This Is The Worst Managed Franchise In NBA History

This Is The Worst Managed Franchise In NBA History

in the summer of 2019 the Clippers had a historic off season making two Monumental Acquisitions that would forever change the course of their franchise kawh Leonard yearned to go back home and play for his hometown team but in order to do so he had the Ambitions to team up with another star in particular Paul George fresh off a championship as the most dominant two-way player in the game the Clippers were willing to do whatever it took to get Kawai unfortunately they were a bit too willing the Colossal trade package they sent to OKC ignited a new era for Sam pry and the Thunder not only did it Kickstart their rebuild it created a roster that snatched the first seat of the conference the youngest team to ever do so and still with so much draft Capital left this could have been the Clippers if they were smarter together this Duo really only had one playoff run where both of them were fully healthy it was a disaster for the C ERS a complete failure of a super team now they have such few assets so deep in the hole but instead of trying to climb out of it they keep putting a Band-Aid on a situation that is all but inevitable how’s it going folks my name’s Andy and today let’s take a look at how the Clippers organization sabotaged themselves and how they have without question the worst future of any team in the entire league at the end of the game in the series Mavericks in the second round 14 when the Clippers lost to the Dallas Mavericks in the first round of the playoffs it was symbolic in a way it basically signaled that all the moves they made all the Superstar Talent they’ve acquired by giving up so many picks was a complete waste of time they lost to a team led by one of the NBA’s brightest young superstars as their team of Aging stars and repeated injuries have been the story of this entire Saga the sad part is it actually looked like this could be the year to make a run at it Kawai played a whopping 68 regular season games his most since the 2016 to 17 season the years of load management seems to have finally paid off except it didn’t towards the end of the year Kawai once again did not beat the allegations his degenerative knee condition is exactly that degenerative and there’s very little you can do to fix it while they’ve beaten the Mavs several times during this era this loss became the final nail in the coffin a reminder that this team was not meant to win while some teams have been known to stockpile draft picks like crazy Sam pry the Clippers are known to be the exact opposite but I got to say I’m just fired up to be here today it’s pretty cool pretty damn cool from 2019 until 2024 the Clippers only made one firstr draft selection who actually got decent minutes that was Kobe Brown in the 2023 draft and to say he got minutes is generous cuz he barely played in his rookie year in this six-year span Kobe Brown is the only first round pick the Clippers drafted and kept for his entire rookie season to make matters worse most of their future picks until 2030 are either going to OKC or Philadelphia and even the ones that they’re keeping OKC and Philly have the option to swap picks if they want to it’s just a dreadful situation we all know about the Paul George trade that forced the Clippers to give up four unprotected first round picks and several pick swaps so you would think they learned their lesson after realizing this team was falling apart right before our eyes but then in the 2023 offseason they jumped into the fire once again reped that James Harden is headed to the Lo Angeles Clippers in a blockbuster trade they received James Harden PJ Tucker Philip petrusev for Marcus Morris Robert Covington Nick Batum KJ Martin two firsts two seconds and a pick swap the initial reaction to this trade was met with mixed opinions for one Harden proved in Philly that he can still ball out he still has the capability to lead an offense as a starting point guard and he still had enough juice to take over games when he needs to the most important things to look at here are the 2028 unprotected first round pick and the 2029 first round pick swap after that devastating Paul George package that depleted most of their assets this Harden trade finished off whatever they had left losing these first rounders is exceptionally bad because this is around the time the Clippers are going to be pretty terrible I’d imagine 2028 2029 is that’s the time the Clippers are going to tank to the bottom because that’s right after kawai’s contract ends had the Clippers kept those picks they would have at least had something to look forward to in the future now there is a bright side in terms of immediate impact Harden is great actually he’s exactly what the Clippers were missing for so long an experienced facilitator a very competent playmaker who can run the offense so their two Wing players don’t have to harden worked well with the team and they finished the season with the fourth ranked offense in the entire NBA they were actually second for the majority of the Season until kawhai went down with an injury that’s a massive improvement from 16th in the previous year so in reality this trade worked out well in the short term but that’s about it it was a short-term solution to a long-term problem that’s plagued them for many years you know I’m I’m not a system player I am a system you know what I mean so at the time of the Harden trade Steve bomber and the Clippers organization were well aware of Paul George’s impending player option and free agency it was kind of swept under the rug the entire year though because his decision was based solely on how the Clippers performed that’s why the front office went into panic mode and got hardened in the first place hoping to make a deep push into the playoffs to show George hey look we do have a chance to win the title not it was a huge gamble cuz if Paul Geor did in fact walk in free agency their hopes for contending would be over and they’re left with a bunch of underachieving years and zero piics it turns out the exact worst case scenario that could have happened happened after 5 years of Paul George he opted to not resign here the Clippers lost him for absolutely nothing shortly after his departure the Clippers released this statement we negotiated for months with Paul and his representative on a contract that would make sense for both both sides and we were left far apart the Gap was significant the goal was to resign him but after such an abysmal playoff series against the Mavs they soured on the idea of giving him Max money it makes sense but at the same time without him their window to compete has closed something I’ve thought about recently was do you remember how Kawai handled the situation with the Spurs everyone was pointing fingers some gave him the the benefit of the doubt others were saying he purposely sat out and purposely did not cooperate with Team doctors it was a massive ordeal that made fans really sour on kawh Leonard the once beloved player who was supposed to carry the spurs into a new era his injuries remained shrouded in mystery but when he arrived in Toronto he was all of a sudden in Peak form the best we’ve ever seen him play it made people wonder what went wrong in San Antonio to create such a distrust between him and the team doctors right after that incredible season in Toronto he signed a massive contract with the Clippers as an unrestricted free agent keep this in mind now fast forward to the 2023 to 24 season the first year that kawai’s played a significant number of games in a long time after so many years of rehab and Recovery it seemed like Kawai has finally returned back to his Superstar form for a while he was playing like a legit MVP cand it and so Midway through the season the Clippers rewarded him with a brand new 3-year extension Kawhi deserved it after proving he could stay on the court and play for extended periods of time but did he really prove that or did he want to play just so he can get paid and that he knows his knees will slowly deteriorate which is why when the playoffs roll around Kawai is always hurt is it simply a coincidence that Kawai somehow finds a new burst of energy right before his contract is about to expire kawai’s Health has been a beacon of mystery throughout his career it started in San Antonio and we thought it was only a one-time thing but now it’s clear his body cannot handle the burden of an entire NBA season perhaps I’m being too accusatory kawai’s injury is a huge deal and I don’t think he intends to try harder only during contract years but then you see an announcement like this Clippers kawi Leonard expected to be ready for USA olympic Aid knee injury wait a second he just got a serious knee injury and surgery in the playoffs and now he’s ready to train for the Olympics okay maybe he is healthy now but that’s got to sting for Clippers fans he has obligations to play for his organization and a history of knee problems for him to put himself at further risk by playing in the Olympics it’s a slap in the face for the fans also when the Clippers signed Kawai to an extension their Hope was to resign Paul George too but without him there’s no chance they can do anything now A crippled Kawai plus an aging James Harden an erratic Russell Westbrook who just had literally the worst playoff series I’ve ever seen along with the oldest roster in the entire NBA if there’s a light at the end of the tunnel the Clippers are not finding it the Los Angeles Clippers have always been the little brother to the LA Lakers after Decades of being in the NBA they have still yet to differentiate themselves from the Lakers however their struggles spanning several decades are almost entirely self-inflicted the Lob City era was the most exciting time for this franchise in history yet they never accomplished anything noticeable during those years besides a couple of highlight worthy plays what we do remember is their failures their failure to get past the second round their failure to close out a series went up three games to one with that era over you’d expect them to start over draft some young assets and build from scratch instead they went in the opposite direction trading away every asset they had for a temporary super team they broke every rule in the rebuilding rule book all because Steve bomber is so freaking rich being in Los Angeles is a blessing and a curse there’s a ton of players who grew up in California and the LA area with all their families so close to them so it’s easy to get free agents to come it’s a curse because they haven’t had a true rebuild since drafting Blake Griffin back in 2009 that’s what this franchise needs right now A young exciting charismatic player someone who the crowd wants to cheer for not a bunch of old washed up stars who are only here to get paid and live in LA thank you all so much for watching I hope yall enjoyed the video let me know your thoughts in the comment section where do you see the Clippers headed from here can they actually make any moves that could possibly help them contend or with the exit of Paul George is their window closed I hope you all enjoyed the video and of course as always I’ll see you next time peace

The Los Angeles Clippers are the NBA’s most mismanaged franchise. Here’s how they ruined their own present and future.

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