Los Angeles Clippers: 3 reasons they’ll be better than expected in 2018-19

Although the Jimmy Butler hype has slowly died down and it seems no big names will be added to the roster just yet, the Los Angeles Clippers are in a good place going forward.

Over the past several weeks, there has been constant speculation about the future homes of star forwards Kawhi Leonard and Jimmy Butler. Butler recently requested a trade from the Minnesota Timberwolves and initially listed the Los Angeles Clippers as one of his preferred destinations.

Kawhi Leonard is situated with the Toronto Raptors for the remainder of the year, but retains a player option and can opt out of his final year to become an unrestricted free agent this offseason. Leonard, much like Butler, is reportedly interested in coming to the Clippers if he decides to exercise his player option.

Butler, however, is now said to be most interested in being traded to the Miami Heat, partially due to the Timberwolves’ high asking price for the 29-year-old. So far, no deal has been made and Butler may very well end up back in a Timberwolves uniform for the remainder of this season.

In a smart move, it seems that the Clippers won’t attempt to trade for him and have their sights set on the upcoming offseason, when they will have room for two max contracts.

Regardless of whether or not they can land big-name free agents in the near future, the Clippers will certainly be a solid team in 2018-19. While they might not necessarily make the playoffs in a competitive Western Conference, here are three reasons why they’ll have a much better season than expected this year.