L.A. Clippers: Why They'll Never Win a Title with Current Roster

The Clippers are so close, yet still so far. They have the foundation for a title contender, but their roster lacks two main ingredients that will keep them from winning a championship as presently constructed.

First off, L.A. needs a wing scorer. It has to be someone who can score efficiently, but also distribute the ball and create shots for others. 

Right now, the Clippers only have two guys who are legitimate scoring threats when they get the ball. And in the fourth quarter, Blake Griffin's scoring prowess is neutralized with his terrible free-throw shooting, placing the burden squarely on the shoulders of Chris Paul down the stretch.

While Paul can score about as well as any player in the league, he's also the team's point guard and responsible for getting everyone else involved. That's way too heavy a workload for one man to carry through an entire season and the playoffs.

The Clippers need that third scorer who can also find open teammates in order to diversify their attack and wean them off of their absolute dependency on CP3.

If you look at the top-tier teams in the league, all have players who fit this mold. In some cases, it's a superstar (LeBron/Wade/Kobe/Pierce) and in some cases it's a secondary All-Star caliber player (Harden/Ginobli), but it's an essential spot to fill. Last season, Jason Terry played that role to perfection for the Mavs en route to a title.

Unfortunately for the Clips, they had the right man for the job last year. Someone who was at the Harden/Ginobli level with potential to get to that upper echelon of superstar. I speak, of course, of Eric Gordon, who the Clippers had to part with in order to acquire Paul. 

It's unlikely that they can get Gordon back—although he is a restricted free agent this summer, I think Gordon took the trade personally and therefore would rather sign elsewhere—but the Clippers need to slot someone into that wing scorer/creator spot.

The other thing that the Clippers are missing is a wing stopper. The Clips have serious size issues on the wing, with Caron Butler—who is well past his peak as an elite perimeter defender—being their only sizable swingman. 

Vinny Del Negro frequently puts two or even three point guards on the floor at the same time, causing big-time matchup problems on the defensive end against rangy wing scorers. As we've seen in their first-round playoff series against Memphis, the Clippers have resorted to sticking power forward Kenyon Martin on Rudy Gay in end-of-game one-on-one situations.

Once again, having a perimeter stopper is a prerequisite for being a championship-caliber team. The Mavs employed two last year in Shawn Marion and DeShawn Stevenson. That came in handy when they had to defend LeBron James and Dwyane Wade in the NBA Finals.

A quick glance at this year's contenders reveals a similar trend. In this case, it doesn't have to be a superstar of the LeBron/Wade variety. A hard-nosed journeyman like Thabo Sefolosha or a young upstart like Avery Bradley or Kawhi Leonard can fill the void admirably.

If I were the Clippers—and assuming that Eric Gordon is off the table—I would make a hard run at the Grizzlies' O.J. Mayo, who is also a restricted free-agent this summer.

Mayo fits the role of a scorer who can also create for his teammates, and I like that he's willing to get after it on defense too. I think his full talents haven't been on display in Memphis with the big contracts handed out to Rudy Gay, Zach Randolph, Marc Gasol, and Mike Conley over the past two years establishing the pecking order there.

As a former USC Trojan, Mayo played his college ball just down the street from the Staples Center, and I think he will be undervalued in free agency with lots of people dismissing him as a disappointment.

After all, Mayo was traded on draft night for Kevin Love, and we all know who got the better end of that deal. Plus, he's been vastly outperformed by several players selected after him in the uber-deep 2008 draft. (Seriously, go back and take a look at that draft class. It's a real doozy.) I think it has more to do with his circumstances than his talent.

If L.A. can't land Mayo, they can also take a look at C.J. Miles, Courtney Lee or Shannon Brown to score for them on the wing. They can even take a chance on a mercurial talent like Terrence Williams.

The Clippers can also bring in a more defensive-minded player along the lines of Mickael Pietrus, Brandon Rush, Carlos Delfino or the aforementioned Stevenson.

In order for the Clippers to win their first ever NBA championship, they have to bolster their wings—both offensively and defensively—and round out the solid nucleus currently in place.