Who will start for the Los Angeles Clippers?
The Los Angeles Clippers brought an end to the Kawhi Leonard era in the offseason, trading Leonard to the Toronto Raptors in exchange for Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick, and multiple draft picks.
The team has been completely revamped from last year after in-season trades of James Harden and Ivica Zubac.
While the starting lineup hasn’t been much of a mystery in past seasons, as the team had superstars and wanted to be competitive in the Western Conference, this year will look much different.
Speaking at media day on Monday, Clippers head coach Ty Lue said that the team will have training camp battles for starting spots and that there are players he considers a lock to start, but wouldn’t reveal who.
“It’s not about the best player, it’s about the best fit,” he said.
The Locks
Brandon Ingram would seem to be a lock, but he’s going to be sidelined to start the year with an Achilles injury. Once he returns, he’ll be immediately inserted into a starting forward spot.
Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY SportsDarius Garland is the only true lock who will start the season healthy. He’ll be the starting point guard, tasked with getting the team organized in more ways than one.
Brook Lopez might be a lock at the center position, as the Clippers are thin on options and likely don’t want to start rookie Baba Miller.
The Battles
With Garland and Lopez likely the only two players locked in, that leaves three opening-night starting positions up for grabs.
Max Strus and Keaton Wagler are going to make heavy pushes to be the starting shooting guard. Wagler was drafted with the thought that he was a fit next to Garland, as he can play on-ball or off-ball.
Strus and Garland are familiar with each other from their days in Cleveland, and if Lue is looking for fit, Strus might be the better option.
With Ingram sidelined, the forward positions will likely go to Rui Hachimura and Derrick Jones Jr., unless the team is going to play smaller with Wagler and Strus starting at the two and three.
Once Ingram gets back, the team will have a decision to make on who remains the starter between Jones Jr. and Hachimura. Much of that could depend on how the team is playing and whether they value offense or defense.
While there are some training camp battles to keep an eye on, injuries are going to make those battles less intense than if the team had a healthy lineup.


