The LA Clippers’ new era began with an injury sheet that could reshape their entire season. The catch is that the training camp hasn’t even begun. Brandon Ingram, the marquee return in the Kawhi Leonard trade, will miss the start of the season after doctors discovered a partially torn Achilles during his May heel surgery. Apart from that, there are three other injuries, including a starter. 

Bradley Beal is dealing with knee inflammation, while Jordan Miller remains sidelined after rotator cuff surgery. Yanic Konan Niederhauser is not ready for the opener either, as reported by Farbod Esnaashari. It leaves Ty Lue with immediate questions about his rotation.

The timing makes it worse. This franchise has spent the last month absorbing blows. The NBA penalized the Clippers on September 2 after a year-long investigation, a cap-circumvention case that cost the team five first-round picks. Leonard was then traded to Toronto on September 14 for Ingram, Gradey Dick and future picks.

Trent Redden is speaking as interim president of basketball operations because Lawrence Frank is suspended. Ingram was supposed to be the first piece of good news, and instead he became the headline.

Four injuries and their progress:

The severity of Ingram’s setback became clear at Media Day. It came to light when interim president of basketball operations Trent Redden revealed that the Achilles issue had been discovered and addressed during BI’s May surgery. 

The team hasn’t announced any timeline for return. However, Redden said a partial tear is about six months less than a complete Achilles tear.

Therefore, Brandon Ingram will miss the start of the regular season and most of training camp.

“I won’t be participating in training camp much but I will be out there a little bit,” he said, which means he will be around the team without being available to it.

He entered the side after an All-Star campaign with the Raptors, averaging 21.5 ppg, 5.6 rpg, and 3.7 apg.

The cost is bigger than his box score. Darius Garland said the pick-and-roll with Ingram would be the team’s No. 1 look once he returns, and predicted it could be “really nasty.” That is the Clippers’ offensive identity, and it is on hold.

Bradley Beal’s situation is less severe, but still complicates the Clippers’ preparations.

The veteran guard has recovered significantly from the hip surgery that limited him to six games last season. “I would say my hip is 95% there. If not close to 100,” Beal said to the reporters. 

However, his ramp-up brought knee inflammation. 

“Had a little knee inflammation here and there, so we’re just being a little more cautious. We don’t want to start compensating, especially after a bad hip and all that.”

Beal is explaining a trade-off. A body that favors a repaired hip tends to overload other joints, so the Clippers are giving up early reps to protect his long-term health. The team hasn’t said whether the opener is in doubt. That caution is especially important for a player expected to provide another ball-handler and scoring option beside Garland.

Jordan Miller faces the longest immediate absence among the group. The young wing tore his left rotator cuff during an offseason workout. He underwent surgery, and the team expects to reevaluate him in six months. His absence removes another potential option on the wing, just as the Clippers thought of redistributing Ingram’s minutes. 

Finally, Yanic Konan Niederhauser provides the lone encouraging development. The second-year center is progressing from the foot injury that ended his previous season. But he will not be available for the season opener.

That leaves LA thinner in frontcourt, with Brook Lopez and Isaiah Jackson becoming even more important to the early-season plan.

Clippers’ rotation now faces an immediate stress test

The Clippers can still field a functional group. But the margin for experimentation has narrowed. 

Darius Garland becomes the obvious offensive centerpiece, while Kris Dunn, Derrick Jones Jr., Rui Hachimura, and Brook Lopez can provide size, defense, and experience around him. 

Max Strus also becomes more important as a perimeter shooter, while Keaton Wagler, Kobe Sanders, and Isaiah Jackson could see their responsibilities increase. Previous projections already had those players competing for meaningful rotation minutes.

The biggest problem may be what the injuries do to the Clippers’ balance. 

Brandon Ingram’s absence removes a proven 20-point scorer and another player capable of creating his own shot. Bradley Beal’s unavailability further reduces secondary creation, placing more pressure on Garland to organize the offense and consistently generate advantage.

Size and depth could become the other immediate concern. With Niederhauser unavailable and Miller out, Ty Lue has fewer options to maintain length across the lineup. Dick or Baba Miller could crack the rotation as the tenth man, depending on how camp shakes out.

For now, the Clippers don’t need to replace one player with another. They need several players to absorb smaller portions of the missing production, and with the team already stripped of its picks and its former star, they have little room for another injury before the season even starts. That is why Media Day felt less like a fresh start and more like the beginning of a nightmare.