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Should The Los Angeles Clippers Start Over?

By Quentin Haynes

April 20, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Clippers forward Blake Griffin (32) and guard Chris Paul (3) react from the bench against Portland Trail Blazers during the first half at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
April 20, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Clippers forward Blake Griffin (32) and guard Chris Paul (3) react from the bench against Portland Trail Blazers during the first half at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Los Angeles Clippers lost to the Portland Trail Blazers in the first round of the 2016 NBA Playoffs. Should Doc Rivers move on and blow the team up?

After Chris Paul broke his hand in a fluke injury, Blake Griffin saw his most controversial season end with a re-injured quad and Austin Rivers gutted out the final game of the season with a bandage over his eye, the Los Angeles Clippers went quietly into the night, losing in six games to Damian Lillard and the Portland Trail Blazers in the first round.

The first thing that caught me as Rivers’ shot came up short was what his father, head coach and president of basketball operations Doc Rivers, said in the offseason to then-Grantland’s Zach Lowe on the idea of breaking up the Los Angeles Clippers trio of Griffin, Paul and DeAndre Jordan. Rivers suggested that he might have to consider a breakup of the roster and Blake’s tumultuous season on and off the floor only added flame to the fire that he could be the odd man out.

On one hand, the Clippers should probably stay together. On the floor, they just finished up their fifth straight season with a winning percentage above 60 percent. Paul is still one of the best point guards in the league, Griffin is an offensive dynamo thanks to his ability to space the floor and distribute and DeAndre Jordan is one of the better centers in the league, thanks to his effortless finishing around the rim. It’s tough to find a trio like that. 

The Clippers also have found some nice players that fit around them, though that seems to be part of the issue. They have Jamal Crawford as their sixth man, but that seventh man role has been a bugaboo. From Jared Dudley to Spencer Hawes to Lance Stephenson to Jeff Green for half a season, the Clippers have struggled to fill that slot in, while other teams like Golden State and San Antonio have glorified starters on the bench.

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Still, starting guard J.J. Redick , constantly running around screens and knocking down threes, just submitted the best season of his career. Cole Aldrich, perpetually underrated, gave them some solid minutes this past season. Wesley Johnson and Luc Mbah a Moute aren’t the best wings in the league, but both provide defense and in Johnson’s case, some floor spacing.

The Clippers would like to upgrade from the last three, but in their roles, Aldrich, Johnson and Mbah a Moute is fine.

This team came one game away from the Western Conference Finals and outdueled the Spurs the series before that last season. Can they beat the Warriors? I don’t think so, but is that, the inability to defeat one team, the reason for a massive shakeup like trading one of your three best players? For a brief moment in time, there was a thought that Los Angeles was a possible championship contender with Stephen Curry going down before losing Paul and Griffin. 

If you’re that close, do you just give up or run it back, hope to find another angle on your roster and try the CP3 era Clippers one more time?

If the answer is no, then I’m curious to see where the Clippers go from here. Griffin is an excellent player, but after this season, are you getting full value on him? When healthy, he can do a bit of everything on the floor, making him an ideal star to build around. The injuries, however, could be a cause for concern. Some teams have better fits, too, with a more defensive-minded center and more chances for Blake to run the offense.

The Denver Nuggets were rumored to be interested in Griffin midway through the season and with all the assets they have, I imagine they would be interested in him again. Perhaps they could find a better balance in an offseason trade. The Boston Celtics, loaded with picks from the Brooklyn Nets, could get into the game if the Celtics opt for more high-level role players around Paul and Jordan.

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Or what about Paul as the trade piece to shake up the Clippers? Paul is coming off his age 30 season where he averaged 19.5 points, 10.0 assists, 4.2 rebounds and 2.1 steals per game, with a .575 True Shooting Percentage and finishing fourth in real plus-minus. He’s still one of the three best point guards in the league and a maestro at running an offense. The only issue with Paul is the fit. At this point of his career, I imagine Paul would want to go to a team that has a chance to contend right away.

I’m sort of interested in what Jordan would bring back. He’s an excellent center who has an overrated defensive reputation and an underrated offensive reputation. He’s signed for the next three seasons and I’m sure several teams could use him in the middle on both sides of the ball. The Clippers would then have issues at the center position, but I do wonder if they can turn Jordan into smaller pieces and then grab a center with the money they could have left.

I think the Clippers should run it back and see what happens, but at this point, who truly knows? Is trading one of your stars for a slew of effective role players who fill several different holes the way to go? Does that make you better than a team like San Antonio, Golden State or Oklahoma City? I’m not sure.

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Either way, there’s a chance the Clippers remodel themselves and I’m fascinated to see what they do.

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