LA Clippers Off-Season: A Review So Far

The LA Clippers’ offseason player movements paint a blurry picture for the 2023-24 NBA season as two stars leave Los Angeles. Will Kawhi Leonard and James Harden be able to carry the team when it opens the season in a brand new arena? Or will injuries once again wreak havoc and put newly extended head coach Ty Lue in a bad spot?

LA Clippers Off-Season: A Review So Far

Clippers storm into a new era with a new home after the season

The LA Clippers’ off-season has been quite eventful as the NBA moves ever closer to the start of training camp. For the Clippers, this summer brought a groundbreaking milestone for the franchise. The newly developed Intuit Dome was officially opened on August 15. The Clippers, popularly known as LA’s Cellar Teamwill permanently leave the Crypto.com Arena (formerly Staples Center) and begin a new saga for the organization on its own home court. The new basketball and multi-purpose arena in Inglewood has already been named as the host venue for the 2026 NBA All-Star weekend and the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic games.

During the Clippers’ off-season, the head coach’s contract extension Ty Lue was also notable. Lue just won a gold medal as an assistant coach in Paris. He will now enter a new era with the Clippers with a new contract. The Clippers squad also has a restructuring this offseason. While two high-profile stars left, a few important new additions came in the form of supporting players.

Departures of important players

Russell Westbrook certainly had a better time with the Clippers than with the other LA team, the Lakers. His fit was better suited to the Clippers’ style of play. Unfortunately, Westbrook is on the move again this offseason, leaving the Clippers to join the Denver NuggetsThe biggest change in the squad was Paul George Leave for the Philadelphia 76ers as a free agent. The partnership between George and Leonard never really blossomed. Injuries were a thorn in the side of both players throughout their time together. As a 76er, George is now in a much better situation and has a better chance of making it deep into the playoffs.

Other offseason departures were Mason Plumlee and Daniel Theis,

Acquisitions of key players

Although the Clippers lost George and Westbrook, they were unable to sign stars as replacements. However, the new additions of Nicolas Batum And Derrick Jones Jr. should be reliable secondary acquisitions. Jones and Batum played well for their teams last year as support players. Batum enters his second round with the Clippers after already spending three seasons with them from 2021-2023. Kevin Porter Jr. And Kris Dunn also signed with the Clippers in the offseason.

An unclear outlook for the 2023-24 season

As exciting and motivating as it may be to play in a brand new arena and usher in a new era for your franchise, it’s hard to predict how the upcoming season will pan out for the Clippers. James Harden and Kawhi Leonard are staying. Leonard’s murky injury history is grim, though, so there’s little reason to be confident this year will be any different. Being sent home by Team USA before the Olympics began couldn’t have made things any better from the outside looking in, either. While Harden still plays exceptionally at times and lights up the court, he’s no longer capable of carrying teams.

The Clippers might not end up in the playoffs. Regardless of how the season turns out, missing the postseason is not a good start to a new era of Los Angeles Clippers basketball – whether in a brand new state-of-the-art arena or not.