Los Angeles Clippers: Grading The Offseason

ByGerald Bourguet|

Jul 21, 2015; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Clippers players pose with jerseys at press conference at Staples Center. From left: Branden Dawson (22), DeAndre Jordan (6), Austin Rivers (25), coach Doc Rivers and Josh Smith (5), Cole Aldrich (45), Paul Pierce (34) and Wesley Johnson (33). Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

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Los Angeles Clippers — Jul 21, 2015; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Clippers players pose with jerseys at press conference at Staples Center. From left: Branden Dawson (22), DeAndre Jordan (6), Austin Rivers (25), coach Doc Rivers and Josh Smith (5), Cole Aldrich (45), Paul Pierce (34) and Wesley Johnson (33). Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

This past season, the Los Angeles Clippers were on the verge of treating the world to a showdown of Pacific Division rivals in the Western Conference Finals. Up 3-1 on the Houston Rockets in the semifinals, it seemed inevitable that Chris Paul and Blake Griffin would finally reach their first conference finals.

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But then the Clips came out flat in Game 5, squandered a massive fourth quarter lead at home in Game 6 and had completely unraveled by Game 7 as they became the ninth team in NBA history to lose a playoff series after going up 3-1. Heading into the offseason on such a depressing note, some major questions needed to be answered.

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Was Chris Paul a choke artist? Was Blake Griffin soft? Did Doc Rivers the general manager screw things up for Doc Rivers the head coach? Was this team good enough to win with such a short bench? And most importantly, would unrestricted free agent DeAndre Jordan want to stick around after such a devastating collapse, right when the Clippers were finally on the brink?

CP3 and Griffin weren’t the problem in this equation, but the questions about Rivers’ abilities as an executive and Jordan’s future in Los Angeles were fair game in lieu of the biggest question of all: Is this Los Angeles Clippers team good enough to win a title?

A few months and one busy offseason later, the Clippers have emerged from that dark place as one of the heavy hitters in the Western Conference. Here’s a look at Rivers’ successful summer, with offseason grades for every single move the Clippers made.

UPDATE: This article has been updated to reflect the signing of Pablo Prigioni.

Next: The Draft

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