5 reasons the Los Angeles Clippers shouldn’t ‘blow it up’

2. ‘Blowing it up’ is not in the Clippers’ hands anyway

Even if you disagree with all of this, even if you don’t think the Clippers were ever a title contender or that they’ll ever catch a break in the Western Conference, and even if you don’t care about how gloomy their past is, here’s the thing about “blowing it up”: That decision isn’t even in the Clippers’ hands. Not in the slightest.

Chris Paul has an early termination option this summer, allowing him to become an unrestricted free agent. Blake Griffin also has an early termination option and J.J. Redick’s contract comes off the books entirely, meaning three of the Clippers’ four best players could be unrestricted free agents this summer.

Where in that scenario does anyone get the idea that the Clippers have complete control over their own situation?

For the Clippers to “blow it up” this summer, that’d essentially mean letting CP3, Griffin and Redick walk in free agency without getting anything in return — a depressing and exceedingly dumb alternative compared to trying to re-sign at least CP3 and Griffin.

Retaining all three would force owner Steve Ballmer to pay millions of luxury tax dollars, which may not be a high priority for him after watching this team collapse so many times…and hearing what Redick — who disappeared in the playoffs — had to say about the state of the team.

But as unhappy as Redick may have been with the Clippers’ season, Lob City still has a decent chance of keeping its two best players. The Clips can offer Paul an excess of $200 million thanks to the new collective bargaining agreement he himself helped negotiate.

Maybe finding playoff success with the Spurs or returning to New Orleans to form a new Big Three with Anthony Davis and DeMarcus Cousins would appeal to CP3, but a five-year, $205 million deal with the Clippers is a lot to turn down compared to four years and $152 million from another team.

As for Griffin, he could return to his old stomping grounds in Oklahoma to join Russell Westbrook, or he could fill a gaping hole at power forward for the Celtics. But a star of his stature also loves L.A., and after he and CP3 spent so much energy getting DeAndre Jordan to re-up with the Clippers, turning down a max bid from Lob City might not be in his best interest.

His recent surgery and injury history may also deter some teams from dishing out a max deal (four years, $130 million) like the one the Clippers will reportedly try to offer him in free agency (five years, $175 million).

Redick is almost certainly gone, and barring some sort of Doc Rivers managerial magic that we’ve never seen before, this team will probably be worse in 2017-18. But blowing it up is not actually an option for the Clippers unless you consider “turning your back on another 50-win team just to let legitimate assets go for nothing” to be an option.