This week, Tyronn Lue attributed the Clippers’ struggles to the roster’s physical fragility and the lack of production from the bench. A fair point, but there’s an even more alarming number: when the Big Three – Kawhi Leonard, James Harden, and Ivica Zubac – share the floor, their net rating is -6, compared to last season’s excellent +14.

And it isn’t a supporting-cast issue: the fourth man is the excellent Dunn, and the fifth is either Collins or Bogdanovic. Yet the results are disastrous: 28th-ranked offense, 26th in rebounding despite their size and double-big lineups, 29th in assists, and an extremely slow pace. The defense is even worse: in November alone, they posted the NBA’s fourth-worst defensive rating, almost always with Leonard available.

Even earlier, through the first 14 games, they already ranked 18th in points allowed. In such a context, rebuilding would be the natural path. But there’s an insurmountable problem: the Clippers traded away all their first-round picks until 2030 in past deals, gifting the Thunder and 76ers a bright future while their own present continues to crumble.