help from the start, what was the point of taking him over a high-upside youngster?

With prospects like Dejounte Murray, Deyonta Davis or Cheick Diallo still available, there may have been better options on the board.

Grade: C

Next: Draft Pick No. 2

Draft Pick No. 2

In the second round, the Clippers did little to restore faith in Doc’s drafting prowess, taking France’s David Michinieau at No. 39. They traded their 33rd overall pick (Cheick Diallo) to the New Orleans Pelicans for NOLA’s 39th and 40th selections, the first of which was used on a virtually unknown player.

A 6’3 guard, Michineau wasn’t projected to even make the 60-man cut in the draft, spending the last three years playing for Elan Chalon in France. He will also spend the next season overseas, so this 22-year-old rookie won’t even be able to help the Clippers until he’s at least 23 years old.

At least he put up some respectable numbers in Summer League, averaging 8.2 points and 4.2 assists per game in five appearances…to go with putrid 28.8 percent shooting from the floor and 0-for-7 shooting from three-point range.

This was a head scratching pick, even in the second round…especially when they could’ve just kept Diallo at No. 33.

Grade: D-

Next: Draft Pick No. 3

Draft Pick No. 3

Unfortunately for the Clippers, their best value pick was their third and final selection in the draft, taking Maryland’s Diamond Stone at No. 40.

A 6’10” center, Stone can eventually help fill the gap left by Cole Aldrich in the frontcourt. He has a ton of talent, a 7’3″ wing span, an excellent low-post game, plenty of strength, great hands, solid footwork and decent range on his jump shot too.

Stone averaged 12.5 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game in his only season with the Terrapins, shooting 56.8 percent from the floor. At NBA Summer League, he averaged 10.4 points and 5.6 rebounds per game on 52.3 percent shooting.

The biggest reason Stone fell as far as he did was teams were concerned about his work ethic, but if he’s able to find it under Rivers, the Clippers will have added a solid bench piece on a three-year deal, with the first two years being guaranteed.

Nabbing a physical specimen like Stone is great second round value, but the Michineau pick was truly baffling, and since the Clippers had Diallo and all his upside at No. 33, it feels like they would’ve been better off just keeping him.

Grade: B-

Next: Let The Rivers Flow

Let The Rivers Flow

With the Clippers in need of a backup point guard and bench scorer, and with the Rivers obviously having those family ties, it was no surprise to see them sign Austin Rivers to a three-year, $35 million deal (with a player option for the third year).

Unfortunately, the only reason that large contract for such an average player was not surprising was because the Clippers continually inject new life into stale nepotism jokes. It’s probably not easy being the head coach’s son, but there’s really no excuse for this kind of deal for someone like Austin Rivers.

In his defense, Rivers posted a career-high 8.9 points per game, came to life in the playoffs with 10.3 points per game, and he’s still only 23 years old. But none of that should shift the focus from his inefficient shooting (43.8 percent, 33.5 percent from deep) or the fact that scoring at a moderate rate is really all he does.

Paying a player like that a contract worth nearly $12 million a year — even under the NBA’s skyrocketing salary cap — feels like legitimate favoritism, especially after the details of some of the Clippers’ other re-signings came to light.

Lob City needed a backup point guard, but a deal like this puts pressure on Rivers to make a leap of some sort in 2016-17. For a team that needed to upgrade its bench after missing out on Kevin Durant, splurging on Austin Rivers was an almost comical alternative.

Rivers is a better player than people realize, but aside from an unlikely leap in 2016-17, this deal moves the Clippers no closer to a longer playoff run in the short-term or in the long-term.

Grade: C-

Next: Johnson Rejoins

Johnson Rejoins

With a three-year, $18 million deal, the Clippers secured some of their wing depth. Wesley Johnson has never lived up to his lofty status as the fourth overall pick in the 2010 NBA Draft, but he’s a capable defender out on the perimeter.

That’s where the good news stops, unfortunately, since Johnson’s reputation as an average 3-and-D player sort of fell off the map last season. In his most recent season, Wes only managed to put up 6.9 points and 3.1 rebounds per game on paltry .404/.333/.652 shooting splits.

Getting Johnson at only $6 million a season (with a third year player option) feels like appropriate value for a player whose efficiency tailed off after leaving the Los Angeles Lakers, but it does very little to nudge the needle closer to “contender” for the Clips.

Johnson is a decent enough two-way player, and perhaps he’ll live up to an expanded role now that Jeff Green is gone. But as cost-effective as his deal is, Johnson returning to the Clippers with the rest of an average bench unit is yet another reason the failed pursuit of KD hurts.

Grade: B-

Next: Keeping Crawford

Keeping Crawford

Apparently three is the magic number for the Clippers, since they continued to re-sign their bench unit with a three-year, $42 million extension for Jamal Crawford.

Once upon a time, in the not-so-distant past, Crawford was Lob City’s most important bench weapon. He’s a three-time Sixth Man of the Year (winning two of those awards with the Clippers), was usually good for around 15 points per game off the bench and made sure the offense was as dangerous as possible whenever Griffin or CP3 needed a break.

Unfortunately, Crawford is no longer that same player at age 36 — regardless of what Sixth Man of the Year voters thought last season. In fact, his decline has been on full display for a few years now, with Crawford failing to shoot better than 42 percent from the field in each of his last three seasons.

The master of the four-point play saw his numbers continue their nosedive last season, when he averaged 14.2 points per game on 40.4 percent shooting from the floor and 34 percent from downtown.

Crawford’s ability to create offense in one-on-one situations used to be pure, backyard basketball magic. Now it’s just stagnant offense that’s hard to watch, especially since Crawford’s name has been mentioned frequently in trade rumors over the last few years.

By the time KD made his decision, the Clippers only had so many options left. Crawford gives them a go-to scorer off the bench who can get his own shot off whenever he wants, but $14 million a year for a player on the decline — and for three years, no less — feels like an overpay to keep an average bench unit together.

Grade: C-

Next: Luc Richer Mbah A Moute

Luc Richer Mbah a Moute

Okay, so maybe he’s only marginally richer after signing a two-year deal worth $4.5 million, but you get the point: The Los Angeles Clippers re-signed Luc Richard Mbah a Moute.

In a move that further bolsters their wing depth but does little to actually make the team better, the Clippers re-signed a 29-year-old wing who can play some power forward but lacks three-point range.

Mbah a Moute is still in the league because of his defense and had a decent stint with the starters near the end of the season. But with Jeff Green gone, the Clippers will need more from him than the 3.1 points and 2.3 rebounds per game he averaged last season.

Though he was fairly efficient from the floor (45.4 percent), it’s unfortunate Lob City can’t count on him to spread the floor. As a career 30.2 percent shooter from long range, its unlikely Mbah a Moute builds on his 32.5 percent shooting from deep last year. This is a minuscule amount to pay for frontcourt, but that’s probably because the return won’t be very significant.

Grade: B-

Next: Finalizing Felton

Finalizing Felton

There are two ways to view the Raymond Felton deal:

1. As a kick in the nuts after handing out nearly $12 million a year to Austin Rivers, when decent replacements like Felton were still available for the veteran minimum, or:
2. As a stroke of good fortunate for the Clippers, who were able to land Felton for so cheap after dishing out nearly $12 million a year for Austin Rivers.

In either case, the Clippers managed to get a solid third string point guard at a great asking price. Felton may not be what he once was, but getting an experienced player like him to bolster the backcourt rotation at such a low price is great value.

Last season in Dallas, Felton averaged 9.5 points, 3.6 assists and 3.2 rebounds per game — despite only shooting 40.6 percent from the floor and 28.2 percent from three-point range.

The poor shooting numbers aren’t encouraging, but after signing Rivers to such a large deal, he’ll likely be ahead of Felton in the rotation anyway. That’s perfectly fine for the 32-year-old Felton, who can play either guard spot and got used to earning minutes in a crowded Mavericks backcourt.

Felton has been a poor shooter for a half-decade now, but for a team that was virtually out of options for bench depth this summer, landing him on such a bargain deal was one of Doc Rivers’ better moves.

Grade: B

Next: Bringing Back Bass

Bringing Back Bass

You’ve got to love those Boston guys sticking together. With a one-year deal worth the veteran minimum, the Clippers will reunite Doc Rivers and his former Celtics power forward Brandon Bass.

In Boston, Bass was once a starter and a double-digit scorer on the rise. But he never lived up to his fullest potential, eventually leaving the young Celtics for one season with the Lakers where he slipped completely under everyone’s radars.

Well, other than being an exemplary teammate, that is.

Bass is coming off an underwhelming season in L.A. in which he averaged 7.2 points and 4.3 rebounds in 20.3 minutes per game. However, he wasn’t really needed on a young Lakers team that eventually prioritized its youth. Well, over everyone but Kobe Bryant, at least.

Now on the Clippers, Bass will have a chance to restore his value playing for a coach he’s comfortable with. The Clips could use his frontcourt depth and this is great value for an average rotation player, but no one should expect him to make a world of difference at age 31 either.

Grade: C+

Next: Odds And Ends

Odds And Ends

The most eye-raising move the Clippers made this summer was probably wooing Marreese Speights from the Golden State Warriors, Lob City’s greatest rival that won 73 games and finished one win shy of another title.

With the Dubs prioritizing Kevin Durant over bench depth, the best they could’ve offered Mo Speights was a veteran minimum contract. And yet, the Clippers still managed to pry Speights away from the Bay Area with a two-year deal worth $2.9 million.

The second year is a player option, so this could be a one-year rental if Speights is able to turn his streaky scoring into a more consistent impact off the bench. But as a player who can shoot threes and averaged 7.1 points and 3.3 rebounds in only 11.6 minutes per game, Mo is a decent (and very entertaining) addition.

The Clippers kept that “entertaining” trend alive by signing Alan Anderson to a one-year deal worth the veteran minimum. Anderson is a seven-year veteran who averaged 5.0 points per game on 35.6 percent shooting for the Washington Wizards last year.

Though he and his career .406/.345/.818 shooting splits have never been particularly efficient, Anderson is another microwave scorer who can come in off the bench and make things happen when the mood strikes him.

Finally there’s Paul Pierce, who will be returning to the Clippers for his 19th season after toying with the idea of retirement for most of the summer. Fans shouldn’t expect much more from the 38-year-old than the 6.1 points per game and 36.3 percent shooting he posted last season, however.

Grade: B-

Next: Overall

Overall

On the bright side, barring any serious injuries, the Los Angeles Clippers will still be one of the three or four best teams in Western Conference next season. They had to tweak their bench a bit, but last year’s second unit wasn’t great, so it needed to be done once again.

The essential pieces like Griffin, CP3, DeAndre Jordan and J.J. Redick are all back for next season, which is the most important thing. But by wasting their time in a failed pursuit of Kevin Durant that was never financially viable in the first place, the Clippers spent most of their summer overpaying the same old bench pieces as a Plan B.

Redick and Paul have proven they can be effective as they continue to age, but guys like Jamal Crawford, Austin Rivers, Wesley Johnson, Luc Mbah a Moute and Paul Pierce haven’t proven much lately. Throwing Felton, Bass, Speights, Anderson and two rookies into the mix doesn’t really change much.

Next summer, Griffin and CP3 have the power to opt out of their deals, and Redick comes off the books as well. If the Clippers fail to take down the Warriors and Spurs juggernauts out West, the Lob City era could end without a single conference finals appearance.

At that point, CP3 might look to join a super-team knowing his prime is dwindling. Griffin may look to make a name for himself alongside Russell Westbrook in his home state of Oklahoma, even if his camp says he’s committed to staying with the Clippers. A shooter of Redick’s caliber will also be widely pursued by other teams.

The Clippers needed an offseason where they put extremely limited cap space to good use. Landing KD would’ve pushed them over the top, but what felt like a pipe dream to begin with became exactly that.

More hoops habit: Los Angeles Lakers: 2016 Offseason Grades

When Durant fell through, all the Clippers could do was bring everyone back for another go, and none of those contracts — the overpaid ones and the team friendly ones alike — will prevent a blow-up next summer if Lob City fails again. The pressure is on for 2016-17.

Grade: C-