5 consecutive losses! The star shooting guard is out for the season. The most failed team in the NBA. You are not far from disintegration.

The Clippers, who had high hopes for the "paper championship" this offseason, are now at the bottom of the Western Conference. After 10 games, they have only achieved 3 wins and 7 losses, ranking 13th in the Western Conference. This is in sharp contrast to the rhetoric at the beginning of the season. Beal, Collins, Lopez, and Paul—the four heavyweight signings, were supposed to be the perfect puzzle pieces for Leonard and Harden, but they collectively misfired at the beginning of the season. To make matters worse, core Bill suffered a hip fracture and was reimbursed for the season. The Clippers' championship dream was almost shattered in November. Bill's agent revealed that the injury was an acetabular fracture caused by stepping on the ball while stealing. He will undergo surgery and is expected to be sidelined for 7 months.

Bill, a three-time All-Star guard, is one of the Clippers' most important signings during the offseason. He also used Harden's talents to sign him for 5 million. However, Bill only played in 6 games, playing a total of 121 minutes, averaging 8.2 points and 1.7 assists per game, shooting 37.5% from the field and 36.8% from the three-point range, which was far lower than expected. Even without injury, Bill was already on the verge of retirement. He felt like he was falling off a cliff after leaving the Wizards. What's even more disappointing is that his defensive end is full of loopholes and has become a weakness targeted by opponents many times. Bill's reimbursement not only caused the Clippers to lose their offensive firepower, but also made the already stretched wing rotation worse.

Management Frank's operations during the offseason are almost all based on the premise of "healthy Leonard" - Bill is responsible for opening up space, Collins and Luo are responsible for reinforcement inside, and Paul is responsible for leading the team off the bench to help Harden relieve pressure. But now, Leonard is out indefinitely due to a knee injury again. It may be a few games, it may be a few months. Bill will be reimbursed for the season, and Frank's "perfect plan" instantly came to nothing. Kawhi's injury has become a nightmare for the Clippers in the past five years. Since joining in 2019, he has never played a full season. Before the start of this season, Leonard vowed that "the condition of his knee has never been better," but it didn't work after only 5 games.

Clippers reporter Joey Linn pointedly pointed out: "Frank's entire offseason operations are centered around a healthy Leonard. Now that Kawhi has fallen, Bill has also fallen, and all the pressure is on Harden alone."

This sentence illustrates the Clippers' current embarrassing situation: a team that has been defeated by injuries, but pins all its hopes on a 36-year-old point guard who has suffered from leg injuries. Harden's performance so far this season is indeed impeccable. At Harden's age, he averaged 23.4 points, 5.2 rebounds, 9.3 assists, and 3.7 three-pointers per game. His three shooting percentages were 46%, 39%, and 91% respectively. His efficiency ranked among the top five guards in the league. What's even more surprising is that Harden's playing time has approached 35 minutes, and he is more tired than last season. Almost every victory of the Clippers is inseparable from Harden's superb performance.

However, the data cannot hide the reality: the Clippers' winning rate is only 30%. Harden's teammates are either suffering from injuries or are in a sluggish state. Collins was in a mess after starting; Lopez's three-pointer was excellent, but his ability to protect the frame dropped significantly and his movement speed was not enough; although Paul can be a stable substitute, at the age of 36, he can no longer bear high-intensity confrontation. Harden has to play 48 minutes almost every night for the team to have a glimmer of hope. This "one person carries the team" model is destined to be unsustainable. The Clippers' dilemma lies not only in the present, but also in the future. From 2026 to 2029, their first-round picks are controlled by the Thunder and 76ers respectively. This means that even if the management decides to overthrow and rebuild, it cannot quickly replenish talent through the draft. The Thunder holds the Clippers' draft pick this year, which is equivalent to holding the Clippers' "vital gate".

Once the Clippers continue to sink, the Thunder will reap the profits while competing for the championship, while the Clippers can sign "defective products" at high prices in the free market, falling into a vicious cycle. What's even more ironic is that in order to form the "Leonard + Bill + Harden" Big Three, the Clippers replaced Powell with Collins, and now Powell is thriving with the Heat. On the other hand, the Clippers have been in decline and on the verge of disintegration. "Maybe the Clippers are going to disintegrate." Joey Linn's words represent the views of more and more people. Harden can choose to opt out of his 1+1 contract this summer. After all, the second year is partially guaranteed. Is he willing to continue playing for an injury-plagued team? Leonard's injury is basically not far away from retirement. Bill's injury history means he will most likely be disabled when he comes back. The contracts of Gara Paulo, Da Luo, and Collins-these veterans will also expire in the next one to two years.

The Clippers now face three options:

1. Continue to mess up and pray for Leonard to come back and Beal to come back next season, but the draft picks are not in hand, so it is meaningless to mess up;

2. Trade Harden in exchange for draft picks and young players, but this is tantamount to admitting that the championship window in the past five years has been completely closed;

3. A desperate move to strengthen the wings and interior before the trade deadline, but with the Clippers' current assets and injuries, who is willing to take over?

The collapse of the Clippers was not an accident. The management's shortsightedness, ruthless injuries, and overdraft of draft picks all contributed to this tragedy. They once had Alexander and a lot of draft pick resources, but then they replaced George Stud and introduced Leonard, and the Clippers began to sink step by step. Now, George has left the 76ers, Leonard and Beal have both fallen, and Harden is fighting alone. The Clippers' championship dream has long been shattered to pieces. No. 13 in the Western Conference is just the beginning. If the management does not learn from the experience, the Clippers will sink deeper and deeper into this darkness in the next four years. And Harden, the man who was once questioned as "soft in the playoffs", has now become the Clippers' only hope. Ironically, he may also be the Clippers' last bargaining chip that can be exchanged for the future.