It's not a fun reality to acknowledge, but the LA Clippers actually have a perfect team for what the new lottery odds require. They have a perfectly average team. They don't have the worst roster in the NBA, but they certainly don't seem to have the talent to make a real push for the Play-In Tournament with how stacked the Western Conference is. That's perfect. Well, it would be perfect if the Clippers had their own pick.
Instead, the Clippers owe a pick swap to the Oklahoma City Thunder this season. It's from the Paul George trade in which they also sent OKC two-time MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. So, while the Clippers actually have an ideal roster for the way the current lottery odds are set up, it's not going to help them at all. It's going to hurt them.
Not only do the Clippers not have five of the future first-round picks they were supposed to have because of the Kawhi Leonard situation, but they also have to deal with an extremely mid roster, potentially gift-wrapping the Thunder and an elite first-round pick.
Clippers' average team might gift the Thunder a perfect pick
The way the new lottery odds are set up, the bottom three teams in the league get punished. The worst three NBA teams have one fewer ping-pong balls than the fourth- to 10th-worst teams.
In fact, the three worst teams in the league have the same amount of lottery ping-pong balls as the teams that end up losing out of the Play-In Tournament. That's brutal.
But the Clippers have a pretty okay roster. Darius Garland and Brandon Ingram are talented players who are former All-Stars. They can help the Clippers avoid being a bottom-three team.
But it doesn't matter. The Clippers don't own their pick. So whether or not the Clippers get two ping-pong balls or three ping-pong balls doesn't actually affect them.
In all likelihood, LA is going to be in the three ping-pong-ball territory. That means the Thunder could end up getting a top pick in the draft. At least, they will have a good chance at getting that. And that's a complete disaster for the rest of the NBA.
OKC is already stacked. It has enough talent. It just won a title two years ago, and last year, the Thunder made it to game 7 of the Western Conference Finals before losing to the San Antonio Spurs.
And now, thanks to the Clippers and their average roster, the Thunder have a good chance at adding yet another lottery talent to a roster full of lottery talent.
