The Los Angeles Clippers entered the 2025-26 season with considerable hype. Their team may be old, but their depth seemed much-improved. They brought in Chris Paul and Brook Lopez via free agency, and then they addressed their longstanding need for a more traditionally-sized power forward by trading for John Collins , sending Norman Powell to the Miami Heat in the process.

They were confident about trading Powell away not because the 32-year-old was not being productive, but because they were bringing in Bradley Beal as well after he secured a buyout from the Phoenix Suns. Beal endured a difficult 2024-25 campaign, but he still has a long track record of productive basketball. And he's only 32 years of age as well, making him a reasonable facsimile, or, some would argue, improve

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