The Los Angeles Clippers are flirting with disaster, not just for themselves, but for the entire NBA. In a season where their pick belongs to the Oklahoma City Thunder, they are priming themselves for the bottom of the Western Conference. There will reportedly be a desperate attempt to escape that fate.
A brutal 5-12 start has the Clippers in the company of franchises like the New Orleans Pelicans, Dallas Mavericks, Utah Jazz, and the Sacramento Kings. None of those teams have been the model of a well-run organization in recent years.
Luckily for the Clippers, the climb up to 10th in the Western Conference, is not presently a difficult one. As such, they are going to take their best swing. That could include, according to NBA insider Sam Amick, making a push to acquire DeMar DeRozan.
Amick wrote, "DeMar DeRozan, the 36-year-old who league sources say has some interest from the LA Clippers, has a partial guarantee on his deal for next season (approximately $10 million of his $25.7 million)."
Lakers will laugh when DeMar DeRozan doesn't save the Clippers
The Sacramento Kings, unlike the Clippers, appear ready to enter a rebuild for their franchise. Few players are reportedly considered untouchable according to Amick's report. A 36-year-old DeRozan certainly has no place on that kind of team.
However, the professional bucket-getter is nothing more than a patchwork solution for the crosstown rival of the Los Angeles Lakers.
It is worth asking what the Clippers even reasonably offer to acquire DeRozan from the Kings that would be worth Sacramento's time. Is the other Los Angeles team really going to further drain an already unimpressive draft pool to be mediocre in the present?
If so, the Lakers can have a good chuckle. DeRozan is still a productive player, but he is by no means a legitimate mover of the needle for the Clippers.
The little brother franchise in Los Angeles is really stuck in a no-win situation. They have every reason to crave being a competitive team. They have very limited resources to fix the sinking ship.
What choice really is there? Are the Clippers content with simply begging James Harden to turn back the clock and carry them this season? Will Kawhi Leonard be healthy enough to be a difference-maker?
Looming in the background amid all of this is the scandal from this past offseason that has yet to be resolved. 2025-26 is certainly as bad it gets to be the Clippers, huh?