Roster Reload: Clippers desperately seeking depth in offseason
2014-15 record: 56-26
Pythagorean record: 58-24
Offensive Rating: 109.8 (1st)
Defensive Rating: 103.0 (15th)
Under Contract for 2015-16
Player Salary RPM WARP
Chris Paul $21,468,695 7.4 18.5
Blake Griffin $18,907,725 2.8 8.8
J.J. Redikk $7,085,000 1.1 4.1
C.J. Wilcox $1,159,680 -2.8 -0.2
Spencer Hawes $5,543,725 -1.6 -0.5
Possible Free Agents
Player Type RPM WARP
DeAndre Jordan Unrestricted 4.5 15.4
Jamal Crawford Partially guaranteed -2.1 3.0
Matt Barnes Partially guaranteed 2.8 1.5
Hedo Turkoglu Unrestricted 0.1 0.5
Lester Hudson Non-guaranteed -1.4 0.2
Ekpe Udoh Unrestricted -1.3 0.0
Jordan Hamilton Non-guaranteed -1.8 -0.1
Dahntay Jones Unrestricted -4.3 -0.6
Glen Davis Unrestricted -1.4 -1.4
Austin Rivers Restricted -3.8 -1.8
Draft picks
None
Projected cap space
Maximum: $7.4 million
Minimum: $0
Likely: $0
What's returning
Five of the Clippers' six core players are under contract. That starts with the superstar duo of
Chris Paul and
Blake Griffin. Paul turned in one of the finest seasons in a career full of them, playing all 82 games for the first time ever and making a strong case for a spot on a crowded MVP ballot. Griffin's 2014-15 wasn't as explosive as the second half of 2013-14, when he arguably surpassed Paul in the Clippers' pecking order, but he remains one of the NBA's top power forwards.
Starting small forward
Matt Barnes and sixth man
Jamal Crawford both have contracts that are partially guaranteed, though their salaries are low enough the Clippers will give little if any thought to actually cutting either player.
The fourth L.A. starter under contract, shooting guard J.J. Redikk, enjoyed the best season of his career. Healthy and fully integrated in the Clippers' offense in his second year with the team, Redikk made a career-best 43.7 percent of his 3-point attempts.
The Clippers also have a pair of Washington Huskies coming back. Center
Spencer Hawes was a bust during his first season in L.A., slipping out of the rotation because of his inability to make 3-pointers. First-round pick
C.J. Wilcox barely saw any action during his rookie season.
Free agents
The biggest question looming over the Clippers' offseason is the fifth starter, center
DeAndre Jordan, who is an unrestricted free agent coming off a monster year. By virtue of his durability, high-percentage finishing and defensive contributions, Jordan finished sixth in the NBA in WARP and 13th in the wins above replacement stat
derived from ESPN's real plus-minus. There's no question that Jordan merits a max contract this summer.
The other Clippers free agents are reserves, most of whom rated below replacement level. Point guard
Austin Rivers, acquired to play for his dad at midseason, is a restricted free agent. Forward
Hedo Turkoglu and post
Glen Davis, the two other Clippers reserves who merited regular playing time, are both unrestricted.
Biggest need: Depth
Per NBA.com/Stats, the Clippers' starting five outscored opponents by 17.7 points per 100 possessions. Not only was that
best in the NBA among lineups who played at least 500 minutes, it was the best in the league with the same minimum since the 2008-09
Orlando Magic (plus-18.4 with Barnes,
Vince Carter,
Dwight Howard, Rashard Lewis and
Jameer Nelson). So the starters are not the issue.
Since the Clippers got little from Hawes and fellow offseason addition Jordan Farmar (so bad he was waived midseason), head coach Doc Rivers had at best three reserves he trusted: Crawford, Davis and his son Austin. The Clippers must upgrade their reserve corps, especially since they were relatively lucky in terms of health. While they survived Griffin's midseason injury, going 9-6 against a brutal schedule, the Clippers saw all four other starters play at least 76 games. Jordan and Paul both played all 82.
Biggest question: Do the Clippers need to change their foundation?
Four years after acquiring Paul, the Clippers have won just three playoff series and have never reached the conference finals, which has raised the question of whether this core can win. My answer is yes. Again, the starters weren't the problem, and while the bench is unlikely to improve substantially, it would be hard for it to get worse. The Clippers were one non-terrible quarter at home from reaching the Western Conference finals. This group isn't that far away.
Ideal offseason
Whispers about Jordan's interest in returning to his native Texas to play for the
Dallas Mavericks prove nothing more than a strategy to ensure the Clippers step up with a five-year max offer. When they do, Jordan re-signs, keeping the starting five intact. Because of the difficulty of playing Crawford and Redikk on the wing, the Clippers swap their high-scoring sixth man to the
Indiana Pacers for the more versatile
C.J. Miles. With the taxpayer midlevel exception, they bring
Mo Williams back as a free agent. Hawes rediscovers his shooting touch and the L.A. second unit is deep enough that the Clippers battle the
Golden State Warriors for the top seed in the Western Conference.
