It was always going to be a steep hill for the Los Angeles Clippers to climb in order to make the playoffs in the loaded Western Conference this season. Every team besides the Portland Trail Blazers, Utah Jazz, and, to a lesser extent, San Antonio Spurs have a legitimate chance of making the playoffs. Last season was already a gauntlet, and several teams with playoff aspirations should be even better this time around.
The Memphis Grizzlies are significantly healthier, the Sacramento Kings added six-time All-Star DeMar DeRozan, the Oklahoma City Thunder addressed their need for more size and physicality with Isaiah Hartenstein (although he's currently out five to six weeks with a left-hand fracture), the list goes on. The Clippers were just about the only Western Conference team that was entering the season with a noticeably worse roster after losing Paul George to the Philadelphia 76ers in free agency.
Unfortunate Kawhi Leonard injury update
They seemed close to a toss-up in terms of their chances of making the playoffs. However, those odds have gotten substantially slimmer after the latest unfortunate injury update surrounding superstar Kawhi Leonard. ESPN's Shams Charania reported that Leonard will be sidelined indefinitely as he recovers from right knee inflammation.
Leonard is one of the best two-way wings in the league when healthy but has averaged just 49.7 games played in the past six seasons. Now 33, Leonard and the Clippers will have to be even more patient with his recovery. Without George, and now Leonard, the only remaining All-Star level player on the Clippers roster to start the season is 35-year-old James Harden.
Harden has impressively never missed the playoffs in his entire 15-year career. He also mentioned at training camp that he's in "the best shape been in five, six, seven years."
Thunder could land yet another lottery pick
Still, leading this dismantled Clippers team to the playoffs will be challenging. It's much more likely that they will miss out on the playoffs, which leaves the door open for them to land a top pick in the 2025 NBA Draft; this could be potentially catastrophic for almost the entire league, Trail Blazers included, because the Clippers owe an unprotected first-round swap right to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The Western Conference is so stacked there's a strong chance now that the Clippers miss the play-in. Which would give the Thunder a lottery pick. Which means the Thunder could end up with Cooper Flagg. Just saying. https://t.co/a0IEiXjkf5
— Kevin O'Connor (@KevinOConnorNBA) October 17, 2024
While Harden and company are likely too talented for the Clippers to have a bottom-three record in the league and 14 percent odds of landing the No. 1 overall pick, just the possibility of them getting it, no matter the odds, is a scary thought for the rest of the league. Consider the last lottery where the Atlanta Hawks ended up with Zaccharie Risacher despite having a three percent chance of the ping pong balls falling in their favor.
Bad news for Blazers' rebuilding timeline
The Thunder just finished last season tied for the best record in the Western Conference at 57-25 and should be even better this year between Hartenstein and the internal development of their promising young core. They already have strategically positioned themselves to be one of the best teams in the league, both now and in the future.
Kawhi being out could cause a "rich get richer" scenario in terms of the Thunder adding yet another lottery pick to their roster that is already a contender. Even if they don't wind up with the projected No. 1 overall pick, Cooper Flagg, the draft class appears to be loaded with talent beyond just the headliner.
That would spell trouble for the Blazers, in particular. Portland isn't ready to compete for a playoff spot, so the Clippers' being worse in the short term doesn't benefit them much. Their rebuilding timeline aligns more with two future Western Conference juggernauts—the Thunder and Spurs with Victor Wembanyama.
Let's hope Kawhi gets healthy soon, mainly for his sake but also to help keep the future of the league in balance. The Thunder landing a top pick in 2025 would be like Thanos getting the Final Infinity Stone.