Kawhi Leonard's Former Teammate Gets Brutally Honest on Clippers' Failures

Kawhi Leonard and Paul George failed to win a championship with the LA Clippers

LA Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard (2) reacts to a play against the New Orleans Pelicans during the second half at Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images / Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

The LA Clippers were expected to win a championship when Kawhi Leonard and Paul George joined the team. Five seasons went by and all they had to show for it was a Conference Finals. While it's still a major accomplishment, it was ultimately a failure in the grand scheme of things, even his former teammates agree.

During an episode of FanDuel TV's Run It Back show, Kawhi Leonard's former teammate Lou Williams spoke very candidly about the team's failures to win a championship. The two players were teammates from 2019-2021.

"It's fair to say they fell short. It's fair to say that we fell short," Williams said. "We didn't put a banner up, didn't have an opportunity to do that, and we haven't made deep playoff runs. I still say we because that process started when I was a part of that."

"It's fair to say (the Clippers) fell short. It's fair to say that we fell short." - @TeamLou23

The "project" with @kawhileonard, @JHarden13 and @yg_trece may not have worked like the Clippers planned, but Lou doesn't think all hope for a banner in the Intuit Dome is lost.… pic.twitter.com/pJ2GZ5Iprp

— Run It Back (@RunItBackFDTV) October 14, 2024

Even though the Clippers didn't win a championship and things look pretty bleak with Kawhi Leonard's current knee injury, Williams still believes the team has some bright spots in Ivica Zubac and Terance Mann. He still believes there's a window, no matter how small it may be, for the team to be competitive in the Western Conference.

The Clippers move on to the Western Conference Finals for the first time ever! pic.twitter.com/rK9brwDfep

— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) June 19, 2021

"To present day, you have a Kawhi Leonard that's still battling some issues with his knee, you have an aging James Harden, you've got a lot of challenges ahead," Williams said. "Some bright spots, Zubac is getting better, Terance Mann is getting better, Terance Mann is coming into his own as one of those guys that could be the 3rd or 4th best player on this basketball team. Have they fell short in some aspects? Absolutely. I still think there's a window there for them to be competitive in the west."

The Clippers had a small window even when they had Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, and James Harden all together. Now, without George, the window has gotten tremendously. However, it doesn't really seem like the team is interested in this window anymore, and seems to care more about when the next crop of superstar free agents are coming.

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