Los Angeles Clippers: Is A Blow Up Mandatory?

After another season cut short, should the Los Angeles Clippers undergo a roster reconstruction?

It’s safe to say that patience in professional sports run extremely thin. In other words, no matter how well-built a team is, if the end result of their season isn’t hoisting the championship trophy, changes are usually made.

Since the Los Angeles Clippers acquired point guard Chris Paul in 2011, they’ve been fortunate enough to make the playoffs for five straight years, including three appearances in the Western Conference semifinals.

Unfortunately, none of those playoff appearances ended with even a trip to the Western Conference Finals. The closest was last season when they held a 3-1 advantage in the series with the Houston Rockets and suffered an historic collapse by losing the three straight games.

The big question surrounding this team now is whether or not the core trio of Paul, Blake Griffin, and DeAndre Jordan can ever win a championship.

Or is it time to explore other options and using one of those stars to acquire possibly another star or a set of assets to give them a new look and force a new plan of attack?

Blowing up this roster would set the franchise back at least three or four years to return to the position they are currently in. Taking a look at their core, considering each one is in the top five of their respective position automatically puts them in the same breath as the upper echelon teams.

Instead of focusing on the stars that do their jobs night in and night out, take a second to consider who else makes up the roster.

On paper, the Clippers had the most successful offseason last summer first and foremost by re-signing Jordan. The experiment with bringing in Josh Smith failed miserably and he was back in a Houston uniform after just 32 games played in Los Angeles.

Paul Pierce showed that Father Time has kicked in significantly, posting by far the worst numbers of his 18-year NBA career with just 6.1 points per game.

The hope that Wesley Johnson would be a contributor off the bench at small forward or stretch-4 diminished before it even began. And last but not least, Lance Stephenson only made it 43 games before being dealt to Memphis.

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That was a project that most knew would be an epic failure from the get-go. Stephenson averaged just 4.7 points in 15.8 minutes per game throughout his time as a Clipper.

Instead of breaking up the big three, the concerns should be aimed towards solidifying the bench and finding a productive player on the wing. Ever since the core of Paul, Griffin and Jordan had been established, these two areas have been the distinct weakness.

There are no longer any questions at the shooting guard position after J.J. Redick officially found his niche within the offense. He shot a career-high 47.5 percent from beyond the arc and is the perfect compliment to Paul in the backcourt.

The playoffs this year have shown us that injuries continue to the biggest factor for a team’s championship run. Unfortunately, the Clippers suffered the worst because of it by losing both Paul and Griffin before being eliminated by the Trail Blazers.

The plan from here on out is simple: keep the core intact (including Redick), approach the offseason prepared to sign consistent and dependable players off the bench along with a starting wing, and continue to chip away at the juggernauts of the Western Conference.

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The Clippers have what it takes to be playing this time next season, and if they’re lucky enough to be as close to 100 percent healthy, they are still more than capable of reaching the NBA Finals.

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