Last Season: 47-25, 4th in Western Conference
With Kawhi Leonard and Paul George on board, the LA Clippers have been in title contention the last two seasons. This year, the ACL injury to Kawhi Leonard means he will miss most or (almost certainly) all of this upcoming season. That drops the Clippers from contending for a title to contending for the playoffs.
There is a very reasonable argument to be made that the Clippers make the NBA Finals if Kawhi Leonard doesn’t get hurt in the playoffs, and the Clippers likely believe that argument as they largely doubled down on the roster they had. The primary change was moving on from Patrick Beverley and Rajon Rondo to bring in Eric Bledsoe, a player originally drafted by the Clippers.
Key Offseason Move: Bringing back Reggie Jackson and Nic Batum. The Clippers scored big on a pair of minimum signings who became crucial rotation pieces by the end of the season. CBA rules prevented them from simply signing them to market-value deals, yet the Clippers managed to get both to return anyway.
The biggest surprise is Nic Batum, who could only sign for $3.2 million using non-Bird rights. He would have earned significantly more than that elsewhere, but he chose the environment in LA that helped him resurrect his career.