Knowing where the Los Angeles Clippers and Utah Jazz's plans are, you wouldn't think they would conflict with one another. However, following the latest news about Kawhi Leonard, this could be a potential disaster for the Jazz.
ESPN's Shams Charania reported that Leonard will be out indefinitely with a knee injury, with no timetable for a return.
Los Angeles Clippers star Kawhi Leonard is expected to be sidelined for indefinite period of time to start the NBA season as he rehabilitates the inflammation in his right knee, league sources tell me and @NotoriousOHM. pic.twitter.com/M5wFYIWGiv
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) October 17, 2024
One would think this has nothing to do with the Jazz, but actually, there are two ways in which this could be a problem for them.
1. The Clippers being bad could affect the Jazz's lottery odds
Knowing that they lost Paul George, re-signed an aging James Harden, and will now lose Leonard again for who knows how long, the Clippers could very well be one of the worst teams in the Western Conference. Everyone in the West intends to snag a playoff spot outside the Jazz and the Trail Blazers.
The Clippers were among those teams until Leonard's injury threw a wrench into their plans. His unavailability could prove so costly that the Clippers could be worse than the Jazz, which could hurt their chances of drafting Cooper Flagg. While it's not like their chances were high to begin with, simply having another team be in the "Capture the Flagg" race could be a problem for the Jazz's chances of getting him.
For anyone who doesn't know the full scope, this is 100 times worse for the Clippers than the Jazz because if that winds up being the case, they're likely handing over a high lottery pick to the Thunder no matter where they finish since OKC has the Clippers pick thanks to the disastrous Paul George trade.
However, the potential misfortune from this does not stop there for Utah.
2. The Clippers being bad may push the Jazz outside the bottom-10
While expectations for the Jazz are low coming into this season, their last two seasons have demonstrated that they might have too much going for them to be that bad. Even before Leonard's latest injury news, that could prove to be a problem since the Jazz owe a Top-10 protected to the Thunder thanks to the Derrick Favors trade.
If the Clippers have the season from hell and the Jazz continue at the same pace they have for the last two years, that could potentially knock the Jazz out of the bottom 10 teams in the league. If lottery odds don't go their way, they, too, give up their pick to the Thunder.
That might be thinking too far ahead, but Lauri Markkanen has made it clear that he won't slow down this season. It would be fun to see the Jazz take another step forward, but if there's one season where they can't afford to, it's this season, and the Clippers' fortunes taking a turn for the worse emphasizes that point.
It's insane that the Clipper's worst nightmare could also turn into a nightmare for the Jazz. However, the biggest takeaway from all of this is, man, the Thunder's front office won't stop hitting home runs.