Kawhi Leonard and the LA Clippers' championship window is closing rapidly
The LA Clippers' championship window might not be fully closed, but the window is being yanked downward with each passing season – violently.
The Clippers made it to their first-ever Western Conference finals this season, falling in six games to the rejuvenated Chris Paul and the Phoenix Suns.
And while a trip to the West finals is nothing to sneeze at, it's still considered underachieving for a franchise that two summers ago landed Kawhi Leonard and Paul George and watched its championship expectations shoot through the roof.
The 2019-20 season was difficult for the NBA as a whole, with the COVID-19 pandemic pushing teams into the Orlando bubble and away from family and friends for months. Still, LA entered the playoffs as the No. 2 seed in the West. And after knocking off Dallas in six games in the first round, the Clippers took a 3-1 lead against the Denver Nuggets in the West semifinals.
Then, infamously, it all fell apart, as the Clippers lost the final three games of the series.
Making matters worse is the fact that their in-town rivals, the Los Angeles Lakers, beat Denver in five games before taking out Miami in six to win the franchise's 17th NBA title.
This past season, the NBA got back to somewhat normal, and after 72 regular-season games, LA entered the postseason as the No. 4 seed in the West, again knocking off the Mavericks in the opening round, this time in a seven-game struggle that saw the Clippers trail, 0-2.
LA once again trailed 0-2 in the second round, before winning four straight to eliminate the top-seeded Utah Jazz. And as was routine, LA fell behind 0-2 to Phoenix in the West finals but had no such luck when it came to a comeback, bowing out in six games.
Now, it's all about looking ahead in LA, with Leonard holding a player option this offseason.
But before Leonard makes his decision, the "First Things First" crew asked the question on many NBA fans' minds on Thursday morning: Has the Clippers' window to win a title closed?
For Nick Wright, it all goes back to George's comments after the Clippers lost in the playoffs last season, when the LA star said that it wasn't a "championship-or-bust" season for the Clippers.
"Last year, Kawhi and Paul George were healthy and the opportunity was blown. This year, the team was coached better, seemingly better-constructed, Paul George was in a better mental space, and you got unlucky with injury. So every year is, ‘We’ve gotta get there,' because nothing is guaranteed. This year is a great example of that."
George had some more interesting comments after Wednesday's playoff ouster, when he said that if Leonard were healthy, the Clippers would still be playing.
"We'd be going on [if Kawhi played in the Western Conference finals]," George said. "This series would be a lot different. Talk about one of the best players in the league being out, yet we were inches away from getting to the next round."
Former NBA star Antoine Walker was not a fan of that narrative coming from George, especially because CP3 missed Games 1 and 2 of the series due to health and safety protocols and Phoenix won both games.
"Phoenix played the first two games without Chris Paul, so there's no excuse for you to lose this series," Walker said. "This is why Paul George is an All-Star but not a superstar. He's making an excuse when he could've got it done. ... The Clippers were good enough to win this series without Kawhi."
And to Walker, the Clippers don't look poised to win their first-ever championship. Not due to a lack of talent, but rather a lack of leadership.
"There's always next year" seemed to be the adage that George applied to this season after last season.
This offseason, it seems he and his teammates will have to come up with something new.
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