The Clippers’ trade of Ivica Zubac on Thursday at the trade deadline didn’t just mark the end of the tenure of one of the Clippers’ best players in franchise history, it signified the end of a whole era. Zubac was the longest-tenured player on the team, the last remnant of the pre-Kawhi Clippers. With Zu gone, Jordan Miller (in his 3^rd season!) is now the second-tenured Clipper behind Kawhi. This team has been torn down to the studs the past couple years, and continues to pivot into the future.

Zu was moved (alongside Kobe Brown) for Bennedict Mathurin, Isaiah Jackson, the Pacers’ 2026 1^st round pick (protected 1-4 and 10-30), the Pacers’ 2029 1^st round pick, and the Mavs’ 2028 2^nd round pick. While Zu has been a pillar of this team for seven years, that is a package that I think was just impossible to pass up. If we’d found out the Clippers had received that offer and declined it, I think the general tenor of the fanbase would have been displeased.

It’s tough to let go of Zu. He grew up with the team, arriving as a somewhat raw but promising young player and departing as one of the sturdiest and most reliable starting centers in the NBA. A stout defensive player for much of his career, Zu has matured on the offensive end, becoming a quicker decision-maker and cleverer scorer around the rim. He’s a double-double machine who offers plus play on both sides of the ball, something that not very many big men can provide. Zu is also constantly available; he’s rarely been injured, and almost never suffered anything serious. That availability has been huge for the Clippers over the years as they dealt with unreliable stars.

All that said, why trade Zu now? He’s on a fantastic contract (just over $40M over the next two years when he’s worth much more than that), will be 29 in March, and has a game that should age well. One part is the sheer value – he was never going to net more in a trade than this. The other is that even though Zu is in his prime, this Clippers’ team was clearly not going anywhere. While they’d made great strides over the past two months to move back into the play-in in the West, the Clippers deduced (correctly) that this team’s ceiling was a first-round playoff loss (and probably not a competitive one). With Harden and Kawhi aging, and no true young difference makers on the roster, the chances of turning the Clippers around in the next couple of years seemed unlikely. By the summer of 2027, when the Clippers are hoping to find their next superstar, Zu would be 30 and going into the last year of his deal. It’s possible Zu could have been around for the next great Clippers’ team, but the Clippers decided that the value they are getting from him would be more likely to help create that new era.

Let’s look at what the Clippers got. The prize is clearly this year’s Pacers’ pick. It will only go to the Clippers if it lands in the 5 to 9 range in the draft, but the chances of that are around 50-50 unless the Pacers start winning a lot the second half of the season (unlikely). If the Pacers stay as one of the three worst teams in the league, the Clippers’ chances of getting the pick will hover around 48-50%, but it will be most likely they’d get pick 5 or 6 if it does convey. If the Pacers win more and get the fifth, sixth, or seventh best lottery odds, the Clippers’ chances of getting the pick goes into the 60s, but it will be more likely picks 7-9. Regardless, that’s an immense asset in an absolutely loaded 2026 draft. Pick 5 would be ideal, of course, but the Clippers would have a chance at a star player anywhere in their range. If it doesn’t convey this year, the Clippers will get the Pacers’ unprotected 2031 pick, which is also extremely valuable: Pascal Siakam will be retired, Zu will be in his mid-30s, and Haliburton will be in his 30s as well. If, on draft day, the Clippers were offered pick 5 or even 6 straight up for Zu, I’d probably say yes. That the Clippers got a lot of other stuff shows the value of this deal.

I’ve never been a huge fan of Bennedict Mathurin. Benn can score, absolutely no doubt about it: in his four NBA seasons, he’s never averaged less than 14.5 points per game. This season, Mathurin is averaging career highs in points (17.8), rebounds (5.4), assists (2.3), three-point volume (5.6 attempts), and three-point percentage (37.2). That all sounds promising! The problem is that despite being a highly athletic, full-sized shooting guard (6’5, 210), Mathurin has consistently rated as a poor defender. He’s also a flawed playmaker, averaging just under one assist to turnover in his career and with consistent blinders on during drives. It’s hard to be a starting level player as a guard with those flaws – we have seen Norm Powell excel as that type of player but with clear weaknesses that were frustrating, and Norm is the optimized version of Mathurin.

All that said, Mathurin is just 23 years old (turns 24 in June), and plenty of players have made leaps later in their career. His three-point shooting improving significantly this year is a massive deal. If he can continue this level of outside shooting, that shooting packaged with his driving and ability to get to the free throw line will make him at the least an efficient bench scorer. The Clippers can get a look at him the rest of this season and then have the chance to re-sign him in restricted free agency this summer. I’m skeptical Mathurin will turn into a star (his impact numbers are really bad), but there’s certainly a chance he could be an excellent sixth man or starting-level player that could be around the Clippers for the long haul.

Isaiah Jackson is not nothing, either. The 22^nd pick of the 2021 Draft, Jackson has been with the Pacers his whole career in a backup center role. His best season was 2024, when impact metrics valued him as one of the better backups in the entire league. Unfortunately, he tore his Achilles five games into the 2025 season, and has not been quite the same this season. However, Jackson is just 24 years old, and a torn Achilles is a two-year injury. He signed to a 3-year, $21M deal last summer, so the Clippers have him under contract for two more seasons at a very reasonable cost. I think he can definitely return to being a solid backup big man those two seasons, and having that type of player under a cheap-ish contract is a nice throw-in to this deal, even if Jackson probably doesn’t offer much more upside as an undersized big.

Add in to all these items the Pacers’ unprotected first round pick in 2029 (far enough out that it could be good) and a second round pick in 2028 (probably not that valuable but useful as trade ballast) as well as the Pacers taking back Kobe Brown (maintaining an open roster spot) and the deal moves into the “stunningly good value” range for me. Ivica Zubac is awesome and I will miss him on the Clippers, but this trade could turn the Clippers’ franchise around either through a top pick in this draft, through moving off of the acquired assets for a star in a future deal, or even through a Mathurin breakout. I’ll write more about Zu (as well as Kobe Brown!) in our annual end-of-season exit interviews, but it’s hard for me to give this trade anything other than a long round of applause. Kudos to Lawrence Frank and the rest of the Clippers’ front office in pulling this deal off.

The Clippers Trade Ivica Zubac for Picks, Mathurin, Jackson
Robert Flom

The news that the Clippers were in advanced talks with Cleveland on a trade of James Harden for Darius Garland hit last night like a thunderbolt. Most Clippers fans were expecting a fairly quiet deadline: maybe swapping out some role players, but nothing major. So much for that. Less than 24 hours later and the trade is official: Harden for Garland plus the Cavaliers 2^nd round pick in this year’s draft. The James Harden era in Los Angeles is over.

Quite honestly, even though I was not expecting Harden to get traded at this deadline, I think this trade makes sense for all parties. This trade was clearly precipitated by Harden’s frustration with the Clippers not making any promises about giving him a medium-term (two year) contract this summer with his 2026-2027 salary only partially guaranteed. While the Clippers have not had playoff success with Harden, he’s been a regular season monster and has been extremely durable: it makes sense that he feels he deserves some job security. I will basically never reject any player’s decision to do what’s best for their bank account and future, even for someone like Harden who’s already made a ton of money on and off the court.

From the Clippers perspective, they are moving on from an aging, declining star for a two-time All Star in Garland who is a full decade younger than Harden (Garland just turned 26). Garland has his own issues, namely being injury-prone and having a playoff track record that makes Harden look like Michael Jordan, but he’s very good and is in his prime. If you’d said before the season that the Clippers would not just swap Harden for Garland but get a 2^nd round pick for their trouble, I think most Clippers’ fans would have been gleeful.

Let’s talk about Garland for a bit. He’s had a bit of a down year (still 18 points and 6.9 assists on reasonable good efficiency), struggling with a toe injury that first surfaced in last year’s playoffs and has limited his burst. Still, he was excellent last year, and is at an age where a precipitous drop off in play should not happen. Garland is an excellent shooter, scorer, and playmaker, making him just an overall extremely well-rounded offensive player. He’s also quite fast and quick twitch, the first player of that ilk that the Clippers have had in many years (early Eric Bledsoe?).

When Garland is rolling, he’s both a traditional playmaker that can run an offense as well as consistently get his own buckets. Sound familiar? Garland is not nearly as strong as Harden or as explosive as prime Harden, so he gets downhill in different ways and isn’t the foul-drawing machine Harden is, but in some ways, they are similar players. The major difference is that Garland has only been the true driver of a good team’s offense once (in 2021-2022, his first All-Star appearance): since then, he’s rode shotgun to Donovan Mitchell. His career high in points per game is 21.7, again, a far cry even from this year’s Harden. He’s just not quite that level of bucket.

Garland is unfortunately similar to Harden in another way, which is that he’s a major defensive liability. Garland is quicker than Harden, but is very undersized and is prone to getting bullied by larger opposing players. He’s also not very disruptive and can lose track of players off ball. As brutal as Harden has been on defense this season, Garland is probably just as bad, just in somewhat different ways. The Clippers will still need to cover up for their star point guard on that end of the court. Unlike Harden, however, Garland is not quite that level of offensive engine: I’m not sure if the Clippers will be able to survive with Kris Dunn, for example, next to Garland. The Clips will probably need a more traditional two-guard next to Darius, whether its Kobe Sanders, Jordan Miller, a different trade acquisition, or a summer move.

After this season, Garland has two more years on his contract, making just over $42M in 2026-2027 and $44.8M in 2027-2028. If he returns to last year’s level of his play, that contract is reasonable if not downright good. The reason this is notable is that for years the Clippers have signaled their plan is to create cap space for the summers of 2026 and most importantly, 2027. Garland’s deal will impact that plan – the Clippers will no longer be able to create two max player slots in free agency. On the other hand, All-Star level players don’t change teams much, and getting Garland in his prime is probably better than a second-level guy the Clippers could have gotten in summer free agency anyway. This is a play for the future as much as now. In fact, it’s unclear what Garland’s status the rest of this season even is, as he’s played just 26 games and has been out for several weeks. It’s possible he comes back soon and plays the rest of the year, and it’s also possible he will be out a while longer.

For the Clippers, this is a bet that Garland’s toe/foot injuries are not a long-term issue, and that even if he misses a lot of the rest of this year, he’ll be back to playing at an All-Star level next season and the following season. Having just turned 26, Garland could be a Clipper for a while if he does play well the next couple of years, and even if he’s not a Batman, he could be a capable Robin if the Clippers find a superstar lead to replace Kawhi in the next summer or two. I don’t know anything about Garland’s medicals, but I think it’s a reasonable bet. The downside is that for a player that does rely on quickness, even a small drop in speed could have a real impact in overall play. Knock on wood that’s not the case.

As for Harden, I’m not sure what more I have to say that I have not written about on here or said on The Lob The Jam The Pod. Harden has been a warrior for the Clips, playing in 72 of 79 possible games in 2024, 79 of 82 last year, and 44 of 49 this season, with two of those absences coming in the last two games. Considering the Clippers’ stars over the years have included mostly injury-prone players, Harden’s reliability on a night-to-night basis was downright refreshing. Harden was also just pretty damn good for the Clips, averaging 21.1 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 8.5 assists while logging 35 minutes per game. The turnovers could be an issue, as could the defense, and the raw shooting splits don’t look great – but Harden’s combination of three-point shooting and foul-drawing kept him quite efficient. The playoffs were disappointing, but 2024 was not on Harden at all, and 2025 was a team collapse that Harden played a role in but was not the primary driver of.

More than anything else, Harden was shockingly fun to watch as a Clipper. He did have his moments where he foul-baited, the turnovers could be inexplicable, and the effort on defense waxed and waned. But he put this team on his back on offense for great stretches of the last 2.5 years, and did so through a combination of brilliant playmaking, electric scoring, and crafty smarts. I will miss watching Harden play ball.

It also must be said, importantly, that all of the reports about Harden as a teammate, fan-facing presence, and culture-setter were nothing but positive. Maybe articles come out going forward that change his perception, but all the fans I know who have interacted with him have said he’s great, and nearly all of his teammates have sworn by him. That is not something I would have anticipated from Harden before he became a Clipper, as he’s so famous for his drama and team-switching.

I know I will not be alone in rooting for Harden on the Cavaliers. I hope he’s able to make a deep playoff run in Cleveland – and get paid by them this summer to boot. He deserves one last bag. On the flip side, I’m excited to watch Darius Garland on the Clippers: he’s going to bring speed and quickness that has been missing from this roster for a very long time, and is an excellent offensive player. It’s a deal that truly makes sense from all sides, and I hope it works out well for everyone involved.

Clippers Trade James Harden for Darius Garland
Robert Flom

The Clippers’ main roster is already settled, with 14 players with full NBA contracts all set for training camp and the start of the 2025-2026 season. However, they have continued to tinker on the margins, with multiple pieces of roster news breaking yesterday.

First, Shams Charania of ESPN announced that the Clippers were signing guard TyTy Washington to a one-year deal. It was not specified in the tweet, but it was later confirmed that this deal is an Exhibit 10 contract, making it an elevated training camp signing. Washington is a fourth-year guard who was drafted by the Rockets at 29 in the 2021 draft, but was traded and then waived after his rookie season. He has been on the Bucks and Suns the past two years on two-way deals, and has played just 58 NBA games with limited minutes.

Later in the day, Michael Scotto of Hoopshype broke the news that the Clippers were re-signing wing Jordan Miller to a two-way deal. To clear room for Miller, the Clippers waived Patrick Baldwin Jr. from the two-way deal he signed late last season. However, Law Murray of the Athletic stated that the Clippers were hopeful Baldwin Jr. would join the team in training camp. I’m not surprised by this swap: Miller is too old to really be a prospect, but he’s closer to an NBA-level player than Baldwin, whose athleticism did not cut it even in Summer League.

Essentially, where the back half of the roster stands right now is this: Cam Christie and Yanic Konan Niederhauser are on full roster deals and expected to remain on the roster going into the season. Jordan Miller, Kobe Sanders, and Trentyn Flowers are on two-way deals, with TyTy Washington and Patrick Baldwin Jr. on Exhibit 10 deals. NBA teams can bring 21 players into training camp, so the Clippers could technically add two more players on Exhibit 10 or other training camp deals.

The Clippers don’t seem heavily tied to anyone on two-way deals. Law (in his tweets yesterday) indicated that Jordan and Kobe are actually a bit “safer” than Flowers, and that all three will face competition from the training camp invitees for those two-way deals. If I had to guess, I think the three of those guys will win the two-way spots, but who knows.

That honestly might do it for the Clippers this summer unless some unexpected trade happens. The Clippers will not carry 15 full roster spots into the season, and their three two-way slots are all filled as well. The last pieces of business might be signing the last two training camp deals, but it is possible those are so unimportant they won’t even make “news” rounds on Twitter.

Clippers Make Multiple Back End Roster Moves
Robert Flom

After years of speculation about a reunion, news broke today that the Clippers will in fact sign Chris Paul to a one-year veteran’s minimum deal, bringing the franchise great back home.

Chris Paul spent six seasons with the Clippers from 2011 to 2017, serving as one of the centerpieces of the Lob City era. Despite those teams never breaking through to the Western Conference Finals, that era turned the Clippers franchise around – there is no Steve Ballmer or 213 era without Chris Paul. Chris Paul brought eyeballs, success on the court, and professionalism that had not existed in the franchise before. He changed the game.

Paul himself has a pretty ironclad case as “greatest Clipper ever”, with by far the strongest resume of any Clippers’ player. In his six seasons, he made five All Star games, earned 3 All-NBA First Teams and 2 All-NBA Second Teams, and received 6 All-Defense First Teams honors. He earned MVP ballot placement in each of those seasons as well, ranking 3rd in 2012 and 4th in 2013. No other Clippers player comes close to those accolades.

Forget Chris Paul, Clippers’ legend, for a moment. What about Chris Paul, the player, in 2025? Well, Paul is now 40, and is entering an absolutely ludicrous 21st season in the NBA. He played in all 82 games last year for the Spurs, averaging 8.8 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 7.4 assists on 42.7/37.7/92.4 shooting splits and only 1.6 turnovers per game. Paul basically never forgets to the rim or the free throw line anymore, but he remains a capable ballhandler, smart defender, and solid three-point shooter. Despite being far, far from the player he was for the Clippers, he was a positive impact presence for the Spurs by all accounts last year.

How Paul fits on the current roster is a bit more of a mystery. Paul makes 11 veteran, rotation-caliber players on the Clippers’ roster. Coaches like Steve Kerr last year have experimented with more than 10 players in a rotation (he got up to 12 last season), but it’s uncommon. When the team is fully healthy, at least one of if not two capable players might not get run. I’ll have another article breaking down all the possibilities there, but I think CP3 himself is a prime candidate to not play in that scaled down rotation, especially since he and James Harden simply can’t play together at this stage of their careers.

I know some people are worried about the Clippers having too many mouths to feed in the rotation, and locker room issues popping up as a result. I also know other people either were never huge fans of Chris Paul, or have since soured on him due to his presence on Clippers’ rivals in Houston and Phoenix. I get all that.

To me, however, this is an undeniable win. As detailed above, I believe Chris Paul is the greatest player in franchise history. To have him coming back to complete his storied, all-time career in a Clippers’ jersey is awesome, and I think his first and final games of the season will be incredible to witness. Welcome back, Point God.

Clippers to Sign Chris Paul
Robert Flom

Well, after two weeks of rumors, Shams Charania announced today that the Clippers will sign Bradley Beal to a two-year, $11M (with a player option on the second year) deal after he completes his buyout with the Suns. Beal will earn back some of his buyout money and get a chance to earn another bag in free agency next year if he balls out for the Clippers, while the Clippers get a veteran scorer on a cheap deal.

Beal just turned 32 and is entering his 14^th year in the NBA after 11 seasons with the Wizards and two with the Suns. A three-time All Star, Beal’s tenure with the Suns was a disastrous one, ending with one of the largest buyouts in NBA history. But what about his fit with the Clippers? Especially considering that all of the initial reporting is that Beal will be starting at shooting guard for the Clippers, replacing the departed Norm Powell.

Beal is not fully washed. He’s not the same player he was five years ago, but he averaged 17.6 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 4.3 assists across his 106 games in Phoenix while shooting 50.5% from the field, 40.7% from three (4.7 attempts), and 80.8% from the line (2.6 attempts). He’s still a capable three-level scorer, and is as tough to guard as anyone in the NBA when he gets hot. While not as good off-ball as he was early in his career, Beal did play a lot off the ball alongside Devin Booker and Kevin Durant, and will be in a similar situation with the Clippers playing off James Harden and Kawhi Leonard. At the same time, he offers a dynamism with the ball in his hands that nobody else on the Clippers can match. On offense, despite some worries about “too many mouths to feed” (which is valid, more on that later), Beal seems like a clean fit.

Comparing Beal to Norm Powell is interesting. All of the advanced stats would say Norm was a (significantly) better player than Beal last year, despite Beal’s pedigree. Norm scored more, shot better from three while taking more threes, and got to the line more. Norm was simply a significantly more reliable and deadly scorer than Beal. Both are bad defenders, with Beal being a bit larger and sturdier than Norm, and Norm probably being somewhat quicker at this stage. Beal, while not an amazing rebounder, is stronger on the glass than Norm, which is nice. Most importantly, Beal is a far, far better playmaker for others, capable of truly running an offense at times and operating in the pick-and-roll as a passer in a way Norm could never do consistently. Thus, the Clippers are losing some scoring punch, but are getting a somewhat more well-rounded player in return.

Beal’s availability is also a matter of concern. In the past six years he’s played in 57, 60, 40, 50, 53, and 53 games. Even with the first two of those being COVID-shortened seasons, that’s a tough track record. That said, if there’s a roster where availability doesn’t matter a ton (even with Kawhi’s availability being an issue as well), it’s the Clippers, who have several players that can fill in Beal’s spot in the starting lineup in a number of different ways – Bogdan Bogdanovic as the cleanest skillset replacement, Derrick Jones Jr. for an athleticism upgrade, and Kris Dunn as the defensive floor raiser. If both Beal and Kawhi are out, the Clippers will still have some scoring options alongside Harden in Ivica Zubac and John Collins. And, if Harden is out, then the Clippers will have a semi-feasible short-term fill-in with Beal’s ball-handling and playmaking.

I think the overall rotation and lineup decisions that Beal’s arrival (and seemingly likely starting) foists upon Ty Lue are a bit more challenging. Harden-Beal-Kawhi-Zu are going to be locked in, which is a ton of scoring but also a lot of guys who want the ball, and not a huge amount of defense or role-playing connective pieces. John Collins seemed like the starting power forward when the Clippers traded for him, and he does add some much needed size and athleticism. But if the Clippers start Collins, their perimeter defense will be severely lacking. Jones Jr. and Dunn are two other potential starting options, and would solve the perimeter defense issue, but would create further deficiencies for size and rebounding. The bench rotation would also be a bit fouled up either way, as if Collins start, both Dunn and DJJ will come off the bench, which offers some redundancies, whereas if Collins comes off the pine, the Batum-Collins-Lopez frontcourt would look mighty slow. Staggering players will help, of course, but Ty Lue will have his hands full figuring everything out.

Honestly, I think my biggest concern with the Beal signing is chemistry. The Clippers won last year through defense and chemistry – everyone on the team seemed to get along and they just seemed like a together bunch that was rowing in the right direction. Beal, while not a notable malcontent, was unhappy in Phoenix last year with his role and his effort took a notable hit. The Suns were a miserable group last year, and winning cures a lot of concerns, so I’m not too worried, but I don’t think he’ll get more touches or a larger role in LA than he had in Phoenix. There have also been rumors of Beal being a less-than-stellar teammate going back to his time in Washington. Hopefully the chance to revitalize his career on a good team with veteran teammates is enough to keep Beal happy and pulling alongside everyone else. Still, the team’s overall spirit is something I will be keeping a close eye on – even without Beal’s potential issues, it’s tough to have great chemistry two years in a row.

The Clippers’ free agency is not over, even though this is likely the last big move they’ll make this summer. After all, the Clippers only have 13 roster spots filled, and while they usually prefer to leave one open, that still leaves one spot to fill. The Clippers’ depth chart is quite well filled out, with 10 clear top rotation players followed by the young guys (Cam Christie, Kobe Brown, Yanic Konan Niederhauser) and two-ways (Trentyn Flowers, Kobe Sanders, Patrick Baldwin Jr.). Their 14^th spot could just be filled by Jordan Miller, but my guess is the Clippers sign another veteran instead. Rumors have swirled around Chris Paul, but he’d be outside the Clippers’ current rotation, and my guess is he wants to play a real role on a team. Still, I’d expect the Clippers to make a minor move or two in the coming weeks.

Overall, I think this is a fine signing for the Clippers. Beal has his warts in terms of availability, fit, and attitude, but he is an upgrade over some ways in Norm Powell, and even if you prefer Norm in a vacuum, adding in the John Collins piece means the Clippers are a more talented team than they were last season. Fingers crossed that the team that looks like a fairly competitive Western Conference heavyweight on paper turns out to be one in actuality in three months when the season starts.

Clippers to Sign Bradley Beal in Free Agency
Robert Flom

Well, the most discussed/rumored trade in recent Clippers history finally happened, as the Clippers traded Norm Powell to the Heat, sent their 2027 second round pick to the Utah Jazz, and received John Collins from Utah. Collins has been mentioned as a Clippers target for years, and he is now at last on his way to Los Angeles.

From a roster perspective, this move makes quite a bit of sense for the Clippers. The reason Collins has been a name that has come up so frequently is because he is a large, athletic power forward that can play small-ball center, and the Clippers have all too frequently been small, old, and unathletic in the past five years. Collins does not fix those issues, but he goes a ways towards addressing them in the short term.

The West is just getting bigger. The Thunder play with two bigs a lot, the Rockets added a center and multiple large forwards this offseason, the Timberwolves kept their two key big men, and the Nuggets traded for Jonas Valanciunas. The Clippers really needed to add more size to the roster, and shifting from a small guard in Norm to a large forward in Collins will help them deal with those larger, physical teams in the West.

Collins has been around for a while, so I don’t think I need to provide a ton of in-depth analysis on his game, but he’s coming off probably the second-best season of his career, averaging 19 points, 8.2 rebounds, and a steal and a block for the (admittedly tanking) Jazz while shooting 52.7% from the field and 39.9% from three (3.7 attempts per game). He’s shot well in general the past two years, seemingly course correcting from his awful shooting season in 2023 (when his finger was messed up). He’s still not a high-volume shooter for a forward, but he can space the floor for Ivica Zubac at least a bit. His main addition, however, will be as an above-the-rim finisher for James Harden and as a support on the glass and back line defensively.

Right now, the current Clippers’ starting lineup would seem to be James Harden, Kris Dunn, Kawhi Leonard, Collins, and Ivica Zubac, with a bench of Bogdan Bogdanovic, Derrick Jones Jr., Nic Batum, and Brook Lopez. All of a sudden, after seeming so guard heavy for so many years, with Norm gone and Amir Coffey gone, the Clippers now could use another guard, preferably one who provides shooting and ball handling. I do think the Collins trade therefore increases the likelihood of Bradley Beal ending up a Clipper – he’d likely replace Dunn in that starting unit and enable the Clippers to keep Collins in the starting role or shift in Derrick Jones Jr. However, adding a bench guard like Chris Paul or Malcolm Brogdon would make sense as well.

This move also checks boxes from a long-term perspective. Norm was looking for an extension, and it was clear the Clippers did not want to give him a deal that would conflict with their ability to get to cap space in 2027 (or even next summer). It therefore made sense for both sides to move on, with the Clippers now able to evaluate Collins and see how he fares before he fits free agency next summer.

As for Norm, he gets to go to a Miami Heat team that prizes the work ethic that he consistently displays, and will play a big role on a team that doesn’t have much in the way of scoring. Norm was highly productive for the Clippers in his 3+ years on the team, and his career year in 2025 was a significant reason for the Clippers’ overperformance that season. Alas, he ended his Clippers’ career on a bit of a sour note against the Denver Nuggets in the playoffs, and it’s hard not to think that the Clippers being so physically outmatched against Denver played a part in the Clippers making this deal. I’ll be rooting for Norm going forward; he played hard, helped bridge the gap between 213 and the new era of Clippers’ ball, and had some very memorable performances as a Clipper.

I don’t think the Clippers are done yet – they will almost certainly add a guard of some kind in the coming days. For now, welcome John Collins!

Clippers Trade Norm Powell for John Collins
Robert Flom

In the most expected Clippers news of the entire offseason, the Clips re-signed veteran forward Nic Batum to a two-year, $11.5M contract. The second year is a team option and Nico also gets a trade kicker as part of the deal. It’s a raise for Nico while remaining very team friendly for the Clippers.

Nico has spent 4+ of the last 5 years on the Clippers and has become one of the most beloved role players in franchise history. Nico is in the waning days of his career and is no longer capable of starting or playing heavy minutes regularly, but he’s still an excellent backup power forward who can handle stints at small-ball center as needed. His combination of shooting, defense, and connective play makes this contract a real value play, even at his age.

Nico is one of the few rotation players on the team the past few seasons who has earned the respect of the team’s stars, coaching staff, and front office as well as the love of fans, making him an essential bench guy for the Clippers. The Clippers openly stated that they missed him the one season he spent in Philadelphia after the James Harden trade, and Nico in return has said he doesn’t want to play for another NBA team the rest of his career.

On the court, the Clippers now have most of their rotation set. The only real need on the roster is a backup point guard, and that signing will probably come in the next few days.

Welcome back, Nico!

Clippers Re-Sign Nic Batum to Two-Year Deal
Robert Flom

The Clippers made their third move of the 2025 free agency early this evening, inking Brook Lopez to a two year, $18M deal to serve as their new backup center.

Brook has played 17 years in the NBA, making him one of the longest tenured players in the league, and has started 1065 of his 1105 career regular season games. Brook spent the last seven years in Milwaukee alongside Giannis Antetokounmpo, including winning a championship in 2021, and previously played for the Lakers and Nets.

It’s hard to view this signing as anything other than a win. While Brook is old and has declined in the past few years, he still averaged 13 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 1.9 blocks per game for a good Milwaukee team last year. Compared to the abysmal set of backups the Clippers have had in recent years – Moses Brown, Kai Jones, Mo Bamba, and washed Mason Plumlee notably among them – those stats look incredible.

Brook’s biggest value comes on the defensive end. He’s been one of the best rim protectors in the league for the entirety of his tenure in Milwaukee, and was still highly effective on that end last year. He’s not versatile at all on defense – he plays almost exclusively in deep drop – but he’s very good at what he does do. Moreover, the Clippers are used to playing with a big in drop coverage with Ivica Zubac, so there should not be much acclimation needed on either end. Again, compared to Zu’s recent backups, the gap on defense is as big as Mount Everest. Brook has immense experience, has played in Finals games, and knows exactly where to be on defense.

That’s not all! The Clippers have been searching for a “stretch” center for what feels like a decade (remember Spencer Hawes, anyone?), and they finally found one. Brook started taking threes nine years ago, and since then has never taken fewer than 4.0 per game in a season with his lowest mark being 31.4%. Across his seven years in Milwaukee, Brook averaged 4.7 threes attempted per game at 35.7%. Not great for a shooting guard, but for a big man, those are massive numbers. Brook draws the defense and will consistently capitalize on open looks. That’s so important for bringing a different playstyle to the table for the Clippers.

Brook’s deal is also very reasonable. He’s old, but he has only had one season (2022) in the past decade where he’s missed more than a handful of games. He’s available and he fits with the team. If he declines at all next year, he should still be a competent backup, and then his deal will be expiring. Compared to other free agent big men who signed today – Clint Capela, Kevon Looney, and Luke Kornet – I think the Clippers got the best deal in terms of years and money for quality of player.

That’s not to say Brook is perfect. He is very old for an NBA player (37), and for guys that age the cliff can come at any time. The Clippers were already old, slow, and unathletic, and Brooks just makes them more so across the board. You’d wish for more dynamic, athletic play. But that type of play (at least from competent NBA big men) was just not available in this free agent class. The most talented center available is DeAndre Ayton, and I can think of fewer guys who are a worse fit for the new Clippers culture that has been established.

At the end of the day, this is just a good signing. It might not be an A+ because of the age concerns and lack of upside, but it’s easily a B+ and probably more like an A-. Good work by the Clippers in finally, finally getting a competent backup for Ivica Zubac.

Clippers Sign Brook Lopez To Two-Year Deal as Backup Center
Robert Flom

Shams Charania of ESPN just broke the biggest expected offseason news for the Clippers, which was James Harden opting out of his $36.3M player option for next season and re-signing with the team. The only question was what size contract Harden would receive, and the answer is a 2 year, $81.5M deal with the second year a partially guaranteed player option.

This deal makes a ton of sense for both sides. Harden got a raise of over $4M for next season and gets at least a partial security blanket for the following season as a reward for his mostly excellent 2025 campaign. The Clippers keep the floor-raising Harden for another season with Kawhi Leonard while giving them the option of moving on from Harden next summer or of having a clean cap sheet in the summer of 2027, when Harden and Leonard’s deals will expire. Considering how good Harden was in the 2025 season, this deal seems like a fair upgrade while enabling the Clippers to have some flexibility with team building. I predicted a 2/85 deal back in my Harden exit interview, so this is even more team friendly than I thought.

Harden will slot back in as the Clippers’ starting point guard, with Leonard locked in as a starting forward and Ivica Zubac as the lead center. That means the rest of free agency will be figuring out if the Clippers make any notable changes to the other two starting spots, whether bringing in a starting guard to replace Norm Powell or Kris Dunn, or a larger forward to enable Kawhi to slide back from power forward to small forward.

Having Harden on the team also just about guarantees that there won’t be a Kawhi trade (not really rumored, but at least mentioned by names as large as the Ringer’s Zach Lowe). This deal aligning Harden with Kawhi sure seems to indicate that the Clippers will be “going for it” to some extent in 2026 with this version of the team. The question is how much of the surrounding roster shifts around them.

Considering how skeptical I was of the Harden trade all the way back in fall 2023, I’ve been pleasantly surprised with the Harden experience as a Clipper. Yes, there have been ups and downs, with a few rough playoff games. But the Clippers would not have sniffed the 2025 playoffs without Harden, and he’s mostly been enjoyable to watch play basketball.

The first major step of the Clippers’ 2025 offseason has locked into place. Let’s see where the Clips go from here.

Clippers Re-Sign James Harden to Two-Year Deal
Robert Flom

With the 50th pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, the Clippers selected Kobe Sanders, a 23-year-old wing from the University of Nevada. They traded up from 51 to 50 to make the pick, sending the rights to an international player and cash to the Knicks to make the selection

Kobe averaged 15.8 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 4.5 assists in 31.7 minutes per game at Nevada as a fifth-year senior (he played his first four years at Cal Poly), shooting 46% from the field, 34.2% from three (3.6 attempts), and 79.5% from the free throw line (5.9 attempts).

Kobe is tall for a wing, standing at 6’7, though he’s fairly skinny at just over 200 pounds. He scored mostly with midrange jumpers and at the free throw line, as his three-point shooting in college was not very good for a scoring wing. On offense, his best skill by far is playmaking – 4.5 assists for a guy his size is pretty good. He is good at manipulating defenses and making quick reads to open teammates. The ability to dribble, pass, and kind of shoot is valuable, and Sanders does check those boxes for an NBA wing. If he can stretch his range from the midrange to three, he could have a real NBA future.

The downsides to Kobe are fairly obvious. He’s on the older side (already 23), the three-point shot seems very shaky (at best), and his athleticism and defense are below average for an NBA player. But at 51, it is what it is.

I don’t imagine that Kobe Sanders will get a full contract from the Clippers, as they already have a pretty full roster and a lot of guards/wings ahead of him. Thus, I’d expect him to get a two-way deal, joining Trentyn Flowers and Patrick Baldwin Jr. as the Clippers three two-ways.

I’ll be honest, I don’t have a ton of thoughts on Kobe. He seems like a fine enough pick at this point in the draft, as nearly every player who I had real thoughts on were gone by pick 40 or so. There is real talent, and Kobe appears to be quite good at basketball – the question will be whether he’s athletic enough to make it in the NBA. Welcome to the Clippers, Kobe!

Clippers Select Kobe Sanders at 50 in the 2025 NBA Draft
Robert Flom