Los Angeles Clippers
2016-17What were the Los Angeles Clippers in 2016-17, and what needed front-office attention?
LAC 2016-17: the clearest roster problems were Rim protection, Creation. The strongest covered areas were Shooting and spacing. The main rotation-player dependency cases were DeAndre Jordan, JJ Redick, Chris Paul, Luc Mbah a Moute, Blake Griffin. Structural basketball need, injuries, replacement lineups, and financial constraints are reported separately.
What can be trusted
Supported strengths — production, who carries it, and what money is already committed.Full reading
LAC 2016-17 Shooting and spacing: this was a team strength; production ranked at the 84.6 league percentile. JJ Redick supplied 29.6% of the team's above-replacement production in this area. No governed recent game-level availability layer exists for this season. The team already committed substantial or redundant cap resources here.
What needs attention
The clearest roster problems the evidence supports.Full reading
LAC 2016-17 Rim protection: this was one of the team's clearest roster problems; production ranked at the 15.4 league percentile. DeAndre Jordan supplied 52.4% of the team's above-replacement production in this area. No governed recent game-level availability layer exists for this season. The cap allocation to this critical need was comparatively low.
Full reading
LAC 2016-17 Creation: this was a real roster weakness; production ranked at the 19.2 league percentile. Chris Paul supplied 35.2% of the team's above-replacement production in this area. No governed recent game-level availability layer exists for this season. The team already committed substantial or redundant cap resources here.
Every covered basketball function (11)
| Function | Reading | League percentile | Largest contributor | Recent availability | Salary commitment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Creation | SupportedStructural team problem | 19th percentile | Chris Paul · 35.2% | No recent availability layer for this season | Heavy or redundant salary already committed here |
| Defensive event creation | SupportedMiddle of the league | 35th percentile | Luc Mbah a Moute · 29.6% | No recent availability layer for this season | Heavy or redundant salary already committed here |
| Interior finishing | SupportedMiddle of the league | 35th percentile | DeAndre Jordan · 38.5% | No recent availability layer for this season | Heavy or redundant salary already committed here |
| Passing connectivity | SupportedMiddle of the league | 27th percentile | Chris Paul · 36.6% | No recent availability layer for this season | Heavy or redundant salary already committed here |
| Point-of-attack defense proxy | WithheldBasketball conclusion withheld | — | Chris Paul | No recent availability layer for this season | Balanced or context-dependent salary commitment |
| Rebounding | SupportedMiddle-tier area with one-player risk | 62nd percentile | DeAndre Jordan · 43.4% | No recent availability layer for this season | Heavy or redundant salary already committed here |
| Rim pressure | SupportedMiddle of the league | 35th percentile | DeAndre Jordan · 35.5% | No recent availability layer for this season | Heavy or redundant salary already committed here |
| Rim protection | SupportedCritical team problem | 15th percentile | DeAndre Jordan · 52.3% | No recent availability layer for this season | Comparatively little salary committed to a critical need |
| Screening | WithheldBasketball conclusion withheld | — | Chris Paul | No recent availability layer for this season | Balanced or context-dependent salary commitment |
| Shooting and spacing | SupportedTeam strength | 85th percentile | JJ Redick · 29.6% | No recent availability layer for this season | Heavy or redundant salary already committed here |
| Switch coverage proxy | WithheldBasketball conclusion withheld | — | Chris Paul | No recent availability layer for this season | Balanced or context-dependent salary commitment |
Who the team depends on
What disappears when a player is removed — and whether an observed replacement five exists.LAC was highly dependent on DeAndre Jordan. Removing him cost about 43.4% of rebounding production, and lineups with him performed 11.2 points per 100 possessions better than lineups without him. The best supported replacement group was [Paul Pierce, Jamal Crawford, Raymond Felton, Marreese Speights, Austin Rivers] over 196 possessions.
Replacement evidence
Paul Pierce · Jamal Crawford · Raymond Felton · Marreese Speights · Austin Rivers
shrunk net 2.941 over 196 possessions — small sample
on floor 4,967 possessions · off floor 2,565 possessions
LAC was highly dependent on JJ Redick. Removing him cost about 29.6% of shooting production, and lineups with him performed 5.9 points per 100 possessions better than lineups without him. The best supported replacement group was [Paul Pierce, Jamal Crawford, Raymond Felton, Marreese Speights, Austin Rivers] over 196 possessions.
Replacement evidence
Paul Pierce · Jamal Crawford · Raymond Felton · Marreese Speights · Austin Rivers
shrunk net 2.941 over 196 possessions — small sample
on floor 4,269 possessions · off floor 3,307 possessions
LAC was highly dependent on Chris Paul. Removing him cost about 36.6% of passing production, and lineups with him performed 13.7 points per 100 possessions better than lineups without him. The best supported replacement group was [Paul Pierce, Jamal Crawford, Raymond Felton, Marreese Speights, Austin Rivers] over 196 possessions.
Replacement evidence
Paul Pierce · Jamal Crawford · Raymond Felton · Marreese Speights · Austin Rivers
shrunk net 2.941 over 196 possessions — small sample
on floor 3,811 possessions · off floor 3,756 possessions
LAC was highly dependent on Luc Mbah a Moute. Removing him cost about 29.7% of event creation production, and lineups with him performed 6.3 points per 100 possessions better than lineups without him. The best supported replacement group was [Chris Paul, JJ Redick, DeAndre Jordan, Blake Griffin, Austin Rivers] over 216 possessions.
Replacement evidence
Chris Paul · JJ Redick · DeAndre Jordan · Blake Griffin · Austin Rivers
shrunk net 3.931 over 216 possessions — small sample
on floor 3,591 possessions · off floor 3,969 possessions
LAC lineups performed 9.7 points per 100 possessions better with Blake Griffin than without him. The best supported alternative was [Paul Pierce, Jamal Crawford, Raymond Felton, Marreese Speights, Austin Rivers] over 196 possessions.
Replacement evidence
Paul Pierce · Jamal Crawford · Raymond Felton · Marreese Speights · Austin Rivers
shrunk net 2.941 over 196 possessions — small sample
on floor 3,819 possessions · off floor 3,753 possessions
Function loss, lineup performance, and replacement-lineup evidence remain separate; none is causal player value.
What injuries change
Recent absences and the basketball needs they created or worsened.No governed recent game-level availability layer exists for this season.
Where money is tied up
Cap position and salary allocation — shown beside the basketball picture, never blended into it.Most salary is mapped to shooting and spacing; the highest-need area is defensive event creation. Salary-to-function mapping covers 100% of charges.
Exact figures
Exact transaction legality withheld — no exception-usage, cap-hold, and transaction ledger evidence.
What the evidence cannot answer
Deliberate abstentions — where the database refuses a conclusion rather than guessing.- Point-of-attack defense proxy: Basketball conclusion withheld
- Screening: Basketball conclusion withheld
- Switch coverage proxy: Basketball conclusion withheld
Exact transaction legality: Exact transaction legality withheld — no exception-usage, cap-hold, and transaction ledger evidence
Team-season situation report. Structural basketball quality, recent availability, player dependence, replacement lineups, and financial position remain separate. No acquisition recommendation, transaction grade, coaching grade, outcome claim, or causal value is inferred.