Well, the NBA offseason has entered its quiet stage. The last big piece of business (LeBron James’ free agency) is done, with all that’s left most likely being restricted free agents (Jalen Duren, [Peyton Watson](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7451203/2026/07/17/peyton-watson-nuggets-free-agency-bucks/), Bennedict Mathurin), minimum signings, and [two-way deals](https://213hoops.com/clippers-sign-jamarion-sharp-to-two-way-deal/). So, with the dust settled in the West, where do the Clippers look like they’ll place?First off, this is assuming the Kawhi trade to the Raptors does move forward. I have seen or heard nothing that makes me think it won’t, even if it happens in September or October and the parameters change slightly. I think he will be a Raptor, and that Brandon Ingram and Gradey Dick will be Clippers. Second, this is also assuming no major trades happen until the season begins. I also don’t really think Watson or Mathurin signing anywhere would shift how I view any of these teams holistically. Duren would be a different story, but there’s no reporting that the Pistons are going to let him go or will entertain a sign-and-trade. Third, you do have to remember that the NBA’s new draft lottery rules kick in for next year’s draft, and pretty strongly ward off true “tanking to the bottom”, though I think at the end of the season plenty of bad teams will still throw in the towel. The NBA will likely be more overall competitive and have more “parity” than in previous years, as there is less incentive to be truly awful.
Let’s quickly review the Clippers’ current roster, with the news of Jamarion Sharp’s signing and Cam Christie’s guarantee date being pushed back until after training camp.
PG: Darius Garland – Keaton Wagler – Sean Pedulla (two-way)SG: Brandon Ingram – Kris Dunn – Gradey Dick – Cam ChristieSF: Derrick Jones Jr. – Jordan Miller – Nick Martinelli (two-way)PF: Rui Hachimura – Kobe Sanders – Baba Miller
C: Brook Lopez – Isaiah Jackson – Yanic Konan Niederhauser – Jamarion Sharp (two-way)
We can get some of the hard decisions out of the way quickly. Barring shocking developments or injuries, the Thunder, Spurs, Nuggets, Wolves, Rockets, and Lakers will finish ahead of the Clippers next year. All finished well ahead of the Clippers in the standings last year, and either improved their rosters or took minor hits that should still keep them in the playoff range.Going the other direction, the only two teams I’m fairly sure the Clippers will be better than are the Kings and Pelicans. Both squads were much worse than the Clippers last year and did little or nothing to get better. They have young rosters and could improve organically, but the team constructions are a bit of a mess and I just don’t have faith in either organization.That puts the Clippers somewhere between 7 and 13 in the Western Conference. I think that’s still a bit broad, so let’s try to narrow it down a bit more. The Suns and Blazers both finished ahead of the Clippers last year, but I don’t feel great about either team’s summer. The Suns’ strong 2026 campaign seemed a bit fluky and they didn’t do a lot to improve their roster. The Blazers are young and have some interesting players but also have a very guard heavy roster and traded for a potential locker room mine in Ja Morant. Ultimately, I think the Clippers clear the Suns and don’t get to the Blazers.
The team that finished below the Clippers that I’m most confident will leap them is the Mavericks, who are getting back Kyrie Irving (missed all of last season due to injury) and Dereck Lively II (ditto), traded for Santi Aldama and Zacharie Risaccher without losing any players of note, and will likely see improvements from Cooper Flagg in year 2.
That narrows the Clippers down to the 9-12 range in the West. I tend to lean towards the Clippers clearing the Grizzlies (still very young) and the Warriors (ancient and injury-prone), with the Jazz being a major question mark. Ultimately, I think basically all of those teams – Blazers, Mavs, Clippers, Suns, Jazz, Grizzlies, and Warriors – could reach the play-in, but I’d be a bit surprised if any of them cracked the top 6 in the West next year. Then again, there are always multiple shocking teams in either direction.
I will do my annual division previews in a few weeks, and my thoughts on any of these teams could change significantly in that period. However, I tend to think the Clippers will be somewhere in the back half of the play-in range once again, with a win total going from the low 30s at worst to the mid 40s at absolute best. As long as the team is entertaining and the young players show promise, the season will be a success. This is the first Clippers’ season since 2018 without real playoff expectations, and hopefully that actually makes it more fun on a nightly basis.