Dan is joined by Clippers reporter Justin Russo (@flybyknite) for a deep dive into—you guessed it!—the 2025-26 Los Angeles Clippers. Please note we recorded BEFORE the Kawhi Leonard salary-cap circumvention allegations. SUBSCRIBE TO JUSTIN'S 'RUSSO WRITES' SUBSTACK HERE. TIMESTAMPS⬇️
0:00 - INTRO
2:18 - Takeaways from last season
3:43 - Planning for the future
10:27 - Did the offseason hurt their defensive identity?
15:31 - Evolution of Ivica Zubac
20:29 - The fit of Bradley Beal
28:14 - Optimizing Kawhi Leonard
36:17 - Chris Paul's role
38:50 James Harden adjustments
43:39 - The frontline rotation
45:13 - Impact of Bogdan Bogdanovic injury
48:16 - Will the Clippers play enough in transition? / Overall play style
54:51 - Potential pain points
56:42 - Roles for Kris Dunn and Derrick Jones Jr.
1:02:49 - Early impressions of Yanic Konan Niederhauser
1:07:46 - Kobe Brown, Cam Christie, cutting payroll
1:12:51 - Biggest weakness, strengths, under-the-radar storylines
1:22:59 - Top-10 rotation
1:25:24 - Go-to crunch-time unit
1:27:12 - Weirdo lineups we want to see
1:29:56 - PREDICTIONS!
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