Are the Clippers too old to win the title?
By trading for James Harden and P.J. Tucker, the NBA’s oldest squad became even older—does this mean doom for LA? Plus, we look at whether the Grizzlies can overcome their sluggish start and five young players who could be on the rise.
Every Wednesday during the NBA season, we examine a variety of issues from around the league, ranging from the most important stories to the most bizarre occurrences, statistical analysis to obscure minutiae. This week’s topics include the viability of the Clippers’ old and new Big Four, five young players who could make the leap, the Grizzlies’ winless start, and more. This is the Kram session.
The NBA’s oldest squad has gotten older. That’s one of the numerous ramifications of the latest James Harden trade, which (finally) sent the former MVP and P.J. Tucker to the Clippers in return for a slew of players, prospects, and deals. Ringer teammates Seerat Sohi and Michael Pina have you covered from the views of Harden and the 76ers, respectively, so I’ll go over a few Clippers-specific dimensions here.
At least in principle, the Clippers’ stars align, albeit more on the timeline than on the hardwood. If Kawhi Leonard and Paul George miss games during the regular season, Harden and Russell Westbrook can help keep the Clippers in the postseason race rather than slipping to the play-in round. And if Harden succumbs to his usual playoff funk, Leonard—a Finals MVP and one of the greatest playoff performers in NBA history—can fill the void.
Because the Clippers have so many high-scoring ball handlers on their roster, each star will have to make sacrifices to fit the pieces together. Westbrook had already shown hints of such adaption prior to the Harden trade. His utilization rate is merely 16.9 percent as of Tuesday afternoon, down 10.8 percentage points from 2022-23. That’s the greatest drop for any player through the first week (minimum 50 minutes) and a staggering figure for Westbrook, who had never dropped below 25.7 percent in any season of his career before to now.
For years, Westbrook was chastised for not adjusting his game to reflect his deteriorating skill set and position in his team’s pecking order. But he’s finally playing that way for the Clippers—first as a distributor, then as a scorer.
Many questions regarding this group of talents will remain unanswered until they begin playing together. Can Westbrook adjust even more if he needs to come off the bench? Is Harden willing to reduce his use rate, which has already declined four seasons in a row? Will Leonard and George adjust to make place for a new facilitator? These are the questions the Clippers must answer after putting together a roster of late-career stars with established styles.
The “late-career” component is also crucial. Through three games, the Clippers had the NBA’s highest average pre-trade roster age (weighted by minutes played), at 30.6 years. The only other team in the last decade with an age that high was the 2017-18 Cavaliers (30.6), who went 50-32 before losing in a Finals sweep.
Once the Clippers put their new players into the rotation, their figure will most likely rise slightly, but not significantly. While KJ Martin is only 22 years old, the three players traded to Philadelphia are veterans: Nicolas Batum (34), Marcus Morris (34), and Robert Covington (32). Terance Mann, 27, hasn’t played yet this season due to an ankle ailment, but he’ll return shortly to contribute youthful
However, is a squad comprised of 30-somethings too old to succeed in an NBA that is becoming increasingly younger? League history indicates that it is not. Older teams typically win a lot of games. As I mentioned a few years ago, the 18 oldest teams in NBA history, as well as 28 of the top 29, finished with a.500 record or higher. There are numerous examples of over-30 teams that have won the championship:
