The Los Angeles Clippers made the biggest free agent splash of the offseason after landing both Kawhi Leonard and Paul George – effectively adding two superstars to a team that already had the foundations of a seventh or eighth seed.

Their opening night defeat of the Lakers certainly made waves, especially since George wasn’t even available to suit up yet.

While they may have faltered a few times during the season, the Clippers started to pick up steam. By the time the season was suspended, they had managed to climb up to second place in the Western Conference.

If the current playoff seeding were to continue to the end of the season, it set up a mouth-watering narrative: the Clippers and Lakers could possibly meet in a conference finals series.

The NBA’s indefinite suspension of this season due to COVID-19 put a halt to that momentum.

The threat of an uncertain future isn’t pretty for a team like the Clippers, who have essentially bet the house on winning a title within the next couple of years.

Here are the things that the Clippers will be worrying about in the near future.

Keeping Leonard and George

No one should seriously believe that Leonard was going to come to the Clippers without another superstar.

By getting his star partner, Leonard knew he had the firepower to contend with the likes of LeBron James and Anthony Davis in a star-studded West that also includes duos like James Harden and Russell Westbrook, Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis, and more.

However, the caveat that the Clippers are dealing with is that neither of the two stars are on long-term deals. Both players can opt out after the 2020-21 season and become unrestricted free agents.

Given that the two stars are in their prime, and that they both have a history of leaving teams, it wouldn’t be much of a stretch to imagine that they would bolt if it looked like they couldn’t contend after a couple of years.

Let’s remember that Leonard left the Toronto Raptors after winning the title. Looking at well the Raptors are still doing without him, you can’t say that they were devoid of talent beyond Leonard and Danny Green.

Leonard can opt out at age 30, while George can opt out at age 31. You best believe they wouldn’t stick around if they don’t feel like they could win a title. This is especially true of George, because he doesn’t have a ring yet.

Can they keep their strong supporting cast together?

Speaking of title chances, another complication that is pushing the Clippers toward a ‘win now’ mentality is the state of their supporting cast.

Let’s start with Montrezl Harrell, who has a well-deserved reputation as an energy player who can affect both ends of the court with pure hustle. His averages of 18.6 points and 7.1 rebounds come in a mere 27.8 minutes per game. That’s pretty impressive for someone who is consistently either the third or fourth option on offense every night.

Harrell is an unrestricted free agent after this season, and he’s going to be asking for a heck of a lot more than the $6 million that he’s making this year. At 26-years-old, he’s got a lot of good years left in him, and most teams would love to have a high-energy glue guy.

Next up is perennial sixth man of the year candidate Lou Williams. He re-signed to the Clippers at a massive discount at $8 million a year, and his contract runs out on the same summer that Leonard and George get to opt in or out. Williams is criminally underpaid, and a sixth man who consistently averages around 20 points is going to be worth a lot to a contender.

Patrick Beverley’s contract runs out at the end of 2021-22 as well, and he’ll be 33 at the end of his deal. He’ll probably stay a dogged defender for the rest of his career, but his contributions will eventually slow down as he ages.

Further complicating things is the trade they made for Marcus Morris, who is making $15 million and is essentially in town as a rental. There’s no guarantee he’ll stay with the team further than 2019-20, which makes a continuation of the season even more important.

They have a shot of winning

The Clippers definitely have the talent to win, but they have got to make the most of the next couple of years. It’s a real bummer for their front office that the season has been suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

They’re really going to have a hard time navigating their future if the season doesn’t get continued, because then they’ll only have one year left with the pieces to win it all – and Harrell might not even be on the roster next season.

Fortunately for the Clippers, it looks like NBA Commissioner Adam Silver is looking at all possible options to continue the season, even if it means drastically changing the schedule of future seasons.