It Took 8 Games for Clippers to Regret Key Offseason Decision

The Los Angeles Clippers are not off to the start they had in mind as they sit in 12th place in the Western Conference with a 3-5 record. They look old, slow, and are nowhere near where they were, especially on the defensive end, last season. One of the main reasons for that is one major offseason decision the front office made.

Norman Powell, who had just had the best season of his career in the 2024-25 campaign, was traded to the Miami Heat in exchange for John Collins in a three-team deal. The Clippers then went on to sign Bradley Beal in free agency to take over Powell's spot at shooting guard.

This move never made sense at the time, and makes even less sense after the first eight games of the season.

Bradley Beal Has Been a Disaster for the Clippers to Start the Season

Against his former team, the Phoenix Suns, on Thursday, Beal had five points, one rebound, and one assist on 2/14 shooting from the field in 20 minutes of action. The Clippers were -23 in those minutes. For the season, he is averaging 7.4 points per game on 35.9% field goal shooting. He has shot only six free throws in five games, highlighting how little pressure he is putting on the rim.

It's not like Beal is any good defensively, either. The Clippers are 16.6 points per 100 possessions worse with him on the floor defensively than off, per Cleaning the Glass data. The team has an embarrassing 133.2 defensive rating when he is playing.

To make matters worse, Beal has already missed three games. For a player who hasn't played 60 games in a season in five years, that is a serious concern.

In contrast, Powell has carried his momentum into this season. He is averaging over 23 points on incredible 46.4/51.7/94.9 shooting splits. Even more impressive is the fact that he takes eight threes and shoots 7.8 free throws per game. Those are numbers Beal can't sniff at this stage of his career.

Having Collins as a depth option is good, and the veteran power forward has had a solid start to the season. Yet, even the combination of Collins and Beal is not giving the Clippers the production Powell gave last season. Without Powell, so much more offensive burden falls on James Harden and Kawhi Leonard's shoulders, a risky proposition considering their age and injury-related concerns.

Perhaps the Clippers were scared of losing Powell for nothing in the summer of 2026 when his contract expired. They may not have wanted to give a 32-year-old an extension, and selling high on him after a career season made some sense at the time. Yet, they certainly didn't get enough in return and way overestimated what Beal can give them. If Beal doesn't turn things around soon, the Clippers will regret moving on from Powell for a long time.