Here are our player scouting reports and analysis for the Los Angeles Clippers.
Projected starters
Chris Paul
Position: Guard
Experience: 10 years
2015-16 projections
Scouting report
+ Premier playmaking point guard in the NBA
+ High IQ defender who has to outthink opponents at this stage
+ Good perimeter shooter off the dribble
Analysis
He's not the best point guard in the league, but Paul is still the epitome of what it means to be a point guard in the NBA. Paul's command of time and score and ability to read opponent defenses, hit teammates in their rhythms, etc., is second to none, and he has a near encyclopedic knowledge of advanced scouting reports. Paul led the league in assist percentage for the third consecutive year and fifth time in his career as he powered the Clippers starting lineup to the best net plus-minus of any lineup in the league last year. While the midrange jumper is discouraged in today's game, Paul's ability to connect at a high level in that area (48.7 percent last season on 2-point attempts beyond 16 feet, per Basketball-Reference.com) makes him deadlier in the pick-and-roll, as he's able to continue to string along defenses unwilling to commit to stopping his penetration for fear of giving up over-the-top lobs.
Defensively, the unraveling continues, as Paul relies more and more on educated guesses rather than his ability to react and move his feet. His hand-eye coordination is top notch, and his IQ allows his educated guesses to be VERY educated, but ultimately in this age of point guards, the job gets tougher each day for Paul.
J.J. Redick
Position: Guard
Experience: 9 years
2015-16 projections
Scouting report
+ Top-shelf shooter from all areas of the floor
+ Good playmaker out of secondary pick-and-rolls and pindowns
+ Underrated individual and team defender
Analysis
Still one of the premier shooters in the game, Redick bounced back with a solid season after missing much of his first year as a Clipper due to injury. With the luxury of playing alongside Paul all season long, Redick responded with a career highs in 3-point attempts, makes and efficiency, and his midrange game was elite as always. Coming off screens and pindowns, Redick is a passing threat, as he's one of the best in the league at delivering the pocket pass to the slipping big. That passing ability also comes in handy in running side pick-and-rolls, which Redick does well. Redick is a solid individual defender and a good team-scheme defender and has consistently been a positive in terms of ESPN's real plus-minus throughout his career.
Paul Pierce
Position: Forward
Experience: 17 years
2015-16 projections
Scouting report
+ Wily veteran wing with scoring knack
+ Best minutes come as a small-ball 4 at this point due to aging and minimal quickness
+ Excellent spot-up threat
Analysis
The Second Life of Paul Pierce continues, as he suits up for his third team in three seasons after spending his first 15 in Boston. In becoming a hired gun, Pierce has successfully transitioned from high usage focal point of an offense to efficient scoring sidekick. His big shot making and even bigger mouth took center stage during the playoffs last season with the Wizards, but the truth is he played solidly all season long as a spot-up guy and coming off screens, averaging more than 1.1 points per possession in both of those categories, according to Synergy Sports. Even though the Wizards played him mostly at the three last season, he's a more effective player as a small-ball 4, where his slowness isnt as glaring. With the Clippers, he brings some veteran experience and leadership to a team that has melted down in two consecutive postseasons, and no doubt his familiarity with head coach Doc Rivers will go a long way to helping him acclimate.
Blake Griffin
Position: Forward
Experience: 5 years
2015-16 projections
Scouting report
+ Explosive finisher above the rim
+ Excellent passer from the elbows
+ Improved defender but still less than exemplary
Analysis
Griffin continues to develop as an all-round talent, with his perimeter shooting improving to the point where he's added (in limited scenarios) a 3-point jumper, shooting 10-for-25 from downtown during the season (40 percent). The flipside is that with this improvement in perimeter shooting has come a corresponding shift in his shot selection. Less than a third of Griffin's field-goal attempts came at the rim last year, the lowest proportion of his career, while 40 percent of his attempts came from beyond 16 feet according to Basketball-Reference.com. Moving forward, Griffin needs to reconcile his improvement shooting the ball with staying true to his strengths (he shot 72 percent at the rim last season) and let the growth in his game make him more efficient. In other areas, Griffin's role as a playmaker grew even more, as he cracked the 20 percent threshold for assist rate, assisting on 26 percent of teammates' made field goals last season. A good deal of those assists came from lob plays to DeAndre Jordan, something the Clippers exploited to great success -- usually off pick-and-rolls between Paul and Griffin in which Griffin would shallow roll and then read how the help defense would pick up his drive.
DeAndre Jordan
Position: Center
Experience: 7 years
2015-16 projections
Scouting report
+ Elite above-the-rim athlete at the center position
+ League leader in field-goal percentage three years in a row
+ Elite rebounder and shot blocker but can be overeager to swat
Analysis
He's not the defensive juggernaut Doc Rivers would have us believe, but Jordan was a huge part of the Clippers' overall success. Had he honored his word and signed with the Dallas Mavericks this offseason, Los Angeles would have been left scrambling to pick up the pieces. Jordan's elite athleticism make him a natural complement with Griffin, as he gives him an easy target to pass to when defenses try to collapse. While Jordan isn't what you would call polished by any stretch of the imagination, the Clippers do a great job of putting him in a position to be successful by continually looking for him on weak-side cuts to the primary action as well as finding him on pick-and-rolls as the diver. You can't throw it to him on the block and consistently expect positive results, but Jordan's size and athleticism allow him to get easy looks in transition as he beats his opponent down the floor for easy seals at the front of the rim.
Defensively, he's got gaudy shot-block statistics, but they are the result of his insatiable urge to chase blocks. He's prone to biting on pump fakes and overcommitting himself positionally. In many ways, Jordan is actually a better defender away from the basket, as he can move his feet well laterally and focus more on containment when the allure of getting a block is removed. Jordan led the league by grabbing 32 percent of available defensive rebounds, but there's an element of cannibalization that's occurring, as the Clippers' team rebounding declines only marginally when he's off the floor.
Reserves
Jamal Crawford
Position: Guard
Experience: 15 years
2015-16 projections
Scouting report
+ Streaky scoring combo guard
+ Deft ballhandler and penetrator, although heavily reliant on pull-up jumpers
+ Defensive liability who must be hidden
Analysis
Crawford doesn't look like he's aged since his rookie year, but his game certainly has. He's still capable of scoring outbursts, and when the getting is good, he's one of the tougher 1-on-1players to defend due to his quick release and ability to convert on shots with a high degree of difficulty. However, Crawford is not getting to the rim nearly as often as he has in the past and not finishing well there. That's made Crawford almost exclusively a pull-up artist, and while his midrange jumper connects (he shot 45 percent on long 2-point attempts), he had his worst 3-point shooting year since joining the Clippers and the fourth-worst overall of his 15-year NBA career. With declining efficiency and a consistent negative impact defensively, it can be argued that the only reason Crawford played so many minutes last season was because of the dearth of NBA talent coming off the bench last year for the Clippers. With several offseason additions, his role should decrease, and we'll see a shorter leash for him on the cold nights.
Lance Stephenson
Position: Guard
Experience: 5 years
2015-16 projections
Scouting report
+ Sturdily built combo guard
+ Can defend across the perimeter
+ Atrocious shooting last season, but traditionally has been streaky
Analysis
If anyone would like a mulligan for the last 15 months of his life, it's Stephenson. After turning down an offer reportedly worth $44 million over five years from the Pacers in favor of a three-year, $27 million deal from the Hornets with a team option on the final season, Stephenson proceeded to put together one of the worst shooting seasons of any player afforded that much playing time in the NBA. I often refer to the Kendall Gill Line of 30 percent shooting from 3-point range as the bare minimum a player needs to average for defenses to respect them with a closeout. Stephenson struggled to meet half that mark, ringing in at 17 percent last season -- the worst mark of any player in NBA history with at least 100 attempts.
Stephenson didn't get to the free throw line, didn't get to the rim often and didn't finish well there. Moreover, he became a symbol of derision in Charlotte, and barely provided any of the benefits of playmaking he was supposed to bring to the table. Now in Los Angeles, facing a team option at the end of the season and playing with a veteran group, Stephenson has the opportunity to show that last year was an aberration and he is still a versatile, productive player. Stephenson's shooting will be an issue almost immediately if he can't connect, as this Clippers roster is short on bona fide threats outside of their starting perimeter players and can't afford to have more non-shooters on the floor.
Austin Rivers
Position: Guard
Experience: 3 years
2015-16 projections
Scouting report
+ Shoot-first combo guard
+ Poor shot selection and finishing
+ Not a good defender
Analysis
It's highly likely that joining the Clippers saved Rivers' career, and not just because he's playing for his father. Austin's numbers across the board peaked as he received consistent playing time due to the absence of real competition for minutes off the bench. That being said, I still wouldn't classify Rivers' play as "good."
Despite being the de facto backup point guard, he still had blinders on when attacking off the pick-and-roll, his shot selection leaves a lot to be desired -- with an odd fascination for a floater that he's not particularly good at (and was the subject of a hilarious viral video in which teammate Blake Griffin mimicked him) -- and outside of scoring in transition, he didn't really bring anything else to the table.
Still, despite a lack of any serious competition for his services, the Clippers saw fit to pay Rivers the most they were allowed to under the collective bargaining agreement ($3.1 million, due to the rookie scale team option that was declined previously).
Josh Smith
Position: Forward
Experience: 11 years
2015-16 projections
Scouting report
+ Long, playmaking combo forward
+ Poor perimeter shooter, but shot well from 3-point range in Houston
+ Declining athletically
Analysis
Smith owes Pistons head coach Stan Van Gundy a debt of gratitude for waiving him, and it's not just because he didn't have to give up any salary. Going to Houston as a cog in the machine allowed Smith to reduce some of his worst habits by virtue of a smaller role. While his usage rate dropped only slightly, Smith wasn't able to dominate the ball for as long as he did in Detroit, and the shorter windows forced him to be more decisive, leading to some of the best perimeter shooting of his 10-year career. (Having said that, Smith wasn't exactly Redick, and he still struggled with shot selection and efficiency). Smith also brought his above-average passing to connect with Dwight Howard on lobs, particularly out of the Elbow Get play set I highlighted during the playoffs last season. For the Clippers, it's easy to see how he this skill would fit well when playing alongside either Jordan or Griffin, but Smith's lack of consistency shooting the ball will hinder the effectiveness of lineups where he's playing either the 3 or 4. Instead, the Clippers should not hesitate to play him in smallball lineups as the 5 as a way to speed up tempo and get more spacing on the floor.
Pablo Prigioni
Position: Guard
Experience: 3 years
2015-16 projections
Scouting report
+ Solid-but-old backup point guard
+ Good but reluctant set shooter from 3-point range
+ Poor defensively
Analysis
Prigioni already was in the twilight of his career when he was a 35-year-old rookie with the Knicks, but he brings some level-headed play to a Clippers bench that lacked a settle-down point guard last season. Prigioni is a pure pass-first point guard and can be a reluctant shooter, with a majority of his shots coming off 3-point attempts (usually when left wide open). He's a smart pick-and-roll player, with good vision and accuracy, but at his age he's no longer capable of turning the corner and penetrating with any consistency.
Defensively, he sometimes looks like he's wearing cement sneakers, and can be victimized by just about any opposing point guard. For the Clippers, the big thing will be his savvy and his role as another shooter in many lineups.
Wesley Johnson
Position: Forward
Experience: 5 years
2015-16 projections
Scouting report
+ Long, athletic wing player
+ Streaky 3-point shooter
+ Inconsistent defender
Analysis
This former top-3 pick has never come close to fulfilling his draft day promise, but he brings some athleticism on the wing and decent, if streaky, 3-point shooting. In many ways, he replaces offensively what they lost in Matt Barnes' departure, although he brings none of the defense or toughness that Barnes had, and so it's questionable whether Johnson will find time on the floor or whether the Clippers will utilize smaller lineups with three guards along the perimeter. Johnson is almost strictly a scorer, and he's not even that good at that, but he brings some finishing ability in transition that could be beneficial.
Cole Aldrich
Position: Center
Experience: 5 years
2015-16 projections
Scouting report
+ Defensive big, good shot blocker
+ Excellent rebounder
+ Limited offensively
Analysis
Lost in the Knicks' atrocious season was the solid play of Aldrich, who has developed into a legitimate backup big in this league. He's not in L.A. for his offense, other than setting several hard screens a possession and crashing the offensive glass, but he's a terrific rebounder and a good shot blocker. However, in many ways he suffers the same profile as DeAndre Jordan -- despite blocking a lot of shots, he neither discouraged attempts at the rim nor did he significantly lower the success rate on those shots. Still, he's a nice piece to turn to should there be any injuries during the season.
Branden Dawson
Position: Forward
Experience: Rookie
2015 draft profile
Scouting report
+ Rookie undersized power forward
+ Not a shooter from the perimeter
+ Good rebounder
Analysis
Dawson was a draft day acquisition, after the Clippers paid $630,000 to the Pelicans in exchange for the 56th overall pick. At Michigan State, he was basically a power forward his entire time, with a knack for rebounding the ball on the offensive glass. He's not particularly skilled and has no discernible game outside the paint, and if history gives any indication, he likely won't get much playing time this season.
C.J. Wilcox
Position: Guard
Experience: 1 year
2015-16 projections
Scouting report
+ Reputation as a very good shooter coming out of college
+ Good athlete
+ Has some defensive potential
Analysis
It's tough to evaluate Wilcox's season, as he barely played 100 minutes for the Clippers as a rookie. For most teams, this would have certainly resulted in at least a couple of D-League stints, but since the Clippers don't have its own affiliate (they share Fort Wayne with every other non-affiliated NBA team), they were reluctant to send him down. As a result, Wilcox didn't get the chance to get any development time to apply what he was learning in practice, which is a shame because at least on paper, he seems to be the type of player they desperately need -- an athletic wing shooter who can defend on the perimeter.
Chuck Hayes
Position: Center
Experience: 10 years
2015-16 projections
Scouting report
+ Vet defensive big
+ High IQ but unskilled offensively
+ Good locker room guy
Analysis
The last roster spot for the Clippers will be a fight between two non-guaranteed contracted vets. Hayes has made a solid living in the league as a high IQ undersized defensive big, but his age combined with a shifting NBA climate that is less forgiving for one-way players makes it hard to make a case for Hayes. Still, he's a good locker room guy and practice player, and he's probably the highest IQ big on the roster at this stage.
Luc Richard Mbah a Moute
Position: Forward
Experience: 7 years
2015-16 projections
Scouting report
+ Long defensive combo forward
+ Limited offensively
+ Great work ethic
Analysis
The other roster hopeful, Mbah a Moute comes off a season in Philly where he got his first ever carte blanche offensively, and we learned one thing for sure: none of his previous NBA coaches were holding him back from getting buckets.
Of course, no one expected him to flourish on a team without any play creation or spacing, as Mbah a Moute is an accessory, not a feature for a team's offense, but he's a solid citizen and a hard worker. He brings defensive versatility along the perimeter, and that could win him some spot minutes here or there if he makes the roster.