The Los Angeles Clippers have a new look for the 2024-25 season in a number of ways. They are opening their new arena, the Intuit Dome, finally moving out of their shared home with the Lakers at Crypto.com Arena. They have a new logo set, uniforms, and color scheme, embracing a new identity in their new home building. And most importantly, they have a very different looking roster from the past few years.
Paul George is gone (as is Russell Westbrook) after not being able to fully deliver on the promise of being a title contender after coming to L.A. alongside Kawhi Leonard in 2019. With George in Philly and Westbrook in Denver, the Clippers moved to fill out their roster with depth and try to move ahead with a team built around Leonard and James Harden. That leaves some real opportunity for players to take on bigger roles, and that is something Norman Powell, at the least, is excited about.
Powell said he’s looking at George’s exit from L.A. as “addition by subtraction,” noting it means more opportunities for guys, including himself, to step up. Powell felt the Clippers depth had kept a number of players from showing their full potential, and now that will shine.
Forward Norman Powell talks about the media writing off the Clippers after losing Paul George and Russell Westbrook. pic.twitter.com/nDSj3wAvUf
— James H. Williams covers UCLA football (@JHWreporter) September 30, 2024
To be clear, this is how Powell should be looking at this situation. He also noted he’s long seen himself as a starting caliber player and is excited to try and take on that role this year. That said, the “addition by subtraction” line is pretty strong when talking about a former All-NBA player leaving, and you can be sure folks will keep this bookmarked if the Clippers stumble this season. Powell isn’t alone in seeing George’s departure as an opportunity to take on a bigger role, as James Harden also expects to shift back to a more comfortable role as the offensive engine this year — citing the Mavs success with Luka Doncic as an example of how it can lead to winning.
James Harden on the new-look Clippers’ style of play this season: “It’s definitely going to involve a lot of me. There was talk when I was in Houston… ‘You can’t win like that.’ You just saw a guy [Luka Doncic] last season make the Finals playing the same exact way I played.” pic.twitter.com/X1x0zn2wpT
— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) September 30, 2024
Harden was very good for the Clippers a year ago, but it’s hard to imagine him being able to just turn back the clock to his Houston days in full, where he regularly posted league-high usage rates each year. In theory, he shouldn’t have to do that with Leonard alongside (but that, of course, requires Kawhi to remain healthy), but at the very least there is no shortage in confidence in the Clippers locker room about their ability to keep moving forward without PG.