It’s OVER for the Clippers…

It’s OVER for the Clippers…

what’s going on y’all it’s con back here again today with another video and today I want to talk about a team that’s had one of the most interesting off Seasons out of anybody so far in the Los Angeles Clippers and we knew this was going to be a pivotal off season for the franchise one of the most important INF franchise history especially with how last season went where that in and of itself felt like one of the most important Seasons the team had ever had at the beginning of the year I think me and many others were kind of done with the Clippers at least considering them as like the team to beat in the Western Conference for years it was like okay this feels like it could be the Clippers year I think the year prior I picked them to win the NBA finals and because of injuries mostly they were never able to quite be as good as we thought they were going to so going into the year a lot of people were out on them but then they picked up James Harden and despite a really slow start to his tenure they picked up steam pretty quick and eventually the Clippers were the hottest team in the NBA they moved up to the one SC in the Western Conference kawhai PG the beard were clicking they were firing on all cylinders Beyond those guys between Norman pal and zubot Russell Westbrook and suddenly they were again looked at as one of the teams to beat in the Western Conference but amongst all this there was a big cloud hanging over the team which was the fact that not one not two but all three of their stars were free agents at the end of the season now Kawhi Leonard went ahead and put his concerns to rest early on in January when he signed a multi-year extension with the team that was a big get for the franchise and then it felt like Paul George was going to be soon to follow I mean he came to La wanted to be trade there because that would mean he teamed up with kawh Leonard he is from the area it just seemed like a natural fit that he would extend next and I think we also got a report soon after kawhai got his extension that Paul George and the team were continuously working on one for him but then days went by months went by and suddenly we’re heading to the end of the season and he doesn’t have any agreement in place so he and James hard were seemingly going to go into the summer as potential flight risks now with James Harden it never seemed like he was actually going to leave or had a chance there were never rumors before he eventually did resign with the team on a 2-year $70 million deal but Paul George was always like the guy where it felt like there was a nonzero chance that he departed now the Clippers could probably put a lot of that to bed if they went ahead and went on a run whether it was to the Conference Finals the NBA finals or maybe actually won a championship instead like has happened for almost every season with this team they dealt a big injury Kawhi Leonard hurt towards the end of the season hardly played against the Mavericks and didn’t look like himself when he was out there and the team loses in six games to the squad that would go on to win the Western Conference so I guess that’s a feather in their cap but regardless the Clippers were once again disappointing and going into the summer we started to hear rumors that maybe Paul George could walk specifically for the Philadelphia 76ers we also heard some rumors ramping up that he could accept his player option and request to trade to a number of destinations but primarily the Golden State Warriors were the team that was talked about but he would end up opting out that option going to free agency and if felt goes between the Sixers or the Clippers and as you all know at this point he did go to Philadelphia teaming up up with Joel embiid at tyres Maxi and one of the more intriguing big threes in the NBA a team I’m really excited about on a four-year over $200 million contract the sticking point in negotiations seem to be that he wanted that fourth year the Clippers really didn’t want to give that to him they didn’t want to pay him all this money especially with concerns about the new tax aprons which yeah if you go into especially that second apron suddenly your team building options are limited you can’t trade first round picks a certain amount of years out your first round picks go to the end of the lottery or not the end of the lottery but the end of the first round entirely if you’ve been in that tax for a few seasons you can’t combine contracts and trades there was a lot of limitations so the Clippers decided it was better to just go ahead and let him walk and that’s controversial because if you ask me this is probably the move that slams their Championship window shut at the very minimum it obviously shuts the door on the kawhai Paul George era for Los Angeles they’re together for Five Seasons and did make a Conference Finals the first one in team history in 2021 but that was the Pinnacle of their success they had a second round appearance in their first season together and then blew a 3-1 lead they had a year where they missed the playoffs entirely because of injury they had a couple Seasons where they were first run exits mostly because of injury injury really was the theme of these teams they maybe could have made a run to a finals at some point maybe in 2021 if kawhai doesn’t tear his ACL against the Jazz they do end up in the finals against the Bucks and who knows what happens from there but it’s all just going to be looked back on as hypothetical this CER team didn’t meet expectations and now the question is where do they go from here well for starters like I said they brought back James Harden on a 2-year $7 million contract with a player option next season so we’ll see if he accepts that or not and they have made some interesting additions to keep themselves competitive like Derrik Jones Jr they brought him in over from Dallas three years $30 million deal I think that’s very fair for him they brought him Mo bom up to give them more depth at the big man spot I think he could be fun over here uh Chris Dunn is supposed to become a Clipper but it sounds like it’s probably going to be a signing trade and that’s not quite done yet so we’re waiting to see what that deal is going to look like uh they brought back Russ or he came back accepting his player option but it does look like they’re going to end up trading him there’s rumors about some other guys maybe like a deardo Rosen is still technically possible I’m not imagining it happens at this point but I guess it’s possible there’s been rumors about miles Bridges they also did sign Kevin Porter Jr which I don’t even want to get into I think it’s insane he’s back in the league at this point but yeah the Clippers have made some moves that ultimately I do think make them still a competitive Squad but I’ve seen some people say that they can still compete out there in the Western Conference that Paul George wasn’t that big of a l lo I completely disagree I think this team is pretty clearly a tier below some of the other squads like even if you put this team against the Western Conference last year I still don’t consider them Championship contenders never mind the West going to next season where it is loaded like you take a look at the top teams the Thunder got Alex cruso and Isaiah hardenstein and they’re going to get great internal development as a young team the youngest team to ever get a one seed the Mavericks the reigning Western Conference Champs Bren Klay Thompson and Naji Marshall that’s a really interesting couple of guys to bring into the fold as well as Quinton Grimes and some potential development from young guys like Luca is still relatively young Jaden Hardy we’ll see what happens with them you’ve also got the Nuggets who got a bit weaker but they still have joic of course the Timberwolves I feel like they’re going to be really good again they’ve made some interesting additions and Anthony Edwards that was his first playoff run as the one option I imagine he’s going to be even better in year two going into the playoffs the Pelicans added de jonte Murray it’s up in the air whether or not they’ll have Brandon Ingram or what that move will look like but it seems like the Pelicans are again going to be a force out there if they can stay healthy which is always a what if with that team and then even just outside of those squads like the Suns maybe another year with that big three building chemistry and St healthier they could still be a force let’s see what happens with the Lakers they haven’t really made any moves but they’re interesting I mean the Grizzlies are going to be back and they were a two seed last time they were healthy and now they’ve got young guys that develop that can fill some of those Wing spots like Vince Williams and GG Jackson Marcus Smart’s in the fold now John morant’s going to be back full time Desmond Bane and jiren Jackson Jr are really good All-Star caliber players the western conference is as loaded as as ever so even though the Clippers I do think have made moves to keep themselves somewhat competitive I just don’t see any way this team competes especially when you consider the constant threat of Health with the Clippers I mean how many years have we said basically every year this team has been together if they could just stay healthy I’ve said that phrase multiple times in this video already I think but throughout the years whenever I’ve made Clippers videos it always is wow this team is awesome if they can stay healthy and at this point I’m going to stop saying that because I don’t think they can I think it’s physically impossible I know Paul George was one of the guys that has been getting injured but Kawhi Leonard has been hurt basically every year at this point it was this season it was last year of course he was recovering from the ACL injury the year prior he tore his ACL I just don’t trust Kawhi Leonard to stay healthy at this point even if he can play a majority of games by the time the playoffs roll around I think he’s probably not going to be looking like himself James Harden stayed relatively healthy this year but he’s been kind of an injury risk over the past few seasons their top guys two are aging with Kawai and James tarden while a lot of the other teams I talked about between the Thunder with Shay and the Timber rols with ant and LCA donic on the Mavericks etc etc those young Powerhouse teams are led by stars that are only going to get better they’re going to continue to progress It’s not a spot in my opinion where the Clippers are set up at all to compete in the Western Conference I just don’t see it so yeah while their moves are going to keep them competitive I see them way more likely as a team to be in the play in then towards the top three spots of the Western Conference so what do they do now like do they just continue to try and run this thing back over and over well I doubt they go ahead and tank anytime soon because the Thunder have their picks for the next few seasons whether it’s a swap or just an outright unprotected selection the Sixers also have some of their assets which is also a big win for the Sixers there not only do they get Paul George to help them now but it drastically weakens the Clippers which gives them likely pretty good selections down the line and those picks go for like the next six years or so it is really far away so I don’t think they’re going to try and tank anytime soon also a new arena is opening in La for them next season so I feel like they’re going to try and feeli a competitive product even if it is just for half a season maybe they blow it up halfway through the year and I’m wrong but I think they’re going to keep trying this thing and according to some reports it seems like that they’re hopeful they can bring in a new star or two and kind of rerun back the Paul George kawh Leonard thing where they grab a couple stars in an offseason or maybe over the course of two off seasons in 2026 when they have Harden’s contract off the book and 2027 when kawai’s contract expires too kind of giving them the same 2-year Bridge from now till then where we had with the Lob City Clippers with you know Paul and Blake Griffin all those guys to the eventual kawhai Paul George era and they might be able to do that I mean they are in Los Angeles it’s a prime location they’re a big Market but in my opinion that feels like a pipe dream that to me felt like a once in a multiple decade thing where you get two of the best players in the world in the same off season I mean Kawhi Leonard was coming off of a championship run a Finals MVP with the Raptors where a lot of people were calling him the best in the world going into that next season and for Paul George he was coming off a top three MVP and defensive player of the year finish in Oklahoma City like those were two firmly top 10 arguably top five players in the NBA and they got them in the same off season so I just don’t see any way they replicate that type of feat again and not even those two guys were enough to get them a championship so I don’t think that’s going to happen to me anticipating that you can do that again is kind of delusional but it sounds like that’s their plan I guess we’ll see if they’re able to execute they’re in such a weird spot I tweeted out asking youall who you thought was in the worst position in the NBA at this point heading into the next portion of the off season and the Clippers were a pretty popular pick the suns were also one of those basically teams that feel like they’re pretty far away from competing but also don’t have any of their draft picks or assets to upgrade the Clippers are firmly in that boat even if at some point they did decide to rebuild I don’t know how much kawhai and James Harden are going to get you at this point like Harden’s getting way up there in age and especially now with this contract he’s on he can get you what maybe like a couple picks potentially but I don’t even know what teams would be interested Kawai think would make more sense as a valuable trade asset but with his injury history how many teams are going to be willing to give you three four first round picks or more for a guy that can’t really stand on the court and is getting up to his mid-30s I just don’t think it’s realistic I’ve seen some people or at least a couple people say you know maybe at some point they’ll try to offer Kawhi Leonard to the Thunder to get their picks back maybe but I don’t know if the Thunder go that route for an aging star when they could just hopefully get like some of the best prospects in the world while also competing for championships that seems a lot more preferable so I don’t know what to make of the Clippers in a vacuum like I think their off season has been fine they’ve made fine signings it’s just not going to get them to Championship contention I don’t agree with the people that are saying that this is a better Clippers team than last year I just think that’s wrong and again with the health always going to be a factor for them I think it’s pretty clear the Clippers are done for this era is not only over but the window that they previously had to compete for a championship is firmly closed shut they feel like a middle of the pack at best playoff team going into the season even if all the editions click they’re not going to beat those top squads in the upper a of the Western Conference their time is coming gone which it’s a shame I mean obviously as a thunder fan like them falling apart is kind of good for my franchise but Paul George I I’m a big fan of his obviously he was here with the Thunder for a little bit I really like kawii Leonard it would have been cool to see them make some type of run I mean last season they had Russell Westbrook on the team too like one of my favorite players of all time the greatest Thunder player ever it’s a team that I would have been fine with seeing have some success however it just never came to fruition they really are cursed they got so unlucky with the injuries obviously they were injuries prone guys but it was just every single year it really sucks um but yeah the Clippers as we know them are done for the era is over and they won’t be competing for a championship anytime soon maybe they do pull off a miracle grab some stars in a couple years I just don’t see it happening but yeah I’d love to hear your thoughts on the Clippers what have you thought of their offseason so far what direction would you go if you’re the general manager for this team would you just pursue a REO as soon as possible would you try to remain competitive and hope that something works its way out in a couple of Seasons I love to hear your thoughts also if you have a different answer than like the Clippers or like the Suns or someone for the worst position in the NBA team at the moment I’d love to hear your thoughts I know the Nets were kind of like the go-to answer for that recently but they got their picks back from Houston so that’s a big plus and they’re going to tank mode got a ton for Mel Bridges kind of Saved their franchise there but love to hear if you have a different opinion on that question for the moment though uh leave a like And subscribe if you enjoyed hit the notification Bell so you don’t miss out in future videos appreciate you watching I’ll see y’all later re one say back oh

The Los Angeles Clippers were one of the most interesting teams coming into NBA Free Agency and have had a unique offseason. They kept Kawhi Leonard and James Harden in town, but Paul George left for the Philadelphia 76ers in order to team up with Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid in a surprise move. This ends their PG Kawhi era and begins a period of uncertainty where they hope to still compete, but it doesn’t feel likely with a rebuild also being seemingly out of the question. So, let’s talk about it.

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0:00 – This Year Was Critical
2:58 – Paul George is Gone
3:45 – End of an Era
4:29 – The Offseason So Far
5:30 – Still Not Contenders
8:18 – Rebuild or Try Again?
11:52 – Basketball Limbo
12:45 – Outro