It’s been an offseason of big changes for coach Tyronn Lue’s Los Angeles Clippers, including the team’s additions (and removals) of free agents.
The Clippers made at least one move that could very well be considered a mistake in the near future, while also adding a potentially excellent young player to replace the departing Paul George.
All things considered, it’s been a curious 2024 NBA and free agency season for the Clippers, a period that has included a long-awaited logo change and plenty of speculation about additional moves to come.
Recently, a former NBA point guard ripped into former Clippers player Paul George’s massive contract. Meanwhile, former Clippers forward Paul Pierce had a shocking opinion on Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard’s resignation from Team USA.
The Clippers will welcome a new cast of characters into the locker room this season, including a towering center who arrived from the City of Brotherly Love. While his presence will make fans happy and excited, he will end up being remembered as the Clippers’ biggest free agent mistake of the offseason.
The Mo Bamba signing is the Clippers’ biggest mistake
Mo Bamba is talented enough to make NBA fans look up to Victor Wembanyama when he’s “on,” Manute Bol when he’s “off,” or even Hasheem Thabeet or Michael Olowakandi. At six-foot-six, Bamba is shorter and more streamlined than those players, giving him more mobility, but he still seems to have plenty of holes in his game that never seem to be fixed.
Bamba’s performances run the gamut from showing promise to fostering disappointment, from potential star to average NBA player with flashes of brilliance to complete and utter failure.
Bamba came over from the 76ers this offseason, having been brought in during the NBA free agent cycle by coach Tyronn Lue’s Clippers, but it’s a move that’s easy to question. Bamba simply isn’t a championship-caliber player at this point in his career, so he hasn’t been on a truly successful team and might not last with the Los Angeles Lakers.
The former Texas Longhorns fan favorite saw his efforts questioned by legendary NBA center Shaquille O’Neal recently, but that didn’t seem to do much to improve his game.
Last season, Bamba averaged just 4.4 points for the Sixers in 13 minutes per game. He shot just 49 percent from the field and grabbed 4.2 rebounds while blocking 1.1 shots in limited playing time.
Bamba has an impact on the game when he’s on the court, but he doesn’t seem like the type of player coaches can rely on for long periods of time on the court. Because of his limited physical strength and awkward lateral movement at times, although he’s relatively slender for his height (231 pounds), Bamba can be a liability at times on the court.
Bamba’s potential is limited
It doesn’t look like these issues are going away anytime soon. While NBA fans are busy wondering if Zach Edey can last in a full-time role with the Memphis Grizzlies, Bamba’s weaknesses are being overlooked. The Clippers took a risk in signing him, but frankly they didn’t have many other options judging by the lack of depth at the center position in the NBA.
Bamba will make plays and excite fans. He will impact the game as a backup at center. But the question now is whether Tyronn Lue can fully trust him to play more than 10 or 15 minutes per game.
If the answer is yes, Clippers fans can rest assured that their front office made the right decision. If the answer is no, which I fully suspect, then Bamba might end up lasting just a year or two in Los Angeles before the center inevitably moves on to his next destination.
That’s not to say Mo Bamba isn’t a talented basketball player, but it’s just the reality of who he is right now.
