Roundtable Roundup: The Los Angeles Clippers Are at a Crossroads After All-Star Break

The Los Angeles Clippers have been one of the most unpredictable teams in the NBA this season, and that's saying something for a franchise that has made unpredictability part of its brand.

After a brutal 6-21 start that had most people writing them off, the Clippers went on a stunning 16-of-19 run behind an MVP-level stretch from Kawhi Leonard that brought them all the way back into the playoff picture.

Then the front office flipped the script at the trade deadline, and now the team is sitting at 30-31 and ninth in the West while trying to figure out how far this retooled group can go.

The trade deadline shook up everything in Inglewood.

Harden was sent to the Cleveland Cavaliers for Darius Garland and a 2026 second-round pick, and the Clippers also dealt Zubac and Kobe Brown to the Indiana Pacers for Bennedict Mathurin, Isaiah Jackson and multiple draft picks.

The Clippers have gone 6-7 since the trades, leaning on Kawhi Leonard, who is averaging 27.9 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 3.7 assists this season on 49.7 percent shooting from the field.

Mathurin has settled into a bench role and is putting up 18.8 points and 6.1 rebounds per game through eight games as a Clipper, though his shooting consistency remains a question.

The arrival of Darius Garland gave the Clippers a jolt when he made his debut on March 2 against the Golden State Warriors after bilateral toe injuries kept him out since mid-January.

Garland came off the bench and scored 12 points in 23 minutes, helping the Clippers erase a 16-point deficit in a 114-101 win.

He followed that up in the team's 130-107 home win over the Pacers on March 4 before sitting out Friday's game at San Antonio for left toe injury management.

The two-time All-Star is only 26 and under contract through the 2027-28 season, so he figures to be a core piece of whatever comes next for this franchise.

But while Garland's arrival brought good news, the Clippers got hit with a tough blow on Thursday when rookie center Yanic Konan Niederhauser was diagnosed with a Lisfranc injury in his right foot that will require season-ending surgery.

Niederhauser had been playing some of his best basketball recently, averaging 8.2 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 2.2 blocks over his last five games while flashing rim protection that had head coach Tyronn Lue calling him a "game-changer."

The 22-year-old was drafted 30th overall last June, spent time in the G League early on and carved out a role behind Brook Lopez after the Zubac trade, so losing him is a real hit to a team already thin up front.

The Clippers find themselves in a tough spot with 21 games left and only a few games separating the seventh through tenth seeds in a loaded West.

Leonard can't do it alone, and the Clippers need Garland to ramp up quickly and Mathurin to find more consistency if they want to stay in the play-in hunt.

Still, this is a team that climbed from rock bottom to the playoff picture once already this season, and the front office bet on the future at the deadline while leaving enough talent here to make some noise if things break right over the final month.