Los Angeles Clippers Roster 2019 Clippers Roster

The Clippers are headed back to the old days of being a bottom dwelling team. They shipped Blake Griffin off to Detroit, and got Tobias Harris, Avery Bradley, and Boban Marjanovic in return. Boban is a fan favorite for everyone in the league, but not a impactful player. Injuries caused the Clippers to go through guards like newborns go through diapers. Patrick Beverley and Milos Teodosic both struggled with injuries, which led to a lot of time for Austin Rivers and Lou Williams. Sweet Lou is a sixth man of the year candidate, and was the best part of the Clippers offense. Danilo Gallinari had an on and off year with injuries, and is a placement holder for L.A. until they start transitioning more towards the future. Harris performed very well down the stretch, and isn’t the worst player to keep into the future. It is only a matter of time before DeAndre Jordan finds himself out of LA, but in the meantime he is their go-to starting center.

Los Angeles Clippers Roster Top 3 Questions

Lob City is officially no more, and the Clippers have entirely had to remake their team. The final piece of the great Clippers' teams, DeAndre Jordan, is gone, severing the last link with the past. In their place is a motley group of players that may be a placeholder for the next incoming group of offseason acquisitions. There is little visibility as to who will be the leader of this team. What is certain is that the Clippers will be dropping a few notches in the hyper-competitive Western Conference. It is not entirely clear how this team has been built. This will likely be the most challenging coaching job in Doc Rivers' career. The best case scenario for the Clippers will be sliding into one of the final playoff spots in the conference. Any decent results from the Clippers will be considered a bonus as the team seems to be amassing cap space and roster slots for their next rebuild.

Who is the Top Option?

Tobias Harris was the leader of this team from the time that he came over from the Pistons in the Blake Griffin trade. Harris averaged just shy of 20 points per game after joining the Clippers and has emerged as a multi-dimensional threat. Harris has become more an outside shooting player as opposed to the slasher that he was. Playing more on the perimeter suits him well. The question is whether Harris is just starting to scratch the surface of what he can do or whether he has already maximized his abilities. If the former is the case, then he will be the star on this team.

Which of the Youngsters will Emerge?

For the first time in a long time, the Clippers will have multiple young players as key parts of the playing rotation. Johnathan Motley is the intriguing option amongst the Clippers' youngsters. The Clippers got him from the Mavericks in an offseason trade. Ironically. he was expendable after the Mavericks poached Jordan from the Clippers. Motley had exhibited potential in limited playing time last season. While he is currently buried deep on the Clippers' depth chart, Motley may gain playing time as the season progresses. Another Clippers' youngster of note is Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Los Angeles drafted him based on potential alone after he spent a season as a part-time player at Kentucky. He is another player that can carve out more of a role for himself later in the season.

Can Gallinari Stay Healthy?

Gallinari has always been a classic case of "what if" over the course of his career. At age 30, Gallinari has played more than 70 games in a season once in his career. Making projections for the Clippers based on Gallinari remaining healthy is a futile exercise. If Gallinari can approach 70 games, him and Harris will make for a talented frontcourt duo and the Clippers can compete for a playoff spot. How Rivers manages Gallinari's minutes may have a large bearing on whether or not he can remain in the lineup consistently.