That’s pure copium/hopium, and ignores the major differences between this year’s team and that team. That team was almost entirely vets who were dogs and gym rats, guys who were known for playing hard. Bev and Trezz were the heart and soul, complemented by talented scorers like Tobi, Gallo, and Lou Will. And the one rookie in the rotation? Just some guy who would go on to be a two-time (and counting) MVP.

This team is not that. It will have at least 4 first- and second-year players in the rotation, 3 of whom were pick 30 or later, and the other a high lottery pick who’s only 19 and not yet NBA strength. And the veterans? Garland is great offensively but small. Lopez is 38. Then you’ve got Ingram and Rui, who certainly have talent, but are about the farthest thing in the world from gritty players like the guys on ‘18-‘19 team.

This is what a real rebuild looks like, and it ain’t pretty. That’s not to say it wasn’t the right decision, and we can definitely enjoy watching the young guys learn and grow. But please, for the love of god, let’s set some reasonable expectations here. I’d hate to see Clippers fans start acting like entitled Lakers fans and getting mad when this team plays exactly the way they’re expected to play and loses as many games as they’re expected to lose.

Both restricted free agents. Is it an either/or situation if the only way to get Watson is through sign and trade?

Many people are saying that we are a team that will likely fight for a play-in spot at best and will try their best not to give the Thunder a high lottery pick. But I look at the roster and I find it difficult to believe this team won't win at least 41 games. We have two All-Stars in Garland and Ingram who can easily return to their form Ingram can be a 22+ PPG scorer, and Garland can average 20 and 8 while shooting 50/40/90. These players have already shown what they can do.

We have one of the best shooters in Rui, Kris Dunn and DJJ who bring defense and athleticism, and Keaton, who can help with his high-level shooting and paired with Garland can form a high-level offensive backcourt. We also have Baba Miller, who is already a great athlete and shooter for his position and age.

The only thing limiting us from being a 45+ win team is a serviceable center. I wonder if we can trade Mathurin for a player like Gafford; he would help us immensely.

And no, that 7'5 guy that we just picked as a free agent is not a good center, Yanic is injured and I can't really project what he is going to be next season, Lopez is on the verge of retirement and is slower than my grandma.

as much as i would love for the all-time clipps team to be darius miles q rich and olowokandi, for those who know....... the historic all-time team is lit and can likely take on anyone!

EDIT: I made a custom ladder for the LAC community.

I grew up loving and rooting for the clippers so LAC has always meant a lot to me, check out the custom ladder board below and try to draft an All-Time LAC Squad:

LA Clippers - All Time. A Ladder in Legacy Run. The rule we all draft under: Seasons 1978–2026 · Los Angeles Clippers only. Spin your own five, run 82 games, and land on the leaderboard:
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Edit 2: Just want to say thank you to the LAC family, ya'll are dope af! much love.

Shai is the epitome of this given his rein as MVP of the league. Moussa Diabate, while not a dynamic starting center, played first string center minutes for the Hornets this past season.

What other Clipper draft picks come to mind that moved on and turned a corner?

Yeah, we talk about them a lot. Just wanted to hit one more angle.

Watching all the SL games, I came away really impressed with a bunch of them.

Wagler, Miller, Pedulla, Martinelli, I’ll include Kobe Sanders even though he’s obviously not new. To a lesser degree, Omier. All are under some form of contract with us.

They weren’t dazzling or dominant (in spurts, sure).

They didn’t even win all the time.

What they were, and this impressed me the most?

Comfortable.

Whether it was Baba showing on P&R defense, or Wagler in his rotations, or Pedulla getting to his spots, or Martinelli getting out in transition, or even Omier using his strength inside, or all of them shooting from distance, they all just looked like they know what they’re doing. Props to Larranaga maybe for a lot of this.

We may have a very high basketball IQ team on our hands. A group of guys who are fine with playing their roles and doing what’s asked of them. Maybe a whole lot will be asked of some of them. But I love to watch young players develop, and this seems like a really solid group to see grow.

Before the draft I wanted the Clippers to get a guy who's going to get on the floor and assert dominance. Acuff and Mikel are like that. Running fast, throwing dunks, being loud.

Wagler was the slower guard who barely dunks and seemed like someone who could easily disappear in the game.

But watching him play, watching his interviews, watching how he handles pressure.... and the fact he’s just 19yo. I feel like he really might be the guy to lead this entire team in a couple of years.

He's not going to bark at other players, he's not going to put anyone on the poster. But you can foul him, you can bait him, you can trash talk him and he'll still get the ball up the floor, get that screen, get that step back and put a middy in your face.

I like what I'm seeing from this guy and I can really see now what his dad meant on the draft night when he said don't judge Keat by his baby face

Since Wagler's first game, he's averaged 22 ppg and has looked much more comfortable attacking the basket and playing with confidence. We have to remember that he's the youngest guard in this draft. Let's rally behind our guy, if anything these last few games have shown why it's important to stay patient.

can we get a clipper version of this 😭

Burries at MIL really had a breakout Summer League. Peterson had a huge dropoff after the LAC game, primarily because his shooting percentage was so low.

Wagler had 2 good games, 1 decent game and 1 stinker. He played a lot better when Pedulla took over the PG role. I predict he will begin the season as 3rd string SG and end with a couple of starts.