The Clippers have been eliminated from the 2023 NBA Playoffs after losing in five games against the Phoenix Suns.
The team never stood a chance with injuries to both Paul George and Kawhi Leonard spelling their doom for yet another season. Fans are now wondering what the team’s next steps will be.
The Clippers get eliminated in the first round.
Run it back… or time to blow it up? 🎤 pic.twitter.com/0pCQ3quYmB
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) April 26, 2023
One fan continued to believe in Kawhi Leonard and said they should run it back.
Gotta run it back. They win this series with this man healthy pic.twitter.com/uq2t6aR9bm
— PredictionStrike (@PredictStrike) April 26, 2023
One fan was ready to blow it up, clearly disappointed with the injuries and Russell Westbrook’s Game 5 performance.
Time to blow it up! You have a liability in westbrook, doesn't show up again today and turns it over always as usual. PG13 I like and Kawhi I mean the guy is never available. PG13 at least is trying but Kawhi plays we see a much more war of a series. Blow it up and rebuild
— Insight Wagers 💡 (@InsightWagers) April 26, 2023
Another fan wants next season to be the final farewell season, given the contracts PG and Kawhi are on.
https://twitter.com/pokervincent/status/1651086235522220033
The Clippers played really well but just didn’t have closers due to their stars being hurt. A fan wants them to run it back, believing they would have handled the Suns if they were healthy.
Run it back . Almost won against a stacked Suns without PG and Kawhi. Either playing the result would be different
— Sas (@sas_o07) April 26, 2023
But the fact that we always wonder how the Clips would be if they were healthy is exact reason some fans want them to blow it up and get more reliable players.
Blow it up. They can’t stay healthy
— Dan Melnick (@DanPMelnick) April 26, 2023
With four seasons of no titles under their waist, this experiment is being called a disaster by some fans.
The Kawhi Leonard/Paul George experiment has been a DISASTER
— Jeff Lightsy Jr. (@jlightsy7) April 26, 2023
Kawhi Leonard went on an advertisement campaign in 2019 after signing with the Clippers and calling LA ‘his’ city despite LeBron James playing on the Lakers. Some Laker fans are mocking the Clippers’ failures using that very advertisment.
Don’t Matter! pic.twitter.com/BOSFsLQzcK
— G.Multani (@geemultani24) April 26, 2023
The Clippers have an inflated salary bill and need to do a lot of work to have enough depth to make it through injuries to their injury-prone star duo while also being able to be competitive when they’re not available. Outside of 2020, all their seasons have ended due to injury.
A Grim Summer For The Clippers
The way the roster has been built, the Clippers have all but four players under contract for next season. Two of those players are Russell Westbrook and Mason Plumlee, valuable contributors in this playoff run with the injured stars. Their payroll for next season, without re-singing Russ or Plumlee, is over $200 million. They’ll have to free up money due to the new CBA rules already, let alone adding talent to be more competitive next season.
They’re unlikely to trade Kawhi or PG ahead of their final season in the Crypto.com Arena, hoping that 2023-24 can be the year they can stay healthy. We have three seasons of evidence showing they likely won’t be able to, but with the amount that’s already invested in this team and core, the Clippers may not have any other choice.
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