The Los Angeles Clippers have been a surprisingly competitive team in the 2024-25 season. They entered the season without a timeline for Kawhi Leonard's return to the court and had lost Paul George over the summer. Despite that, James Harden, Norman Powell, and Ivica Zubac kept their team in Playoff contention all year. With Kawhi back on the court, the Clippers are dark-horse contenders in the West.
The issue is that they're still just dark-horse contenders despite having a 35-year-old point guard and a 33-year-old injury-prone forward as their stars. They need to make a splash in the 2025 offseason to be relevant contenders again. While any move they make won't be as reckless as their acquisition of Paul George in 2019, it will come at a cost.
The Clippers have lofty ambitions this summer, and they'll build on them by nailing free agency. Let's take a look at both ends of the spectrum and track what players could be realistic and unrealistic targets for the Clippers.
Realistic: Bol Bol
Credit: Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images
The Clippers have only one glaring hole in their roster, which is their backup frontcourt players. Given they just acquired Drew Eubanks to be their backup center, they might not look to reinforce that position without getting a player who could play minutes as a backup power forward as well instead of the team being over-reliant on Nicolas Batum.
Bol Bol is having a decent season on the Suns, averaging 7.2 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 0.7 blocks. His two-year stint with the franchise hasn't really impacted his market value much, as Bol will likely be among the many rotational players available for an attainable price in the summer.
Even if he doesn't remain a minimum-level player, the Clippers can easily offer him a decent slice of their $14.7 million non-tax mid-level exception to sign him.
Bol would be an imposing frontcourt addition that can add offensive finesse off the bench. He's also a strong rebounder and shot-blocker due to his size, but he isn't suited to guard traditional centers due to his lack of strength and weight.
He'd be most effective alongside Zubac or Eubanks, adding offensive flair and being a presence on the boards. Harden could extract a lot more out of him than point guards on previous stops, so this could be a great fit for both player and team.
Unrealistic: Julius Randle
Minnesota Timberwolves forward Julius Randle (30) reacts after being called for a foul against Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (not pictured) during the third quarter at Chase Center.
Mandatory Credit: Neville E. Guard-Imagn Images
There's no way Julius Randle signs for $14.7 million with any team this offseason. However, the Clippers can use that space in a potential sign-and-trade to acquire the Minnesota Timberwolves forward. The Wolves are incentivized to find deals like this if Randle wants to leave or they don't want to pay him top dollar, so convincing the team won't be as difficult as if it was a mid-season trade.
Randle is averaging 18.9 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 4.7 assists this season. He's had an up-and-down season with the Timberwolves, overcoming early struggles to find a great rhythm in recent weeks as the team's undisputed No. 2 option behind Anthony Edwards. His Playoff performances in the past have been extremely disappointing, so he'll hope to buck that trend to keep his market value up.
Randle would be a powerful addition to the Clippers' frontcourt. He'll be able to greatly reduce the scoring load on both Kawhi and Harden while being a rebounding threat and solid defender.
This is extremely unrealistic, as the Clippers would likely have to give up someone like Norman Powell to create the salary space. It doesn't look like the team has the appetite to give up on someone like Powell, especially after he led the team in scoring this season.
If there's a way the Clippers could acquire Randle while retaining Powell, it would be perfect. However, it doesn't seem clear what path that could be, so this is an unrealistic suggestion.