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

1. A true rebuild comes through re-signing

If the Clippers truly want to blow this core up without sacrificing their chance at a brighter future, it starts with re-signing as many of their major free agents as possible.

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Let’s say everyone agrees this group isn’t going to get the job done. Rather than letting their free agents leave in free agency with zero compensation, the only way the Clippers don’t come out of this as complete losers is if they can retain CP3 and Griffin so they can trade them later on down the road for actual assets.

Thanks to Doc Rivers, the Clippers owe the Toronto Raptors their 2017 first round draft pick, plus a 2019 first-rounder to the Boston Celtics. What better way to refill the draft cupboard than locking in Paul and Griffin to long-term deals and trading them later on for future draft picks and young talent?

Other than Austin Rivers and Diamond Stone, the Clippers are pretty much devoid of young assets. Letting their stars walk does nothing but condemn them to more losing seasons, with only a 2018 first-rounder to look forward to in the short-term and zero compensation for players who would fetch quite a haul on the trade market.

As long as Paul and Griffin don’t push for no-trade clauses, re-signing them this summer gives the Clippers another potential chance to salvage the Lob City era. Whether it’s 2018 or 2019, the option to blow it up and actually build something from the ashes will still be there through the trade market.

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Moving those kinds of massive salaries — especially for a pair of injury-prone players — would present another challenge down the road, but it’s a far better solution than the asinine “blow it up” alternative that’s been suggested. Even if the Lob City era really is over, the Los Angeles Clippers are pretty much boxed in to keeping the band together unless they want to lose everything for virtually nothing.