On April 26, Beijing time, the Clippers lost to the Suns in Game 5 of the first round of the playoffs, and were eliminated 1-4. It was another disappointing season for the Clippers, with Paul George missing the playoffs due to injury, Kawhi Leonard playing two games and then watching from the sidelines, and Russell Westbrook doing his best to help the Clippers get one win and avoid being swept away.
When the Clippers end this chaotic season with disappointment, they will find that their struggle has only just begun. After the new version of the collective bargaining agreement, the Clippers, whose salary space has already exploded, faced constraints, and the maximum annual salary they could give Wei Shao was only $3.8 million, and it was obviously difficult to retain Wei Shao at this price.
The Clippers also have to face the dilemma of how to deal with Leonard and George, who can both sign a four-year, $220 million early contract extension this offseason, but the Clippers need to decide whether to break up the Peppers portfolio or lock in their future by extending their contracts. This issue of Insight will interpret the future of the Clippers from an operational perspective.
The future of pepper
In the blink of an eye, Leonard and George have also worked together for four seasons, except for last season, when the Clippers missed the playoffs due to Leonard's reimbursement, and they made the playoffs for the other three seasons. It's just that the Clippers are out early every time for different reasons.
Such an outcome obviously does not satisfy the boss Ballmer, who has money but does not want to be the big culprit. This season, Ballmer spent $356 million (including salary plus luxury tax), but George and Leonard played only 38 games at the same time.
This begs the question: Can Leonard and George stay fit to help the Clippers win the championship? The Clippers can't give an answer, but if history is oriented, the Clippers can come up with "impossible" results.
Next season, both Leonard and George are still under contract, and in the summer of 2024 they will have a $48 million player option, with the option to jump out of contract or choose to execute the contract option to stay with the team. If the Clippers have lost faith in them, the Clippers could explore a trade this offseason.
However, according to the rules, from July 12, Leonard can sign a four-year early renewal contract worth $220 million, and George can sign a four-year contract worth $220 million from September 1. Will the Clippers give them early contract extensions? There are no indications at the moment. After all, since 2019, the two have played only 41% of their combined regular season and playoff games, and it is not wise to renew their future early, and an early extension could lead to the emergence of two junk contracts and hurt the future of the Clippers.
But if the Clippers do not renew the contracts of George and Leonard, then in the 2024 offseason, the two may jump out of their contracts and leave on free agency, at which point the Clippers will be empty. So the Clippers need to decide whether to send the two away while they still have trade value.
The conundrum of Wei Shao's contract renewal
Leonard and George joined forces in the Clippers in 2019, and the Clippers have been struggling with the lack of quality point guards, and Reggie Jackson and Wall have not solved this problem. This season, Wei Shao has performed well after joining halfway, and the overall configuration of the Clippers is very suitable for Wei Shao, and his performance far exceeds the Lakers era. But this summer, Wilson expires under contract and will become a free agent.
In today's postgame interview, Wilson expressed his willingness to stay with the Clippers, but the NBA is a commercial league, and it depends on whether the money is in place. Unfortunately, the Clippers have difficulty renewing their contracts with high salaries.
Under the new version of the collective bargaining agreement, the Clippers cannot use the mini-middle-class exception because their total salaries far exceed the luxury tax line, and the maximum annual salary they can give to Wilson is $3.8 million (not the Byrd clause exception). And this price code, obviously it is difficult to leave Wei Shao.
If Wei Shao leaves, how can the Clippers reinforce the No. 1 position? They will be left with only one reliable candidate for Mann. Before Wilson joined, Mann played as a starting point guard, during which time the Clippers were 12-7 and averaged 117 points per game. When Mann advanced to the front court with the ball, the Clippers scored 1.21 points per round.
Heavy salary burden
The good news for the Clippers is that their core roster is relatively stable. The bad news is that if this core lineup is kept, they will need to pay a lot of luxury taxes.
In addition to facing the challenge of Wisson's contract extension, the Clippers also have to struggle with whether to keep backup center Plumlee, who has Plumlee's Bird clause and can renew his contract above the salary cap. But do the math: If Plumlee starts at $8 million, the Clippers would have to pay an additional $55 million in luxury tax under the super luxury tax. Is it worth paying an extra $55 million luxury tax for a player averaging 7.5 points and 6.9 rebounds per game?
Without renewing his Plumlee contract, the Clippers will already have $202 million in gross salaries next season and pay $175 million in repetitive luxury taxes. Eric Gordon's $20.9 million contract is not guaranteed, and if the Clippers give up Gordon, they can save a lot of money, but it means that their strength and depth will decline, and free agency will not be able to sign a replacement for players of the same level.
This year's draft, the Clippers had a No. 30 pick from the Bucks, and they could trade it on draft day. How to take advantage of this first-round pick? Critical for the Clippers.
The Clippers also owe the Thunder unprotected first-round picks for 2024 and 2026, as well as first-round picks swaps for 2025. The Clippers still have first-round picks and six second-round picks in 2027, 2028 and 2029, but considering that the Clippers have not received results in return for George by giving up multiple first-round picks, the Clippers may not have the motivation to send more future first-round picks at the moment.
To a certain extent, Clippers fans are happy, they have a non-blinking boss, president Frank, consultant Jerry West are the best in the industry. But Clippers fans are unfortunate, they have been waiting for four years, and their hopes have been disappointed every year.
To make matters worse, next season, they still face countless unknowns.