The Los Angeles Clippers are entering a new era after they traded Kawhi Leonard to the Toronto Raptors after seven years. They should still have enough talent to be a respectable team next season and win some games, but their years of being a playoff team in the West are likely over. This may be painful for Clippers fans for the next year or two, but the organization should be in a better place in the long run. To fully take advantage of their new reality, the Clippers now have to make more moves to set themselves up even better for the future. Accumulating as many future assets as possible while putting together a decent ecosystem that can help young players develop has to be the primary goal. Even though the focus is now on the future, the Clippers still have to build a team that makes sense on the court next season. Clippers Shouldn't Match Offer Sheets for Bennedict MathurinThat is why they shouldn't bring Bennedict Mathurin back. The restricted free agent had already become expendable after the Clippers selected Keaton Wagler with the No. 5 pick in the NBA Draft. Now that Brandon Ingram and Gradey Dick have replaced Kawhi Leonard in the rotation, it makes even less sense for LA to re-sign Mathurin. Darius Garland and Wagler are an offense-first backcourt with serious defensive and athleticism concerns. As shooters and playmakers, they have the chance to be an exciting pairing on offense, but they will create issues elsewhere in the starting lineup. Ingram only exacerbates those concerns. He is a solid individual scorer and an overall good offensive player, but he is an average defender at best. He doesn't play with a ton of athleticism and physicality. Adding Mathurin to this perimeter rotation will only make the Clippers less physical and worse defensively. The 24-year-old doesn't have the versatility to guard multiple positions. Offensively, he is a good scorer, but lacks complementary shooting and passing skills. It's difficult to imagine him starting or closing games on this team as long as two of Garland, Wagler, and Ingram are on this team. Plus, Gradey Dick is now on the team. He is a shooting guard-only player like Mathurin, but is a better fit because of his ability to shoot and play off the ball. But, he is also a poor defender, further adding to the concerns on that end. The Clippers also have Kobe Sanders in the backcourt, whom they just re-signed, and they will presumably want to give him some reps. Veteran Kris Dunn is also still under contract, but he may be on the move after Leonard's exit. Finding room for Mathurin among this crowded group will be difficult, but this decision will obviously depend on what it takes to keep him. If he is willing to play on his one-year, $8.8 million qualifying offer, it wouldn't be a terrible idea for the Clippers to keep him around until the 2027 offseason and figure things out then. If he has any multi-year offers above that price, however, the Clippers should be more than willing to let him walk. Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow