Los Angeles Clippers 2025 Preseason Preview
Last season the Clippers finished with a record of 51 wins and 31 losses before losing in the first round of the Western Conference. Unfortunately for the Clippers, the 2024-25 season will start off without star small forward Kawhi Leonard. Leonard played 68 games last season, his most since leaving San Antonio.
(AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Also missing in the Clippers starting lineup on opening night at the new Intuit Dome will be Paul George, who signed with Philadelphia this past offseason. Paul joined the team prior to the 2019-2020 season. These changes to the Clippers will force James Harden to return to MVP form if the Clippers hope to compete in the Western Conference this year.
James Harden played his fewest minutes and took his fewest shot attempts per game since his 6th man of the year award during the 2011-2012 season. Luckily for Clippers fans, Harden’s efficiency the past two seasons has been comparable to his output in Houston during the three seasons he lead the league in points per game. The question will be if he can maintain the efficiency while taking more shots per night.
To aid Harden the Clippers will look for output from their role players. One player to look out for will be Kris Dunn, who has has had trouble staying on the court in his career, but has shown he has the ability to be productive if he can stay healthy.
LA is limited in their roster flexibility. They are projected to be over the salary cap for next season and will need to resign Amir Coffey who will be an unrestricted free agent. James Harden has a player option for next season, and could be in a spot to negotiate for a larger long term deal, especially if he puts up the large numbers that he’ll likely have the opportunity to. The Clippers will make a first round draft pick next draft, but Oklahoma City holds the rights to swap a pick with them, and holds the rights to the Clippers 2026 draft pick as well. For this roster, the only clear path forward is to stick with this roster and hope Kawhi can rehab the knee that has given him troubles.
