According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the LA Clippers have traded Patrick Beverley, Rajon Rondo, and Daniel Oturu to the Memphis Grizzlies for Eric Bledsoe:

The move consolidates LA’s guard depth, as Beverley and Rondo were occupying two veteran backup point guard spots in front of 33rd overall pick Jason Preston, who also has a guaranteed contract on the 15-man roster for next season. With Preston and fellow rookies Keon Johnson and Brandon Boston both with guaranteed deals to be on the 15-man roster next year and Kawhi Leonard likely to miss much or all of the season following ACL surgery, roster spots were at a premium for LAC and it didn’t make sense to carry as many guards as they had on the team after their draft and re-signing Reggie Jackson.

With their draft and free agent classes official, the Clippers had 16 guaranteed contracts on the roster, and only sophomore big man Daniel Oturu as a third string option at PF/C. In order to reach their final 15-man roster, it seemed likely that they would need to make a 2-for-1 consolidation guard trade (likely involving Beverley and Rondo) while also cutting Oturu and replacing him with a veteran free agent big. With Oturu’s salary thrown into this Memphis trade, the Clippers now have a more balanced roster and one open spot to use on big man depth:

By adding a depth 4/5 and factoring in the Clippers’ ability to utilize Winslow at power forward and Mann or Johnson at small forward, it becomes much more feasible for the Clippers to put together a respectable 82-game rotation. (Jay Scrubb is on the roster on a two-way contract, whle Amir Coffey has an outstanding qualifying offer and could still end up back with the team, either in the other two-way spot as they sign a min salary depth big to the 15-man roster, or vice versa)

Bledsoe, for his part, is no savior. The former Clipper was a fixture on the Milwaukee Bucks for recent years before being traded after consistently underwhelming playoff performances, and became a scapegoat for the New Orleans Pelicans falling drastically short of expectations last season (he wasn’t good, and certainly seemed to be coasting a bit, but he was far from the team’s only problem). He was named to the All-Defense 1st team in 2019 and 2nd team in 2020 as part of a stellar Milwaukee system, so the Clippers should be at least optimistic that they can get a similar impact on that end of the floor from Bledsoe as they were getting from Beverley.

While Bledsoe is a worse three-point shooter than Patrick Beverley, whose spot in the offense and rotation he replaces, he’s a better downhill player, which could be a useful addition to an offense that lacked dribble penetration last year and will need to replace Kawhi Leonard’s offensive creation by committee next season. To make up for Kawhi’s absence, LAC will of course need increased contributions from mainstays like Jackson, George, and Morris as well as steps forward from younger players like Kennard and Mann. While Bledsoe is probably an overall lateral replacement for Beverley, that difference in skillset makes some sense for a Clippers team in a transitional year while they attempt to endure Leonard’s injury. It’s also not an insignificant factor that Bledsoe has been a much healthier player than Patrick Beverley over their respective careers, meaning that LAC is now more likely to get a higher number of minutes and games from their backup point guard after this trade.

In terms of salary cap, the Clippers’ picture didn’t substantially change here. Beverley and Rondo were both expirings, while Eric Bledsoe’s $19.4M contract for the 2022-23 season is only guaranteed for $3.9M (though the team won’t be in a position to gain cap flexibility by cutting him and saving that money). The terms of the deal did work out fortuitously insofar as Beverley and Oturu are enough to bring back Bledsoe’s contract by themselves, meaning the Clippers were able to create an $8.25M trade exception for Rondo’s salary. Due to their luxury tax situation and the trade market, it probably makes more sense for them to just sign a minimum-salary depth guy for the time being and explore opportunities to buy low on a role player in that price range. The exception is good for one year from whenever this trade is officially processed, meaning LAC can look for opportunities to use it at this season’s trade deadline as well as next summer’s draft and in next year’s free agency window.

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Clippers Acquire Eric Bledsoe for Beverley, Rondo, and Oturu
Lucas Hann

NBA free agency rumors have begun, even though we don’t know when the actual window will open yet. According to the New York Times’ Marc Stein, the LA Clippers are interested in Lakers free agent point guard Rajon Rondo.

Rondo, a 34-year-old veteran, won his 2nd NBA Championship this year with the Los Angeles Lakers. His first was won as a 21-year-old starter with former Clippers head coach Doc Rivers on the Boston Celtics in 2008.

Overall, Rondo had an underwhelming season for the Lakers last year, with fans even calling for his removal from the rotation at points. But, he was huge for the team in the biggest moments, playing 25 minutes per game in the playoffs (up from 20 in the regular season) and averaging 8.9 points, 6.6 assists, and 4.3 rebounds while shooting 40% from three and contributing to the team’s highly cohesive defense-and-transition game with his length and basketball IQ. An often polarizing player over the course of his career, Rondo was credited as an important veteran leader for the Lakers, even critiquing LeBron James for poor body language.

After playing on a minimum-salary deal for the Lakers last season, early indications are that Rondo will decline his $2.6M player option for 2020-21 and test free agency, where his playoff performance and track record will likely land him a more lucrative contract. For the Clippers, that would likely mean the $5.7M taxpayer mid-level exception, which could be the team’s only way to add an above-minimum player this off-season. If the luxury tax is raised and the Clippers manage their cap carefully, they could have access to the $9.3M non-taxpayer mid-level exception and the $3.6M bi-annual exception, although the latter wouldn’t represent much of a raise for Rondo.

The Lakers have Rondo’s early bird rights, meaning they can pay him up to around $9.5M next season, though their willingness to do so is unclear. In part, indicating interest in the $5.7M range could be a bluff from the Clippers to attempt to bait the Lakers into making a more substantial financial commitment to a player they are likely to keep anyway.

But it’s also easy to see–even if we might not fully agree with–the argument for the Clippers adding Rondo. With starting point guard Patrick Beverley and sixth man scorer Lou Williams both struggling in the playoffs, LA has felt pressure this season to add a more traditional option at point guard with some playoff pedigree. Rondo was a tremendous asset to the Lakers in the 2020 playoffs, finishing third on the team in playoff win shares despite missing the first round with a hand injury.

I’d argue, though, that the Clippers’ playoff struggles had less to do with personnel and more to do with matters internal to the team, like a lack of regular-season intensity that was part of culture and cohesion shortcomings in big moments. Adding a player who clearly took the mindset of coasting through the regular season before flipping the “Playoff Rondo” switch could be a dangerous exacerbation of LAC’s issues with regular-season intensity.

213Hoops is an independently owned and operated L.A. Clippers blog by Clippers fans, for Clippers fans. If you enjoy our content, please consider subscribing to our Patreon. Subscriptions start at $1 a month and support from readers like you goes a long way towards helping us keep 213Hoops sustainable, growing, and thriving.

NBA Free Agency: Clippers interested in Rajon Rondo
Lucas Hann