Which Clippers players never lived up to expectations?
The Los Angeles Clippers went 42-40 this season, and that record, on its own, does not tell the story.
A 6-21 start nearly wrecked the entire thing before Christmas, and while the team fought its way back into the play-in tournament, a loss to the Golden State Warriors sent them home before the real playoffs even started.
Coming into the year, this roster was supposed to have answers.
The front office added Bradley Beal, Chris Paul, Brook Lopez, and John Collins alongside James Harden and Kawhi Leonard, building the oldest team in NBA history at an average age of 33.2 years.
Some of those additions turned into problems.
Here are the Clippers who disappointed the most.
Bradley Beal Takes the Top Spot
Six games is all the Clippers got out of Beal before a hip fracture shut down his season and sent him to the operating table.
He averaged 8.2 points per game on 37.5 percent shooting in those appearances, both career lows.
The whole point of signing him was to fill the scoring gap Norman Powell left behind, and the team ended up applying for a disabled player exception instead.
November was already going sideways, and losing Beal only made it worse.
Chris Paul's Return Went Sideways Fast
The reunion sounded great on paper.
Paul came back to Los Angeles for his 21st and final NBA season, the type of full-circle story fans love.
It lasted 16 games.
He averaged 2.9 points and 3.3 assists while shooting 32.1 percent, and by December 3 the team had sent him home after reported clashes with head coach Tyronn Lue.
He was eventually dealt to Toronto at the deadline.
Blake Griffin ripped the organization publicly over how it handled everything, and honestly, it was hard to disagree with him.
That is not how a Hall of Famer's last season should end.
John Collins Never Filled the Norman Powell Void
Collins arrived in an offseason swap that sent Powell to Miami.
The trade looked reasonable enough at the time, but the production gap was massive.
Powell had been putting up 24.2 points per game before the break last season, and Collins gave the Clippers 13.6 points and 5.3 rebounds in 56 starts.
He was solid in stretches but too inconsistent when the team needed steady play, especially during the early-season spiral, and eventually his playing time diminished down the stretch.
What Happened Post-Deadline
The Clippers moved Harden and Ivica Zubac in February, bringing back Darius Garland, Bennedict Mathurin, and draft picks.
Garland was dealing with toe issues and did not debut until March 2, giving the team just 24 regular season games with him at the point.
He looked good when healthy, but losing weeks of development time with the rest of the roster hurt.
The front office also passed on adding a backup point guard or another center, and those gaps in the roster caught up with them against Golden State.