Bontemps and Marks suggest a rude awakening quickly on the horizon for the Clippers

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At this point, all signs continue to indicate that the Los Angeles Clippers are a ticking time bomb. With little draft capital and room for financial error, L.A.'s future is being held together by masking tape. Is there any team in the NBA in more potential danger than the Clippers right now? Unfortunately, Clippers fans don't want to hear this — but the franchise has only one way out.

The Paul George conundrum

Signing Paul George can be a long-term disaster; letting George walk is a short-term disaster. So, what should the Clippers do?

Since fellow star teammate Kawhi Leonard got the contract he hoped for, George has been waiting to see a similar one. The problem is that L.A. hasn't given him one and doesn't plan on giving him one. Now, George is sitting back and thinking to himself: 'I played more often and more consistently — yet they don't want to extend me?' Even the Clippers might have realized that waiting on a Leonard deal would've been wise. At the same time, it's risky to leave all three members of the star trio unsigned if things do reach a certain point — at least you can start all over by simultaneously unloading all of them elsewhere.

Since Leonard is still around, the Clippers are motivated to continue trying to win now. However, signing either George or James Harden to any contract longer than two years would tighten L.A.'s future even more than it currently is.

According to all the recent rumblings, George won't play in L.A. for less than four years on his deal. If the nine-time All-Star remains stubborn about the length of contract, the Clippers might have to face the writing on the wall: trade him and Harden for substantial future assets.

The Clippers are fighting against the new CBA

L.A. is one of six second-apron teams in the association. As difficult as it looks for teams like the Phoenix Suns and potentially even the Milwaukee Bucks, the Clippers are undeniably in the worst spot. As a reminder: the Clippers mortgaged a record-setting number of draft picks for the 29-year-old PG13 five summers ago. Now, he's become their biggest headache.

If you ask Tim Bontemps and Bobby Marks of ESPN, the Clippers would barely find an upside by trying to fight against the new CBA and signing George to a max.

"The new CBA was designed to discourage the type of team-building executed by the Clippers and the Warriors, and we've seen the results, with LA drawing a line in the sand with All-Star Paul George on his next contract. A four-year $221 million max contract for George puts the Clippers deep in the luxury tax and the apron for the foreseeable future."

"LA's free agency decision on James Harden is also impacted. Under the old rules, the Clippers could have retained both players and supplemented the roster further. Now, they must pause and reassess."

With the current issues in L.A., the 'Lob City' Clippers of the previous decade come to mind. There just came a time when L.A.'s front office made the difficult but necessary decision to move on from Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, and DeAndre Jordan. Not only were all three getting up there in age, but they were injury-prone and exhausted the salary cap.

Five years in the making, it might be time for the Clippers to come to a similar conclusion. Their current bunch is almost routinely banged up and blazing the luxury tax salary cap. President of Basketball Operations Lawrence Frank might need to start making calls today.