As August draws to a close, the The LA Clippers are just weeks away from opening their state-of-the-art Intuit Dome for its first-ever basketball game. Kawhi Leonard and James Harden in the lead The group, what can we really expect from this year’s LA Clippers team?
Clippers roster
With plenty of options available, the LA Clippers quickly moved on from Paul George and turned to building a team around their two remaining stars. Kawhi Leonard and James Harden will be expected to do the bulk of the scoring for them, but their responsibilities have been reduced on the other end of the floor.
Derrick Jones Jr., Kris Dunn and Nicolas Batum are all players who will take on defensive responsibilities alongside Terance Mann and Ivica Zubac. With plenty of combinations on the table, the Clippers should have a solid defensive lineup at all times.
Kawhi Leonard was cut from Team USA last summer for the Paris Olympics, but all indications are he will be ready when the Clippers begin training camp in Hawaii on Oct. 1.
With George gone, it’s likely that Ivica Zubac, Terance Mann and Norman Powell will step up to the plate to make up for the loss. Zubac and Mann have enjoyed phenomenal growth, capped by a solid playoff run last year. Powell will be in much greater demand as a point guard after taking up more space with the additions of Russell Westbrook and James Harden over the past two seasons.
The only question marks surrounding the Clippers heading into training camp are the same ones they’ve been for the past two seasons: What they’ll do at power forward and whether their stars can be healthy when the calendar turns to April.
Last season, the Clippers were unable to address their power forward needs after trading for James Harden, and so far, they seem happy with their current situation.
The power forward position
The LA Clippers don’t have many options left to improve their roster. The loss of Paul George opened the door to the mid-level non-taxpayer exception (used to sign Derrick Jones Jr.) as well as the biannual exception (used to sign Nicolas Batum).
The Clippers were able to trade Russell Westbrook to the Jazz for Kris Dunn while adding Mo Bamba and Kevin Porter Jr. as free agents.
As of mid-August, the Clippers have yet to find a viable trade deal to offload P.J. Tucker. Their attempts dating back to the 2023-24 regular season have been unsuccessful, with many teams expecting the Clippers to add draft compensation to spice up the package.
Murray, the athletics attorney, reported earlier this month that Clippers prepare as if PJ Tucker will be on the roster entering training camp, and everything seems to be pointing in that direction, barring any movement heading into the final weeks of September.
The Philadelphia 76ers accepted a deal with the French striker and former Boston Celtic player Guerschon Yabusele on Sunday morning. Yabusele, who had a strong showing at the 2024 Paris Olympics, selected the Sixers over a number of interested suitors, including the LA Clippers.
The Clippers expressed interest in signing Guerschon Yabusele after his breakout performance at the Paris Olympics, league sources not authorized to speak publicly told ClutchPoints. Yabusele, who could play any forward position, would have been a solid choice for a team actively looking for depth up front.
Yabusele also played with current Clippers forward Nicolas Batum on the French national team, which won silver at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
The Clippers’ problem is that they’ve completely exhausted their roster spots with the 15 guaranteed contracts, the two two-way contracts – Jordan Miller and Trentyn Flowers, and four Exhibit 10 (training camp) contracts – Kai Jones, Elijah Harkless, RayJ Dennis and Kevon Harris – for a total of 21 spots.
Yabusele ended up signing with the Philadelphia 76ers on a one-year deal worth $2.1 million. According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, Yabusele caught the attention of many NBA players in Paris. Several teams were interested in his services because of his exceptional play, and the Sixers won that sweepstakes.
The forward, often nicknamed “the dancing bear,” averaged 14 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.0 assist in six games for France en route to a second-place finish. The team’s second-leading scorer behind Victor Wembanyama, Yabusele shot 51.9 percent from the field and 28.6 percent from three-point range throughout the tournament.
He really shined in the three knockout stages of the Olympics, where he led the team in scoring with an average of 19.7 points, 4.7 rebounds, 1.0 assists and 1.0 steals per game, while shooting 55.9% from the line. He also attempted 22 free throws in the knockout stages, shooting 81.9% from the line.
In addition to Yabusele, the Clippers were also intrigued by French forward Mathias Lessort, who also played well during the Olympic run, sources told ClutchPoints. He is, however, coming off a Euroleague championship with Panathinaikos Basketball Club and being named MVP of the Greek League Finals.
As things stand, it appears Kawhi Leonard will handle the bulk of the power forward minutes with some spot minutes from players like Nicolas Batum or, in some smaller lineups, Derrick Jones Jr.
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The Young Clippers
The Summer League saw the Clippers lose in the semifinals by a single point to the Memphis Grizzlies. Jordan Miller, Kobe Brown and Cam Christie all impressed in what was an overall very successful summer tournament.
After their successful run, a number of these players have continued to play together in organized races in Los Angeles. Kobe Brown has been described as the Clippers’ best player in some races this month, and Jordan Miller has looked like a different player as he enters his second season in the league. Norman Powell has also been a regular at these open races as part of his tenacious offseason training regimen. Terance Mann and James Harden have also participated before leaving town for their respective other commitments.
Of all the young players, Brown is the one who will likely have the greatest opportunity to contribute right away, given the Clippers’ hole at power forward. Kawhi Leonard, Derrick Jones Jr. and Nicolas Batum will likely take up the majority of those minutes, but if the Clippers can get solid defense and some offensive production from Brown, it would go a long way toward opening up other opportunities for the Clippers.
Jordan Miller expressed his desire to sign a standard NBA contract in Summer League, and that remains his goal as his sophomore season is about to begin. As noted for the forward position above, the Clippers simply don’t have room on their roster right now.
Bones Hyland is another big question mark for the Clippers. Russell Westbrook’s departure should have, in theory, meant that the backup job belonged to Hyland. Instead, the Clippers signed Kris Dunn and Kevin Porter Jr., further complicating the Clippers’ situation at guard.
The president of basketball operations said the team and Hyland’s representation would work together on a path to play if that path wasn’t available with the Clippers, so it remains to be seen what the team ends up doing with him.
Clippers training camp is scheduled to begin on Oct. 1, 2024, the day after Media Day in Inglewood, Calif. In an ideal world, Kawhi Leonard and James Harden would play more than 72 games, giving the Clippers a solid chance to make the playoffs in an increasingly competitive Western Conference.
Given the current state of this team, while assuming that Harden and, primarily, Leonard will likely have to miss some time this year, a 45-37 record as a play-in team is my guess as to where the Clippers will fit in.
