Los Angeles Clippers: 2016-17 Season Outlook

Three Key Storylines: 3. Is This The Year? (It’d Better Be.)

The pressure is on for the Clippers this season, not only because the front office will believe this core has reached its expiration date if they can’t get past the second round again, but because the star players might begin to believe it too.

After all, it’s no secret that both Chris Paul and Blake Griffin can opt out of their contracts at the end of the 2016-17 campaign, putting immense pressure on Lob City to give them a reason to stay. That falls directly on the shoulders of CP3 and Griffin, of course, but anything less than a conference finals appearance may push them into the arms of another offseason suitor.

Griffin has long been the face of the franchise, and an early report indicates that he wants to keep it that way for the long haul. But we’ve seen similar comments from guys like LeBron James and Kevin Durant in the past, only for them to leave in free agency anyway.

As for CP3, his style of leadership can be a bit harsh for some. That overbearing charisma was part of the reason DeAndre Jordan was on the verge of joining the Dallas Mavericks in the first place. If the prospect of teaming up with LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony and/or Dwyane Wade presents itself in the future, don’t think for a second he’d turn down an opportunity to go banana-boating again.

The Warriors look unstoppable out West, and the Cavs are no pushover in the East. That leaves the Clippers in a bit of a bind, since their title window appears slammed shut for the time being.

However, the San Antonio Spurs look as vulnerable as that immortal team has looked in quite some time, and if reaching the conference finals would be enough to give Paul and Griffin hope for their current situation, 2016-17 represents a decent chance of getting there.

Don’t forget, the Clippers won 53 games last year with Blake Griffin missing more than half the season. The Spurs downgraded from Tim Duncan to Pau Gasol on the defensive end, while losses like Boris Diaw and Boban Marjanovic weaken San Antonio’s depth. Lob City has been a popular preseason pick to usurp the Spurs as the West’s No. 2 team.

Only time will tell if they can pull that off, let alone avoid another second round meltdown in the playoffs. But with Griffin and Paul’s free agency decisions looming, it’s now or never for the Lob City era.

Next: Best, Worst Case Scenarios