Lawrence Frank Deserves a Ton of Credit for Turning Around Clippers' Future

The 2025-26 season ended unceremoniously for the Los Angeles Clippers. Despite a miraculous turnaround during the season, the Clippers weren't able to clinch a playoff spot after suffering a disappointing loss to the Warriors in the Play-In Tournament. While it wasn't a campaign Clippers fans were hoping for, it's important to remember that the organization is now in a much better place than it has been for many years.

Only four months ago, the Clippers had one of the bleakest futures in the NBA. They had the oldest roster in the NBA by a significant margin with two superstars in their mid-to-late 30s. They didn't have a blue-chip prospect or a young player with elite upside. They owed their first-round pick in the upcoming draft to the Oklahoma City Thunder. For a team that was headed to the lottery, that was a difficult situation to be in.

Clippers Have a Much Brighter Future Now Thanks to GM Lawrence Frank

Fast forward to today, and the Clippers have the No. 5 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft. They added Darius Garland and Bennedict Mathurin, young players with some upside. Kobe Sanders and Yanic Konan Niederhauser have emerged as potential long-term pieces. And they still have their own first-rounders from 2030 to 2033, as well as a 2029 first-rounder coming from Indiana.

This gives the Clippers a ton of flexibility going forward. If they want to build a winner around Kawhi Leonard and Garland for the next two seasons, they have enough assets to make win-now trades. If they would rather take a step back and rebuild from the bottom, they are also in a good spot where they already have some assets to work with.

GM Lawrence Frank deserves the lion's share of credit for this turnaround. It was a brave decision at the trade deadline to move on from James Harden and Ivica Zubac. Especially when the Clippers had just started winning, Frank could have easily been fooled into thinking that the team could make some noise in the playoffs.

Instead, he saw the writing on the wall and traded Harden and Zu when they had a ton of trade value.

Losing Harden and Zubac certainly hurts. Some Clippers fans were rightfully frustrated at the time of the trades. But turning the two veterans into Garland, Mathurin, Isaiah Jackson, the No. 5 pick, an unprotected 2029 first-round pick, and the 52nd-overall pick in the upcoming draft was undoubtedly an excellent move.

The Clippers weren't going anywhere last season. At best, they would have been first-round fodder at the hands of OKC or San Antonio. Then, LA was going to be forced to give Harden a contract extension this summer, further limiting their future flexibility. Now, Clippers fans can be more hopeful about their future thanks to the front office.

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