A front-office that was unable to land any notable offseason acquisitions.

An organization that allowed a versatile veteran to migrate over to the reigning NBA champions for peanuts.

An organization that will be the laughing stock of the league.

If most of us were to choose the Los Angeles basketball franchise that best fits the descriptions above, we know which one we would usually choose.

But this winter, the aura surrounding these organizations would force us to reconsider what is routinely the status quo.

Let’s just take a peek at the peripheral of these teams:

Clippers – signed Caron Butler; gave up Eric Gordon, Al-Farouq Aminu, Chris Kaman, 2012 first-rounder for Chris Paul; signed Chauncey Billups

Lakers – lost Lamar Odom for a trade exception (and protected 1st round pick)

On a roster that’s aging, and focusing on providing Kobe Bryant with as many opportunities to line his trophy case with titles as possible, the Lake Show’s deportation of Odom seemed rather…stupid. Not only was Bryant vocal about the weirdness of the move, but now he’s coming up with ailments that, during any other circumstance, he would undoubtedly find a way to power through.

Add to that the fact that the Lakers came up short on making a deal for a talented point guard – something that they’ve publicly declared as a need years ago. Their need for playmaking has been so bad that Bryant was singing the praises of an over-the-hill Jason Kidd back in 2007, and – in case you forgot – had an expletive-filled tirade about them not letting go of a young Andrew Bynum to get him.

By contrast, the Clippers did something that they have seldom done in the past – they made a move to make them relevant right now. Of course, the presence of power forward phenom Blake Griffin provided the team with something to build on. Adding almost anything to him can yield relevance in a conference without a true favorite at this point, but Chris Paul is a lot more than almost anything.

However, perhaps the more impressive part of the Clippers’ haul was that they did not have to part ways with recently signed pieces Chauncey Billups or Caron Butler. And with scoring guards Mo Williams and Randy Foye coming off the pine, Los Angeles doesn’t seem to be short on the ability to put the ball in the basket.

The Clippers are loaded with offensive firepower.

In a Western Conference without a clear cut favorite, it’s pretty safe to say that the Clip Joint can definitely count on earning an invite into the playoff party this time around.

But how will they fare?

They may be able to skate through a first round matchup based on the superior collective talents of Paul, Griffin and Butler. However, as things stand now, prospects of any further advancement is quite gloomy – and here are the main reasons why:

- Lack of quality front court depth – Granted, there aren’t many quality bigs lingering throughout the NBA free agent market, but Los Angeles will need someone to spell Jordan and Griffin. As the Clips find themselves in battles against the conference’s tougher, more physical opponents (from Oklahoma City, San Antonio, Memphis, and that other L.A. team), they’ll need to become more strategic in their management of matchups to keep their top talents on the floor and out of foul trouble.

- No offensive cohesion – Thus far, the Clippers offense consists of a heavy dose of dribbling by Chris Paul, and a lot of watching from other offensively gifted players on the rster. The Clips are living off of their ability to get easy baskets from pushing the ball, but those opportunities will diminish exponentially when they play quality opponents (particularly in the postseason). Simply put, they are a team of players who are accustomed to being number one options on their rosters.

- Offensive philosophy needs tweaking – Seeing that it’s best position player thrives in this manner, it seems like a safe bet to assume that Los Angeles will primarily become a high screen and roll team. While it may make sense, there are two downfalls to it: (1) Blake Griffin will cap its effectiveness due to his extrememly limited range and (2) the Clippers’ other talented weapons will continue to be untapped resources. Thus, the team will need to plug in some offenses that incorporate movement to spread the wealth – allowing them to become less predictable and less dependent on Paul’s ability to lose his defender and draw the attention of other defenders.

Improving in these three areas will go a long way to ensuring that the Clippers can continue to be the most talked about team in L.A…in a way that they aren’t used to.

T Lamont is the owner, administrator and author of all content for Ball or Nuthin\'. Feel free to contact T Lamont with a question or comment at ballornuthin@gmail.com.  All created Ball or Nuthin' content is the sole property of T Lamont. Read more from this author