The LA Clippers may have landed on the exact kind of roster that fits the new lottery setup - and that’s the problem.
They don’t look bad enough to chase the very bottom of the standings, but they also don’t look strong enough to make a real push for the Play-In Tournament in a loaded Western Conference. In a vacuum, that middle ground can be useful under the new lottery odds. For the Clippers, it’s a trap.
That’s because this isn’t their pick.
LA owes a pick swap to the Oklahoma City Thunder this season from the Paul George trade, the same deal in which the Clippers also sent OKC two-time MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. So while the roster may be sitting in that awkward, average lane that the lottery system rewards, the benefit goes elsewhere.
And it goes to a Thunder team that already has plenty.
The Clippers are also dealing with the fallout from the Kawhi Leonard situation, which left them without five of the future first-round picks they were supposed to have. Now they’re staring at a roster that is, at best, solidly mid - and that could end up handing Oklahoma City an elite first-round selection.
Under the current lottery odds, the bottom three teams are the ones that get hit hardest. They get one fewer ping-pong ball than the fourth- through 10th-worst teams. The three worst teams in the league end up with the same lottery ball total as the teams that lose out of the Play-In Tournament.
That’s where the Clippers come in. They’re not likely to be among the league’s worst three teams, especially with Darius Garland and Brandon Ingram on the roster. Both are former All-Stars, and both give LA enough talent to avoid the league’s absolute cellar.
But none of that really helps the Clippers here. Because they don’t control the pick, their lottery position is really a problem for someone else.
In all likelihood, LA ends up in the three-ping-pong-ball range, which would give the Thunder a strong shot at a top draft pick. For a team that already won a title two years ago and reached Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals last year before losing to the San Antonio Spurs, that’s a dangerous kind of bonus.
The rest of the NBA probably won’t love watching Oklahoma City add another lottery talent to a roster already packed with them. But the Clippers’ perfectly average season may make that possible.
In Other News...
Kawhi's New Deal Just Reopened A Painful Clippers Trade Debate
Kawhi Leonards new extension with the Toronto Raptors has put a familiar Clippers conversation back in the foreground. The two-year, $115 million deal comes after the NBAs investigation into Leonards sponsorship dealings, a probe that led to fines for Leonard and penalties for Los Angeles. Even with the transaction now in place, the structure of the contract still reflects the league rules that shaped it, with the agreement coming in below his maximum salary.
For Clippers fans, the bigger issue is what the whole episode still represents years later: the cost of chasing Leonard, the fallout from the cap-circumvention investigation, and the way one superstar pursuit continues to hover over the franchise. Leonards contract also includes a player option for the 2028-29 season, another reminder that the story is not just about where he is now, but about how much unfinished business the leagues ruling left behind for Los Angeles to reckon with. [Read more 🡒]
Clippers Training Camp Puts Real Pressure On A Few Young Hopefuls
The Clippers are heading into training camp with a familiar kind of unease for the back end of the roster, where competition often matters as much as reputation. Several young players will be fighting for spots, minutes, and even longer-term footing, and the spotlight falls especially on Gradey Dick, Cam Christie, and Keaton Wagler as they try to show they belong in the mix.
Christies situation feels the most delicate because the team has already put a salary guarantee deadline on the calendar, making camp a live audition in a way the others may not face. For a team trying to sort out its rotation and its roster at the same time, these are the kinds of decisions that can shape not just opening night, but the early tone of the season. [Read more 🡒]
Kawhis Clippers Reality Is Becoming Another Teams Huge Gamble
Kawhi Leonards run with the Clippers has always carried a certain tension. Since signing in 2019, he has made four All-Star appearances and given the franchise the kind of star power it chased, but injuries and uneven playoff results have kept the whole experiment from fully settling into something simple or clean. Even now, the conversation around Leonard feels less like a snapshot of the present and more like an ongoing evaluation of how much a team can realistically build around a superstar whose body has rarely cooperated for long.
What makes the picture even more complicated is how much value still rides on the next step, whether for the Clippers or any team watching the same arc unfold. Leonards aging curve is impossible to ignore, and the concern is not just whether he can still play at a high level, but whether he can stay available long enough for that level to matter. For the Clippers, that leaves the franchise in a familiar spot: tied to a talent few can match, while waiting for the rest of the gamble to reveal itself. [Read more 🡒]