PLAYA VISTA — Lawrence Frank didn’t hold back in reviewing this season, another promising Clippers season that again came up short.
“We’re just disappointed, frustrated. Frustrated for them, frustrated for our fans, frustrated for Steve (Ballmer, owner), frustrated for Kawhi (Leonard), but we own it,” Frank, the Clippers’ president of basketball operations, said on Monday during his annual postseason session with the media.
“There’s no excuses. The goal is to be the last team standing in June and obviously we got two wins and you got to get 16, so there’s a lot of work to be done.”
The Clippers were beaten by the Dallas Mavericks, 4-2, in their first-round series.
Much of Frank’s work involves retooling the roster around their three stars. With Leonard already locked in with a three-year, $153 million extension, Frank’s focus is signing Paul George to an extension and re-signing James Harden.
The Clippers hope to have the three future Hall of Famers when the team moves into its new arena, the Intuit Dome in Inglewood.
George, 34, has a player option on the $48.8 million due next season and can become a free agent if he and the Clippers are unable to come to an agreement on an extension before June 30. George is eligible to sign up to a four-year, $221 million extension, and the Clippers could still offer him that amount if he decides to opt out. The Philadelphia 76ers and Orlando Magic are reportedly keeping an eye on George’s moves, though other teams’ best max-level offer would still be $9 million less than what the Clippers can offer.
After the Clippers’ season-ending 114-101 loss to the Mavericks on Friday night in Dallas, George was asked whether he sees himself with the Clippers long term with Leonard and Harden.
“Yeah,” George said. “If it works that way, absolutely.”
George played 74 regular-season games this season, the most he has played in his five seasons with the Clippers. The All-Star averaged 22.6 points and 5.2 rebounds and shot a career-high 41.3% from 3-point range this season.
George, who averaged 19.5 points, 6.8 rebounds and 4.8 assists in the six-game series against Dallas, helped the Clippers reach their first Western Conference finals in 2021, after Leonard went down with an ACL injury in the middle of their second-round series.
“We want Paul, we value Paul,” Frank said. “Paul’s done some tremendous things here. He’s an elite player, and our biggest thing is we always want to be able to treat players well and pay them fairly, and we also have to build out a team, especially, this is a new CBA. But in terms of the exact money, I would never go into details other than we’ve had really, really good conversations over the course of the year and hopeful that we can get him to remain a Clipper.”
Harden, 34, will be an unrestricted free agent and the team can start negotiating with the nine-time All-Star after the NBA Finals. The former league MVP, who averaged 16.6 points, 5.1 rebounds and 8.5 assists while shooting 38.1% from behind the arc in the regular season (21.2 ppg, 4.5 rpg and 8.0 in the playoffs), could opt to see what George does before figuring out his own future.
“We want to retain those guys,” Frank said. “We’re hopeful we can but also understand and respect the fact that they’re free agents. Our intent is to bring him back but also realize that they’re elite players and they’ll have choices.”
Frank said after securing George and Harden, his next move will be to lock down center Ivica Zubac and wing Terance Mann through extensions, then improve the roster on the margins. He said he intends to sit down with Russell Westbrook, who signed a one-year $7.8 million contract last summer with a player option, and his representatives.
“Russ has a decision to make and so we’ll kind of go through the process,” Frank said. “So, I’m not going to speak for any player in terms of what they’re thinking, but that’s our process.”
While Frank acknowledged the impact today’s young players are making in the league, he defended the team’s decision to extend Leonard, who missed the end of the postseason because of swelling in his surgically repaired right knee, something that continues to hamper him. Leonard missed the final eight regular-season games and Game 1 against Dallas. The two-time NBA Finals MVP played in Games 2 and 3, but he looked limited and the team held Leonard out for the remainder of the series.
Leonard, 32, played in 68 games, the most he has played in a regular season since 2016-17, but Frank said Leonard couldn’t have played Monday if the Clippers were still in the playoffs.
“We’re going to continue to try to learn how to manage his right knee,” Frank said. “He’s had two surgeries on his knee, but he’s shown that he can be durable. … He’s one of the top players in this league. He’s a great player, he’s a ceiling raiser and as you guys know, the reason why great players are so hard to get in this league; they have an overweighted ability to impact the game.”
Frank said he understands the skepticism that has crept up around the team after failing to advance past the second round for a second consecutive year after missing the playoffs altogether in 2022. He said that all players, even veterans, can up their game, learn new moves and plays.
Related Articles
Clippers face questions after another season ends early
Swanson: Clippers fall flat again in Dallas as season ends
Clippers’ season ends with Game 6 loss to Mavericks
Clippers’ Paul George feels no pressure in must-win Game 6 in Dallas
Swanson: Clippers in trouble entering Game 6 vs. Mavericks
“I’m not here to sell or over promise something that we can’t deliver or sell hype,” Frank said. “I’m more dealing with what our reality is. And I think sometimes when things repeatedly happen, it’s like are you not seeing it?
“What I’m saying is no, we see it but I also see the other side of it, too, and just because guys dealt with injuries or they’re in their mid-30s. Our guys played at a pretty high level this year. I fully expect them to be able for the next couple of years to maintain a high level.”
This season, he admitted, was a lost opportunity, a chance to prove the critics wrong. He said just because they came up short again this season, doesn’t mean the Clippers won’t be competitive next season.
“There’s no guarantees either way, but we’re optimistic that we can put together a team that’s going to be a whole lot better than the group that we just finished with,” Frank said. “I understand the skepticism of this is another year where you haven’t had the group [healthy]. But I would guard against the cynicism. Just because it’s happened [again] doesn’t mean it’s always going to happen next year.”