Is There Room to Develop Young Talent on Crowded Los Angeles Clippers Roster?
Developing talent might be the most important attribute of a team that is not actively discussed. Teams need to develop their young players they sign and draft in order to supplement their core players already in place.
This is the conundrum the Los Angeles Clippers are caught in, as their talented rotation yields limited minutes for on-court player development.
The Clippers will eventually need to develop their young players, as the team has pressing needs at multiple positions, such as small forward and the frontcourt reserves. While the Clippers are primed to be one of the top teams in the league this season, their future outside of Blake Griffin, Chris Paul and DeAndre Jordan is foggy.
Who will be their key role players down the line?
Will anyone on the roster make a push to join that core?
Doc Rivers has done a solid job adding pieces that he needs, most notably J.J. Redick last year and Spencer Hawes this offseason. Also, Rivers drafted Reggie Bullock last season but played him sparingly despite playing at a position of need. C.J. Wilcox was the selection this summer but plays shooting guard and will see little playing time.
Additionally, Rivers also took fliers on Ekpe Udoh and Joe Ingles. Udoh provides much needed shot-blocking, although he does not help solve the team’s rebounding issues, as he only pulls down an average of 10 percent of available rebounds for his career, according to Basketball Reference.
Meanwhile, Ingles is a long shot to even make the roster considering Bullock, Matt Barnes and possibly Chris Douglas-Roberts or Hedo Turkoglu are ahead of him on the depth chart.
Why It Matters
Some may point to the Clippers’ crowded guard rotation as a reason why Wilcox and Bullock must earn their minutes over Rivers force-feeding them. Others may point to the rising salary cap figure and Steve Ballmer’s pockets as the solution for finding cures to the problems on the roster.
Meanwhile, the value of controlling players that can contribute while on their rookie-scale contracts has become even more vital, as Grantland’s Zach Lowe states.
"Speaking of the draft: It becomes an even more important team-building tool as veteran contracts get shorter. Drafting well and making smart trades for players on rookie contracts might become the only surefire way to bake continuity into your team. This is how you get a player for his entire prime.
"
This is critical to the development of the Clippers roster, because the team owes its 2015 first-round pick to the Boston Celtics and a protected first-round pick beginning in 2017 to the Memphis Grizzlies. The Clippers have limited means of improving their roster due to being against the hard cap this season and have a limited amount of future first-round picks.
While Paul, Griffin and Jordan are currently in their prime, they will need help to maintain the team’s high level of play. Rookies are the cheapest and easiest way to add another impact player to the roster.
Look no further than the San Antonio Spurs for advice. They have dominated the Western Conference landscape for more than a decade, mainly because they are able to develop players and turn them into key contributors. Tiago Splitter, Danny Green, Kawhi Leonard, George Hill, DeJuan Blair, Gary Neal and Patty Mills are all great examples of either drafting or signing young players to supplement the core of their roster.
While a few of those players earned key roles in the rotation immediately, the Spurs were able to give them minutes throughout the season to prepare them for the playoffs and seasons to come. Rivers must find a way to do the same with his youngsters this season, not only for their development but to prepare them for a larger role in case of injury.
Is There Room to Develop?
While the development of the Clippers' young players is paramount to sustaining success, there have to be minutes available. Unfortunately for Wilcox, he is firmly planted behind Redick and Crawford and perhaps Jordan Farmar and Bullock as well.
Meanwhile, Bullock will have a shot to earn the starting-small-forward position or at least the backup spot. However, he saw limited action last year despite the team needing help at small forward.
The onus here lies on the coaching staff. They need to find a way to get Wilcox and Bullock on the floor. While the roster is deep and the Clippers are expected to be conference title contenders, Rivers needs to find out if any of his young players are capable of playing a role this season.
Conversely, what happens if Wilcox or Bullock prove that they cannot keep up with their defensive assignments, or continually get lost in the flow of the offense? Remember, this is a two-way street, and while Rivers is going to need to get these guys on the floor eventually, they also need to prove that they can be trusted to know their roles.
Basically, the short answer is that there is little wiggle room for the young players to develop. Barring an injury, there just is not enough time to go around for Wilcox. His shooting is valuable, but it remains to be seen how he earns minutes. Bullock, Udoh and Ingles could all play roles off the bench, which would be ideal, but will probably play limited minutes.
This is the curse of having an older but talented roster with championship aspirations. Rivers needs to find a balance between player development and doling out extended minutes to win games. If he can find that balance, the Clippers will be better off in the long run.
.jpg?w=600 "Colts Release Kenny Moore")
