Before the topic of Leonard's contract emerged, the Clippers were spending the perfect offseason.

At the end of last season, the Clippers actually had only two long contracts, Leonard and Zubac. But the Clippers made drastic moves in the summer: in the last month of the regular season last season, the Clippers lost only two games: without Leonard, they played in the first home court of the Eastern Conference until the last minute; against the championship Thunder, they only lost to Caruso with a magical three-pointer. Leonard played only 37 games in the regular season, and Harden led the team to win 50 wins into the playoffs.

Losing to the Nuggets in seven games in the playoffs, the total score is a little more: including losing overtime in the first game, and Gordon's final victory in the fourth game. Leonard averaged 25+8+5 against the Nuggets, 53%+41%. After

, the Nuggets fought against the Thunder in seven games, and the Thunder won the final championship, which probably gave the Clippers confidence.

In the regular season, the healthy Clippers are invincible; in the playoffs, the healthy Clippers even had the advantage against the Nuggets; the Nuggets only barely lost to the Thunder. One step away from the zenith.

Van Gundy's defense, Harden's instigation, and Leonard's combat effectiveness after his comeback.

"The veterans can still play! Relying on Harden to drag his thickness into the playoffs, waiting for Leonard to get healthy and unparalleled!"

So:

renewed Harden and got Paul.

Send Powell, who has a salary of 20 million next year and is waiting for renewal, gets back Bill, who is the same age at a price of 1/4, and upgrades the forward line with Corinth and Lopez.

defender: Harden/Bill/Paul/Dunn/Borgdan

Forward: Leonard/Corlins/Batum/Jones Jr.

Long man: Zubac/Lopez

Left Powell, born in 1993, earned 20 million yuan next year, and was waiting for renewal. I have to go back to Bill, who was born in 1993 and is 5.5 million a year.

Bill, holding the ball is simple and straightforward, good at changing the center of gravity, shooting in the three-point line without blind spots, jumping, taking steps, and sudden stops are all very good. Without the ball, he is very good at attacking fillers after receiving the ball on the weak side: shoot, three threats and break out. The defensive end is not tough—compared to Dunn—but it is very good at tidying: it is very good at suddenly changing tricks to destroy the opponent's rhythm.

Of course: There are many attack methods but no decisive killer moves. If you are not good at hosting the ball, you are not a fatal strong attacker.

But some people hold the ball (Harden) and some people attack (Leonard). Bill wants to replace him. Powell's deputy attack role: this is what he is best at. Not to mention Powell's 20 million next season and Bill's 5.5 million.

Bill's last All-Star in his career, averaging 31 points in the year he was paired with Westbrook. I've paired with Durant in the past two years. Now I'm going to match Harden.

Bill: I'm thunderous when rounding.

What does Paul + Harden mean to Clippers shooters? ——They are the second and third most assists in this century. What does

mean to Zubac and Collins? ——They are the first and sixth most players in the basket this century; I personally think they are the two of the seven most empty-handed players in history (they, the 2018 Double, LeBron, Kidd, and the big ball in health).

Lopez averaged 14+5 per game in 33 minutes last season, with nearly 40% of three-pointers and a basket protection. Only in the playoffs, I was chasing the Pacers' run and bombarded. But used as a substitute for Zubac? Perfect.

Collins averaged 19+8 last season. He had a happy cooperation with Trae Young that year, and now he can play free-range contact with Harden.

With Lopez and Corinth, the Clippers' frontcourt was highly forested - enough to look down, for example, the Thunder.

By the way, Harden and Trae Young are really...

Harden: Yang, Capela was very good with me back then, you can play free-kick with him.

Yang: Harden, Collins was very good with me back then. You can play free-kick with him.

After Paul left the Clippers, he led Alexander in the playoffs in the Rockets' Western Conference Finals, entered the playoffs, and entered the finals in the Suns, starting all 82 games with the Spurs last season. Booker of the Suns, Ayton of the Spurs, Wenban Yama said that he helped the team very much: wisdom, experience, the sense of presence of veterans, etc.

cannot expect him to take the threat of scoring stably, but when he is on the court, adjusting the offense, and feeding the ball, he is still as skillful as a god, and time will not deprive him of his intelligence.

He returns to the Clippers and Lillard returns to the Trail Blazers, both of which are return to feelings. The difference is that Lillard's contract still has room for rest, and Paul is going to retire from the Clippers.

After all, he is the number one person in the history of this terrible and difficult team.

Look at the teammates: Harden, the Rockets' old teammate; Leonard, the opponent in 2015; Lopez, the opponent in 2021 Finals; Bill, exchanged with him in the Suns...

are all bad fates.

It may be luck to make a team better occasionally. Bird, General, Duncan, and Kidd have all done things that "as soon as they arrive at a certain team, they will make a big splash."

But with such high frequency as Paul, the environment will instantly improve almost every first year of a team. In NBA history, there should be no second one.

The moving details: In 2019, Harden and Paul had a famous relationship with each other.

- Harden was the fifth in the league playing time last season, pushing Leonard to 50 wins, which had been missing for most of the season. The Clippers continued him for two years: the team has a very high status.

——Before signing Paul, the Clippers will first ask Harden’s opinion: If Harden is not happy, the Clippers may not sign Paul back.

—Harden approves, Paul returns.

—The unpleasantness six years ago is unpleasant, and it has passed.

Bill has worn No. 3 all his life, and now he has given No. 3 to Paul. This time he came to the Clippers for 11 million yuan for two years and gave a discount. The number was given out again. Economically and human relationships, they are all in place, and the old ones are new, and they are welcome to Paul's return.

Professional sports, money is always the first priority. But for Lillard and Paul at this moment, money is not the most critical: respect and recognition are not necessarily all reflected in money.

"You are out and back; there are still everything you are familiar with here, waiting for your return."

is the gentlest courtesy in this wandering and troubled times.

In this way, even if Leonard and Bill each rest 30 games next season (this is an assumption, not a prediction or a curse), the Clippers can probably keep it:

There is a ball holder (Harden/Paul) and a basket protector Giant (Zubac/Lopez) at any time. Leonard rests and the front line is enough.

If you are healthy, refer to the 50 wins in the last season's remaining team, the Clippers should be a 54-win team next season.

Then there are those three pillars:

Zubac is traditional: neither can three-pointers nor can he defend from 1 to 5. But he can do everything else: send Harden's pass into the basket and punish more than half of the opponents - the long man of this era is getting thinner and thinner, he becomes a little shark - protecting the basket and rebounding, and defending Jokic better than anyone in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs. There are not so many fancy bells and whistles, he is just the foundation of a team.

Harden entered the All-Star again after five years of the last season, bringing Powell and Zubac to the peak of his career - Kofi partnered with Harden in the previous season 39% + 28% averaged 13 minutes and 3 points per game; 24 minutes and 10 points shooting percentage last season 47% + 41%; Powell partnered with Harden in the previous season 48% + 40% averaged 26 minutes and 17 points shooting percentage last season 48% + 42% averaged 33 minutes and 22 points shooting percentage last season - leading the Clippers to 50 wins.

Leonard's 39 points in the second game against the Nuggets proved that he can still dominate the game. His singles are still orderly, with the outside world being accurate, calm, steady, confident, compact and efficient. In some games against the Nuggets, "We know that Jokic is the best player in this series and even the planet, but Leonard seems to be dominating the game?"

But after the Leonard contract incident, the situation changed: the Clippers' season became unknown. What will happen to the

alliance? fine? Discard the draft pick? Suspension? Cancelling Leonard's contract?

Interestingly, since the incident broke out, Xiao Hua has remained relatively quiet, not as turbulent as the Stern era back then.

Probably, Xiao Hua would not force Ballmer to sell the team: Ballmer is too rich...

Xiao Hua doesn't want everyone to care too much about this: If the last profit is turned over, will more than one team have similar operations? The

The alliance hopes is probably: a result that is so heavy that it will not make people complain, but so light that it will not affect the reputation of the alliance, and then everyone can live up to their face, and then the whole world will forget about this.

For the Clippers, this situation is subtle.

The Timberwolves were confiscated for five first-round picks that year, and KG was wasted his time at the age of 24 to 29.

But now the Clippers don't have so much time to waste: they are thick but old, and they only fought for a year or two.

To the disadvantage, "The future punishment may make the Clippers struggle to the trough for the next ten years."

Another angle, "There is no tomorrow, old boys, this is our last rush to the end of the day."

Coach Lu is extremely magical in this regard: he is good at leading the remnants and reversals (compared to Lao Li). The more unpredictable the future, the more he can make the team burst into strong desires: relying on Duan Su's body language and encourage each other. In this regard, he is a bit like the Georgetown coach John Thompson of AI/Ewing/Morning/Mutumbo, "Let's go and fight the world!" The Clippers have thickness and (temporary) health; however, they are old, but the penalty has not yet come down, but there is a dark future ahead. Will the pending punishment become their resistance, or will the ultimate motivation for veterans such as Paul Harden and Leonard to finally "no tomorrow, I'll fight for this year" make them gamble to the top?

After all, when you are in a complex environment and have no future, it may also inspire magical combat power: this is the case with the last dance of the Bulls in 1998, as is Riley's Miami Heat in 2006, and so is Carlisle's Dallas in 2011.

For today's Clippers, the only thing that can be grasped is this season and the present, and only every moment of the present.