The Los Angeles Clippers made a bold pivot this summer. They traded Kawhi Leonard to Toronto, brought in Brandon Ingram and Rui Hachimura, and handed the keys to Darius Garland. On paper, it looks like a franchise finally admitting the old core wasn’t working and committing to a younger, more dynamic future. But somewhere between the vision and the execution, the roster started tilting sideways.
The biggest issue? The backcourt is stuffed. And the frontcourt is thin. That imbalance could undo a lot of what the front office tried to accomplish.
Too many guards, not enough minutes
Garland is the guy now. That’s clear. But behind him, the rotation gets messy fast. Kris Dunn is still one of the better perimeter defenders in the league. Gradey Dick and rookie Keaton Wagler need developmental reps. The coaching staff wants to see what Baba Miller and the other young wings can do. And now there are whispers the Clippers might bring Bennedict Mathurin back or go after another veteran guard.
That’s a lot of bodies competing for the same spots. You can’t play everybody. Even Tyronn Lue, who’s good at managing rotations, can’t manufacture minutes for five or six perimeter players who all need touches and floor time. Depth is useful. Redundancy is not. And right now the Clippers have redundancy.
The frontcourt isn’t ready
What makes this even more frustrating is that the real problem is obvious. The Clippers moved Leonard and that changed their frontcourt completely. Ingram and Hachimura give you length and scoring. Neither is a true rim protector or a guy who controls the glass. Jordan Miller has upside but expecting consistent production from a young forward right away is a lot to ask.
Los Angeles could have targeted a traditional center. Someone who guards the rim, rebounds, and takes pressure off everyone else. They didn’t. At least not yet. And that could hurt badly in the playoffs. The West is full of teams with size. Denver, Memphis, Minnesota, Houston, even the Lakers — they all have interior presences that can punish a small front line. If the Clippers have to rely on Ingram or Hachimura to handle those matchups, it’s going to be a problem.
Good moves don’t always fit together
None of this means the Clippers did everything wrong. Ingram is a legit secondary scorer. Hachimura helps on the wing. Dick can shoot. The draft capital from the Leonard deal gives them flexibility down the road. Individually, these are smart acquisitions.
But basketball isn’t played in a spreadsheet. It’s played on a court where five guys have to work together. And right now the Clippers have a roster that looks like it was built by checking boxes for talent without asking how all those pieces fit. They solved the problem of being too old and too dependent on Leonard. They created a new problem by not balancing the roster.
The regular season might not expose this right away. But the postseason will. And if the Clippers fall short next spring, the reason won’t be hard to find. They’ll have too many guards fighting for minutes and not enough size to survive a seven-game series.
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