According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the LA Clippers made a massive trade Friday afternoon to acquire Norman Powell and Robert Covington from the Portland Trail Blazers in exchange for Eric Bledsoe, Justise Winslow, and Keon Johnson. The Clippers are also sending Portland Detroit’s 2025 2nd round pick, acquired with Luke Kennard two offseasons ago.

The obvious centerpiece of this deal is Powell, who is currently putting up an efficient 18.7 points per game for Portland this season on good efficiency (45.6% from the field and 40.6% from deep). He’s averaged 17.8 points on 48/41 splits in 161 games over the last three seasons, so none of that production should be unsustainable moving forward. For a Clippers team starved of offensive talent (currently 26th in the NBA in Offensive Rating, according to basketball-reference), Powell should provide a lift on that side of the floor without creating major issues on the defensive end either. What Norm doesn’t do is create much offense for others: his assist numbers fall drastically short of point guards like Bledsoe or Jackson and are more in line with current Clippers like Luke Kennard, Terance Mann, and Amir Coffey. While Powell is a guard, he’s really more of a (slightly–he’s 6’3″ with a 6’11” wingspan) undersized scoring wing than a playmaker.

In Covington, the Clippers get a short-term look at a once-coveted defensive forward who has fallen off a bit of a cliff recently. Playing somewhere between the small forwar and center positions based on lineup and scheme, he’s still capable of making an impact on the defensive end of the floor (he’s averaging 2.8 steals + blocks in just under 30 minutes per game for Portland this year), but that impact has declined along with his three-point shot, really hurting his ability to add any value on the offensive end of the floor. RoCo is a bit of a wild card in this trade. In theory, he is still a serviceable veteran who can be a good team defender at power forward and give Ty Lue the versatile switchability in a small ball center that he loves. In practice, he’s not as good as the incumbents in that power forward role, Marcus Morris and Nicolas Batum, and stuck behind all three of the Clippers’ traditional centers. I could see him occupying a part-time rotation role as a depth 4/small ball 5 to replace Justise Winslow. I could also see this acquisition maybe making the Clippers feel a bit more secure in their forward depth if they were to trade Marcus Morris this week–something that has been rumored to be on the table. I also wouldn’t be shocked to see Covington’s $13M expiring contract flipped before the trade deadline passes as the Clippers deal with a glut of forwards and now find themselves in need of a backup point guard.

For Portland, the value in this deal is essentially financial. The Blazers are in dire straits as an organization, recently firing former Clippers executive Neil Olshey after an independent investigation found Olshey created a hostile work environment. They’ve struggled with injuries to core players and constant speculation that star Damian Lillard would ask to be traded, and currently sit well below .500. This trade helps the organization get their finances order in two ways: first, by shedding a total of $4M in the exchange, they avoid the NBA’s luxury tax; second, the team moves Norman Powell’s hefty multiyear deal to create flexibility moving forward. Between Powell, Lillard, C.J. McCollum, and breakout star Anfernee Simons, the Blazers had more 6’3″ guys than they knew what to do with. McCollum’s $30M+ deal will also likely be on the move soon, freeing up money for Portland to invest in rebuilding their frontcourt for next season in a last-ditch attempt to be competitive in the Lillard era. Powell signed a 5-year, $90 million dollar deal with the Blazers last summer that will pay him about $17M next year, $18M in 2023-24, $19M in 2024-25, and $20.5M in 2025-26 when he is 32 years old. It’s not a bad contract for a player of Powell’s caliber, especially since it won’t stretch too far into his 30s, but it is understandable why Portland was reluctant to hold on to it if they felt he was redunant with their other options.

Eric Bledsoe, Justise Winslow, and Keon Johnson all could offer some utility to the Blazers, but it’s unlikely that their play is going to make a big difference for the team. Bledsoe is a solid enough backup guard, but Portland is probably already hard at work on a way to repackage him before next Thursday’s deadline. Winslow is a fun and hard-playing but flawed backup who should get some minutes in Portland and have a similar impact to the one he’s been able to have with the Clippers, while Johnson is a developmental prospect who still needs a lot of work to become an NBA player.

For the Clippers, this trade could indicate that another move is on the horizion, simply because they gave up a point guard and didn’t get one back. One key ramification here is that LAC managed to create a roster spot in a 3-for-2 trade, which will allow them to promote Amir Coffey from his current two-way contract to the 15-man roster. Two-way contract players are not eligible to play in postseason games, so that is an essential promotion for one of LAC’s key contributors this season. In theory, they could just do that and stand pat, but the current depth chart certainly suggests another move is coming:

In the meantime, the Clippers can get by with Jackson and Powell sharing guard duties while Coffey, Kennard, and Mann pick up the slack at SG and Batum and Covington share backup forward minutes, but by the time the deadline rolls around, it would really behoove the Clippers to have another point guard in the regular rotation. While there are any number of options for trades to accomplish that, the most obvious avenues are either a big deal involving Luke Kennard and/or Marcus Morris, or a simpler deal using the expiring contracts of Covington or Serge Ibaka to bring back a veteran guard. It’s worth noting that if the Clippers’ roster currently feels a bit crowded at the 2, 3, and 4, that’s with them still missing two All-NBA wings. Not all of these guys are going to get to stick around heading into next year. I think there’s a chance that the team views Powell as the long-term starter as a shadow point guard, with George resuming his duties as the team’s lead on-ball offensive creator. That would both alleviate some of the logjam on the wings and, with the assumption that Powell and Jackson are your point guards heading into next season, mean that all you need to do here is a simple deal to flip Covington or Ibaka. I would keep my eyes on guys like Kemba Walker and Dennis Schroder as veterans who should be available on the current trade market and can plug a short-term hole on the second unit with some playmaking.

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Clippers Acquire Norman Powell, Robert Covington for Bledsoe, Winslow, and Johnson
Lucas Hann

Our preview of the 2021-2022 Clippers season continues with a look at the Clippers’ first round pick of the 2021 Draft, Keon Johnson.

Basic Information

Height: 6’4

Weight: 185 pounds

Position: Shooting guard

Age: 19

Years in NBA: Rookie

Key College Stats: 11.3 points, 3.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 1.1 steals in 25.5 minutes per game across 27 games played (17 started) on 44.9/27.1/70.3 shooting splits.

Contract Status: In the first year of a standard four-year first round rookie contract, with team options in the third and fourth seasons, making $2.5M this year.

Expectations

Much like in the previews for Brandon Boston and Jason Preston, a key thing to note for rookies on good teams, especially those outside the lottery, is that expectations should be very close to zero. The same holds true for Keon even though he was the 21^st pick in the draft. Just 19 years old and with a very raw game at the position where the Clippers are deepest, it’s very unlikely that Keon will crack the rotation this year, even with Kawhi Leonard out and Paul George shifted up a position to small forward. Garbage time and maybe a stint in Agua Caliente are what’s probable for Keon this year, which means any takeaways are accordingly limited.

Strengths

Keon’s biggest advantage at the NBA level will be his athleticism, which is remarkable even for an NBA player. He famously set an NBA combine record at the vertical with a ridiculous 48’ leap, and that jumping ability could make him a devastating force in transition, as a cutter, and on designated alley-oop plays in the halfcourt. While the rest of his athletic toolset isn’t quite as exceptional as that leap, he should be a plus athlete in all facets of the game, which makes everything else that much easier.

Keon’s other key strength coming into the NBA is on the defensive end. His athleticism is of course a big reason for that defense being a plus, but other factors are at play too. Defense is at least partially about energy and effort, and Keon’s energy on the court is a constant. He’s always moving, hustling, and trying to make things happen, which is a boon on defense. Keon does also have plus instincts, which he uses to read passing lanes, rotate smartly, and even help around the rim. It’s very difficult for NBA rookies to be pluses on defense, and Keon is no exception, but he might be at least passable on that end early in his career.

Weaknesses

Keon’s most significant weakness on offense is simple – he lacks skill and polish in almost every major offensive category. While he has some touch on his midrange jumper and could became a viable shooter in time, he didn’t possess three-point range in college, much less in the NBA. He has some ability to pass and make plays for others, but it’s not natural for him, and he’s certainly not someone who will create offense for others early in his career. Keon’s handles are raw, he doesn’t possess many one-on-one moves or counters, and isn’t an adept finisher despite his leaping ability. In short, his offensive value this season will come largely in transition or on broken plays, which is fine considering how limited his role will be on offense when he does play.

Despite his athleticism and physical traits, Keon is still a 19-year-old who spent only a single season in college, and weighs under 190 pounds as an off-guard. While more advanced than fellow rookies Preston and Boston, and with more natural strength, Keon will still be at a major disadvantage in that element on both ends of the court. He might be able to defend point guards and smaller guards, but will struggle against larger guards and wings, and might have finishing issues on offense despite his vertical ability.

Summary

Keon Johnson is an exciting prospect, but Clippers’ fans will probably have to wait at least another year before getting a real glimpse of Keon getting meaningful minutes. Between his raw play, his young age, and the Clippers’ hopes and veteran depth, Keon will probably sit most of this season on the bench barring rapid improvement or a ton of Clippers’ injuries. Still, he should make garbage time a bit more exciting this year.

Clippers 2021-2022 Season Preview: Keon Johnson
Robert Flom