The Los Angeles Clippers Are A Flawed Team

By Court Zierk @courtzierk on November 11, 2014

The Los Angeles Clippers made a calculated gamble this summer when they prioritized adding additional depth to their frontcourt over filling a far more glaring hole at the small forward position. When the Clippers signed Spencer Hawes to a four year, $23 million deal, there was still plenty of talented wing players remaining on the market, including Paul Pierce.

Once the Clippers used their entire mid-level exception on Hawes, their flexibility to make any additional moves became non-existent. To create a little wiggle room, they sent swingman Jared Dudley and a protected 2017 first-round pick to the Milwaukee Bucks in return for Carlos Delfino, a bag of pennies, a bratwurst and a can of Old Milwaukee. By doing this, they were basically ridding themselves of the $4.25 million owed to Dudley that year, but in return they would take on Delfino’s $3.25 million.

The Clippers subsequently waived Delfino, thereby qualifying for the stretch provision, which allowed them to spread his salary out over five seasons, thus reducing the amount of money that would hit the books this year. All in all, they basically, created about $2.5 million in cap space to use on additional players for the 2014-2015 season, which they used to sign Chris Douglas-Roberts and Hedo Turkoglu, thus completing their roster.

When all was said and done, they certainly improved their depth along the frontline, but by deemphasizing the importance of the small forward position, they wound up with an inherently flawed roster, and one that will be their downfall if not addressed.

This did not stop pundits and prognosticators from declaring them the favorites to come out of the brutal Western Conference, and ultimately hoist the Larry O’Brien trophy. They seemed to be the darlings of the preseason. People were entranced by Blake Griffin’s newly minted jump shot, which I admit I too was fascinated by. Chris Paul continues to amaze, and even approaching the age of 30, is still often cited as the premier point guard in the game. The addition of Hawes was widely viewed as an integral piece to complete the puzzle. Things were great in L.A.

But, in my simpleton mind, I couldn’t get past the fact that Matt Barnes was still a starter on this team. The same Matt Barnes that went 6-44 from the floor in the preseason (14%). Yes, Matt Barnes, who now occupies a 34-year-old body, and has relied mostly upon athleticism and vigor his entire career. I just couldn’t buy into the Clippers as a true contender unless this was remedied. And as of yet, it hasn’t.

Doc Rivers appears to be coming around to this fact, having removed Barnes from the starting lineup, and replacing him with reigning sixth man of the year Jamal Crawford. But, this only undermines Crawford’s effectiveness and importance on this team, and doesn’t actually solve the problem.

Admittedly, once the Clippers decided to sign Hawes, their options were exceptionally limited, but that’s not to say there weren’t any. Omri Casspi, Cartier Martin, James Jones and Kent Bazemore were all available free agents, and would have fit within the Clippers’ financial restrictions. Of course, they would have had to accelerate the decision to move Dudley, but given the proper sense of urgency, I would assume this would have been possible.

Alternatively, had they prioritized their small forward void ahead of their bench bigs, Paul Pierce, Trevor Booker and Vince Carter all were available and would have been a massive upgrade to their starting lineup. Then they could have shifted their focus to bolstering their frontcourt depth with the lot of available players around their price point. Aminu Al-Farouq, Ed Davis, Drew Gooden and Anthony Tolliver were all available, and would have been suitable role players for this team.

As always, it is much easier to second-guess past decisions, rather than offer solutions. So the question remains, what should the Clippers do now that their starting lineup is set, but so obviously flawed? Well, the only option available to them now is a trade, but this becomes incredibly difficult looking at the limited assets they have to offer in return.

A Corey Brewer in exchange for Matt Barnes and Reggie Bullock trade works financially. This would give the Clippers an immediate scoring option on the wings, and Bullock could be attractive to the Minnesota Timberwolves, a team looking to stockpile young talent.

Mike Dunleavy in exchange for Barnes and Bullock also works, potentially giving the Clippers some additional firepower, and the Chicago Bulls some more defensive toughness, as well as another scorer for the future.

Wilson Chandler and Randy Foye in exchange for J.J. Reddick, Barnes and Bullock works. That actually may be intriguing for both sides. The Clippers would get two legitimate scorers in return, and the Denver Nuggets get someone who can actually shoot the ball as well as another building block for the future in Bullock.

While their options may be limited, they obviously still exist, and the Clippers would be remiss to not make a move.

Griffin is entering his prime before our eyes. He has catapulted into a Top 5 player, andalthough his refined jumper will allow him to extend his career, he is still largely dependent upon his athleticism for his dominance. Paul may have one or two seasons left as the clear-cut best point guard in the league. It won’t be long before we see his skills begin to diminish. And DeAndre Jordan becomes a free agent after this season. Given the Clippers’ current cap situation, it is far from a given that he returns next season.

The point I am trying to make is that this is probably the Clippers’ best chance to make a legitimate run at a championship, and they need to take advantage of that. As constructed, this isn’t a championship roster.

While they may have fooled many of the NBA experts out there, they can’t fool me. Changes still need to be made.

Court Zierk is a Columnist for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @CourtZierk, “Like” him on Facebook or add him on Google.