Clippers offseason preview: Locked in as title contenders?
The Los Angeles Clippers went through somewhat of a gap season with Kawhi Leonard not suiting up for a single game and Paul George missing significant time. They ran back the team that reached the franchise’s first Conference Finals appearance and added players like Norman Powell, Robert Covington, and Isaiah Hartenstein to fortify their rotation. They had no reason to tank since they didn’t have their first-round pick this season, so they competed for the playoffs.
The Clips will now shift their focus towards improving and getting prepared for a title pursuit next year. Their main priority this offseason will be retaining their top free agents. If they do that aside from adding another contributor with their mid-level exception, they should be locked in as one of the favorites to reach the Finals in 2023. Their commitment to their core could also give the Clippers an extremely high luxury tax payment, though.