Should the Clippers Break Up The Leonard-George Duo?
In 2019, the Los Angeles Clippers acquired Kawhi Leonard after the former Raptor signed with the franchise via free agency. It was then followed in short order by a trade that landed the Clippers Paul George from the Oklahoma City Thunder.
At the time, many believed the price paid to acquire George was steep. LA wound up sending Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Danilo Gallinari, 5 first round picks, and 2 first round pick swaps to OKC to acquire the All-Star forward. In retrospect, knowing how things would play out over the years that followed, it was highway robbery.
No Success Yet
During the introductory press conference for Leonard and George, Clippers owner Steve Balmer was fired up. After all, Leonard was coming off a championship-winning season with the Toronto Raptors, and adding PG13 to the mix was supposed to push them over the top.
As we all know by now, the Clippers have yet to win a championship with the Kawhi Leonard-Paul George duo. Since 2019, the furthest the franchise has advanced in the playoffs was the Western Conference Finals in 2021, losing to the Suns in 6 games.
There was also the infamous blown 3-1 series lead during the 2020 West semis against the Denver Nuggets, missing the playoffs altogether in 2022, and getting bumped by the Phoenix Suns in the first round of the 2023 playoffs.
While most of the Clippers’ failures can’t be pinned entirely on Leonard and George, the fact that both have struggled with injuries, especially in the playoffs, has been hampering the team for almost half a decade now. The front office even added Russell Westbrook off the buyout market last February in the hopes of recapturing some of George’s magic from his OKC days without much success.
Leonard will be entering the third season of a $176-million-dollar contract he signed in 2021. The soon to be 32 year old will have a $48M player option for 2024-25 or he can opt to become a free agent. The same goes for George.
But with 601 career games missed due to injury under his belt already, should LA continue to pin their hopes to the oft injured 2x NBA champion? Or should they begin planning for a “post-Kawhi” era sooner rather than later?
What Can the Clippers Do?
When healthy, the Leonard-George duo is unstoppable offensively. Kawhi Leonard averaged 23.8 points, 6.5 rebounds, 3.9 assists, and 1.4 steals in 52 regular-season games in the 2022-2023 season. PG13, who played 56 games last season, averaged 23.8 points, 6.1 rebounds, 5.1 assists, and 1.5 steals.
As great as the numbers that the duo of Leonard and George put up when healthy, those numbers go in the trash the moment either of them go down with injuries. If you’re Steve Ballmer and your sole intention is to win a championship, is keeping the current core the right path to take?
With a busy and uncertain offseason looming around the Clippers, the club essentially needs to weigh whether they should double down on their investment with another “win now” move, or try to recoup some assets for the eventual rebuild that will need to take place out West. Players like Damian Lillard, and even James Harden could be on the move soon, and former Clipper Chris Paul is likely to be bought out once the Wizards deal is finalized.
LA holds the 30th & 48th overall picks in this week’s NBA draft. While they may be able to add some depth, or a nice rotational piece, odds are they won’t be selecting an impact player at either of those spots. At least not for the 2023-24 season.
Making matters worse, the Clippers will have five players who could join free agency this year, including Russell Westbrook, Mason Plumlee, and rotational player Wenyen Gabriel. But with the league’s highest payroll in 2022-23, Los Angeles lacks the kind of financial flexibility required to go out and sign a big name free agent.
No matter how you slice it, this is likely a make-or-break off-season for a franchise still aiming to win its first NBA championship. If they intend to keep the Leonard-George duo, they need to add several dependable veteran players who can fill the void, especially when the star duo is struggling with injuries.
Jerry West once called the Clippers a “jinxed franchise”. And unless Trent Redden has some tricks up his sleeve this offseason, LA could have some major decisions to make regarding the future of the roster at this year’s trade deadline.
-Iggy Gonzales
Photo: Amin Eshaiker. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.