The team has had remarkably little on court success despite holding 26 (!) lottery picks in that period, including 11 in the top 5. Much of this comes back to the ownership of disgraced and vanquished former owner Donald Sterling, who – putting aside his myriad of community issues, continually stripped the team to it's bare bones. Those poor Clips never had a chance.

The Lob City era gave hope to LA's 'little brother', as did the eventual ownership of Apple Billionaire Steve Ballmer. Still the team was never seen as a true contender in line with the Warriors or whatever team LeBron James happened to be playing for.

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The off-season was a monumental success for President of Basketball Operations Lawrence Frank. He blindsided the league in trading for superstar wing Paul George, which paved the way for the homecoming of former Raptors championship hero Kawhi Leonard, signed as a free agent.

Whilst they're the headliners, Franks perfect summer didn't end there. He also brought in versatile forward Mo Harkless via trade, and restored his squads remarkable depth with the signings of guard Rodney McGruder and stretch bigs JaMichael Green and Patrick Patterson. This in addition to retaining most of his core in Pat Beverley, Lou Williams, Landry Shamet, Montrezl Harrell and Ivica Zubac.

Throw in draft picks Mfiondu Kabengele and Terance Mann (seriously, watch out for Mann – he's going to surprise a lot of people) and this has been a banner off-season for the Clippers.

But with that comes something that the Clippers have never truly experienced: expectation. For the first time this decade, the NBA season will start without either the Warriors or a LeBron led team as the consensus favourite. It's still feels weird, but the Clippers are the team to beat.

Many teams with the Clippers sordid history might run from, or at least attempt to dampen those expectations – but not these Clips. They're embracing everything that comes with favouritism. As coach Doc Rivers told Yahoo Sports: 'Why run from expectation?'

The Clips are led by a stable front office. Rivers and team consultant Jerry West both signed extensions over the off-season. General Manager Michael Winger and Assistant GM Trent Redden turned down roles with the Timberwolves and Nets respectively. This is a front office united in it's chase for a title.

The only rotation player with Championship experience is Leonard. He has Finals MVP's with both the Raptors and Spurs. Playing injured through last seasons playoffs, Leonard averaged over 30 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists and close to 2 steals. Numbers that have only been bettered by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar & Lebron James. The man is famously stoic, seemingly unable to be rattled. In leading a Raptors team that has it's own playoff demons to a championship in his only season in Toronto, Leonard confirmed his legend as a playoff hero.

In Paul George, Kawhi has perhaps the best running mate of his career. Last season, as a member of the Thunder, the 29 year old George averaged 28 points, 8.2 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 2.2 steals – all career highs – on his way to a 3rd place finish in MVP voting. Like Kawhi, PG is a defensive fiend, capable of defending 4 positions capably. He and Leonard have legitimate claims to being the best 1-2 punch in the NBA.

Their supporting crew is loaded. The starting back court will likely be young sniper Landry Shamet and veteran bulldog defender Pat Beverley. Whilst neither are solid play makers, they compliment their stars perfectly. Shamet is a JJ Redick type – always darting off screens, looking of a sliver of space to launch his deadly jumper. Beverley is just a pain to play against. Mean, nasty and physical, he'll harass and frustrate opposing lead guards to the point of distraction (just ask Russell Westbrook)*. Promising big Ivica Zubac will man the middle to start games, although when the game is on the line, expect to see he & Shamet replaced by dynamic bench duo Williams & Harrell.

These two were the lifeblood of last seasons 48 win squad, pick and rolling their way through 4th quarter defences. Both appear to be made of smoke at the defensive end, but with Leonard, George and Beverley around, they have cover at that end of the court.

Everything sounds so rosy, doesn't it? But there are concerns for the Clips.

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Firstly, Williams and Harrell. They are players that absolutely need the ball in their hands. Harrell is strictly a roll man – fast and direct, but not much skill to speak of and absolutely no threat of popping for a jump shot. Williams is a wizard shooting off the dribble, but has always been far less accurate shooting on the catch. Does the presence of the Clippers new superstars curtail this duo's effectiveness late in games? If it does, can they stay on the floor given their defensive frailties? It's highly doubtful that Coach Rivers takes the ball away from his superstars late in games, so this will be an interesting side show to the main attraction.

We will get to see some vintage Lou/Trez action through the season, however. George will not suit up for the first 3-4 weeks of the season after shoulder surgery. Leonard, with his litany of lower leg injuries in the past few years, will take his share of games off. Whilst that gives us some Sweet Lou magic late in games, it does take away the Clippers focal points.

These Clips promise to be a defensive juggernaut on the perimeter. In addition to Leonard, George and Beverley, Harkless is an excellent defender. But can they protect the rim? Zubac is the only legitimate centre on the team. He has shown defensive promise, but is still young and prone to the lapses that young bigs can have. The team spoke about working out 2014 defensive player of the year Joakim Noah, but nothing came of that. Come playoff time, will the likes of Anthony Davis, Joel Embiid or Rudy Gobert feast?

Even if those bigs can't be stopped, it might not be enough. The Clippers have an enviable array of talent, headlined by the best two-way pairing in the NBA and led by a creative, championship winning coach. With all the ingredients in place, Lawrence Frank is on the record as saying the Clippers 'expect to win a championship'. The Clippers want to meet expectations head on.

For the first time in history the Los Angeles Clippers time is now.