LA Clippers: Was this year the team’s best chance to win the title?

The LA Clippers were having a phenomenal season before the suspension of the NBA, but if canceled, are their future title hopes in trouble?

After fifty years of existence, it seemed like this season was the best opportunity for the LA Clippers to win their first-ever NBA Championship. Led by their superstar duo of Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, the entire team was firing on all cylinders and looked as good as they have all season to this point.

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Part of this was the overall health of the team and how it was finally coming together. It seemed like everyone on the roster at some point in the season was dealing with an injury, and for a moment, everyone was one-hundred percent healthy.

The team had a 7-2 record post-All-Star Break and had beaten their opponents by an average of 18 points per game in that stretch. Although their last game ended with a defeat to the rival Los Angeles Lakers, the Clippers were on track to do significant things in the upcoming postseason.

However, with the season postponed and facing cancellation, the LA Clippers may run into a problem detrimental to their title hopes. If the remainder of the season does get canceled, the Clippers will have several decisions to make in free agency, as several key players will hit the market.

Two such players are Marcus Morris Sr. and Reggie Jackson, who both came over in February to bolster the team’s title chances this year. Getting these two on the roster before their postseason run this year was a significant move, as the veteran tandem provides experience and aspirations to win with the Clippers.

Veterans Patrick Patterson and JaMychal Green will also hit the market. Although Green has a player option that he could opt into and stay with the Clippers, Patterson could very well leave the team if he chooses to.

Next is not only the Clippers’ biggest free agent to be but one throughout the league as a whole: Montrezl Harrell. Before the stoppage, Harrell made his case to dethrone teammate Lou Williams for the Sixth Man of the Year honors and will be highly targeted across the league once free agency hits.

With these four core players set to become free agents, the likelihood of the LA Clippers keeping all of them is slim to none. Having made only $6 million this season, Harrell has previously shared his desire to receive a bigger check in free agency, whether that be from Los Angeles or elsewhere.

Although the Clippers are still going to have their top guys in Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, and Lou Williams on the roster next season, who will be playing alongside them is a mystery for now. The team will absolutely still be able to compete in the Western Conference, but depending on whom they lose in the offseason, their title aspirations could take a hit.

So, yes, barring any extraordinary turn of events in free agency, this appeared to be the LA Clippers’ best chance of bringing home the NBA title. With a clouded future ahead, only time will tell what happens to this Clippers’ roster whenever the season officially concludes.