What Will The Los Angeles Clippers Look Like In 2020-21?

Kawhi Leonard and Paul George still headline the Los Angeles Clippers roster this upcoming season, but they were far from achieving their goal of winning a title last season. They did not even make the Western Conference Finals even though they were one of the favorites across the NBA world to win it all.

After losing to the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference Semifinals, aftering being up 3-1 in the series nonetheless, the Clippers had to make some serious changes this offseason, one being them moving on from Doc Rivers after 7 seasons. With Rivers gone as head coach and GM, the Clippers continued their pursuit to build a championship level roster this offseason by trading away versatile guard Landry Shamet in exchange for the sharpshooting Luke Kennard. 

While it looked like that the Clippers were only making good moves this offseason to set themselves up for success, things quickly changed for the worst when reigning Sixth Man of the Year, Montrezl Harrell, decided to kick the Clippers to the curb and he signed with their arch-nemesis, and reigning NBA Champions, the Los Angeles Lakers. Harrell leaves a massive void on this Clippers roster because he was not only a vital part of their success, but he was one of their outspoken leaders. 

Both on and off-the-court, he will be missed by the entire Clippers organization, but they can visit him anytime they want down the hall and to the right in the Lakers’ locker room in the Staples Center. 

With Harrell gone, the Clippers quickly scrambled to find someone to replace him and they were able to lure Serge Ibaka away from Toronto on a two-year, $19M deal. While Ibaka will not be able to replace the hole Harrell leaves, he will bring a different aspect of play at the center position for the Clippers as Ibaka is one of the better shooting centers in the league. His ability to stretch the court and play perimeter-to-post was highly valued by many teams this offseason and the Clippers were lucky to get him and fill their need at center. 

So what exactly can we expect from the Los Angeles Clippers this upcoming season? Well Kawhi Leonard will still be emotionless, Patrick Beverley will keep flopping to try and draw charges and Lou Williams will still be the best player to come off the bench in NBA history. Put all of this together and it all comes back to whether or not Paul George can elevate his play when it matters. 

The Clippers will definitely be a playoff team this upcoming season in the Western Conference and if they will have any shot at being a legit title contender, Paul George will have to be better. He struggled a lot in the NBA bubble both physically and mentally and after taking some time to himself this offseason, hopefully he will be able to return and be the superstar the Clippers invested in him to be because if he is not, this team has a 0% chance to win a title.