Despite some unrealized excitement earlier in the week, the Clippers had an uncharacteristically quiet draft night (they didn’t make a single trade tonight after making at least one during each of the last 8 NBA Drafts). For the first time since Lawrence Frank took over basketball operations from Doc Rivers, the Clippers simply entered the day with two picks, made them, and called it a night. While the hope is that these two guys–Kobe and Jordan–develop into good players, it’s unlikely that either is a major factor in the Clippers’ pursuit of the 2024 NBA title. Forward Kobe Brown will be on the 15-man roster in a reserve role behind a host of veterans, while wing Jordan Miller is expected to sign a two-way contract, spending most of the upcoming season with the Ontario Clippers.

The biggest story of the draft for the Clippers, though, wasn’t who they took–it was the players who weren’t moved. It’s no secret that the team is ready to move on from Marcus Morris, who has been the team’s primary power forward for the last 3.5 years. Originally, the team expected to send the 30th pick and Marcus Morris to the Washington Wizards in a 3-team trade that would have brought guard Malcolm Brogdon to Los Angeles, but they backed out over concerns regarding Brogdon’s health. Adding Brown with the 30th pick instead is all well and good, but the clear need to move on from Morris at the power forward position remains–and the team targeting Brogdon (and Chris Paul who was dealt to the Golden State Warriors today) suggests that they’re looking to move for a guard and a forward this summer. Whether the goal of making a big addition at guard is to replace or complement Russell Westbrook, who is an unrestricted free agent, is anyone’s guess.

At guard, the Clippers could always simply re-sign Westbrook, having sufficient depth to round out a solid guard rotation without an addition (Bones Hyland will definitely appreciate not being stuck behind two hall of fame point guards next year). Questions about the championship upside of putting his shooting and turnover issues alongside Paul George and Kawhi Leonard remain, but it would hardly be a surprise to see him back with the team after he became the emotional centerpiece of an otherwise listless Clipper team last year and put up big numbers in the team’s first round loss with George and Leonard sidelined. I’d still look for the Clippers to deal a guard (Westbrook, Hyland, Norman Powell, and Eric Gordon is one too many guys as long as Paul George is starting at shooting guard, and that’s without mentioning Terance Mann, who more easily slots into the backup small forward role), likely Gordon who is the most expendable and movable due to a combination of skill level, age, and contract status.

Westbrook cannot be traded as a current free agent, only re-signed. Powell’s contract is likely unappealing to trade partners, but he’s an important piece for the Clippers, so it’s hard to see a win-win deal developing there. Mann and Hyland both represent players with positive trade value, but they’re both players the Clippers would be reluctant to part with lightly. Gordon, at 34 years old and with a fully non-guaranteed salary of $20.9M next season, is an easy choice to explore moving. The Clippers face an interesting decision with Gordon–in many ways, he’s a completly expendable piece on this team, because if Westbrook is retained (or another guard added in his place) the team can build a comfortable backup rotation with Hyland, Powell, and Mann. While it’s certainly possible that Ty Lue would play Gordon over Hyland if both are on the team in October, it wouldn’t be healthy for the organization to invest minutes in a mediocre 34-year-old veteran over a high-upside (if tumultuous) 23-year-old prospect. Cutting Gordon does Lue a favor by taking away a bad choice and leaving him with a straightforward guard rotation. At the same time, Gordon isn’t a bad player, and the Clippers aren’t getting that $21M salary slot back if they release him. He has on-floor utility, especially during a regular season where you know you won’t always have your first-choice 10-man rotation available, and could be a part of a deadline deal as a huge expiring. Then there’s the tax angle: simply releasing Gordon would save the Steve Ballmer something like $100M next season. Even for the league’s wealthiest owner, that’s gotta be hard to not consider for a guy who shouldn’t be in the nightly rotation.

Even if the Clippers are hunting for an upgrade at guard, the possibility of running it back with Russ at least exists. That isn’t the case at power forward, where Morris was woefully ineffective for the majority of last season before losing his starting job late in the year. His time with the team, both on the court and interpersonally, seems to have fully run its course. 34-year-old backup glue guy Nico Batum isn’t exactly ambitious to take over starter’s minutes, and it’s hard to imagine Ty Lue trusting Robert Covington to fill Morris’ shoes next season after routinely giving him the cold shoulder last year. In fact, while Gordon and Morris almost need to be moved in this off-season, Covington is the third player who I most expect to depart. The non-trade options for the Clippers to address replacing Morris come down to Covington and Kawhi Leonard… and while I’m into the idea of shifting Kawhi to PF in certain lineups, it’s hard to imagine the team asking their oft-unavailable superstar small forward to play against bigger, stronger opponents on a nightly basis in the regular season.

Knowing that the Clippers should be shopping Gordon and Morris (and Covington) hard while looking for a guard upgrade/insurance and a new starting power forward is the easy part. Making a deal or two along those lines is a bigger challenge. Without the 30th pick to attach in deals (the Clippers can still trade Kobe Brown’s draft rights, but the pick is always more valuable as currency before the selection is made), the Clippers will have a hard time attracting much interest in Gordon and Morris. In fact, last night, the Sacramento Kings straight-up gave Dallas the 24th overall pick in order to take the undesired contract of Richaun Holmes–and Holmes is a useful player that the Mavericks will use! If 24 + Holmes = nothing, then 30 + Morris = Brogdon was actually a massive win (health notwithstanding)… and Morris without 30 = less than nothing. The Clippers are hardly in a position to give up future picks, Terance Mann, or Bones Hyland just to get off of Morris’ contract, so unless someone is really clamoring for Amir Coffey or Brandon Boston Jr., they’ll have to get creative to make a deal work.

As far as I can figure, the Clippers’ best bet is to go deeper into the crevasse by trading Gordon and Morris for less desirable contracts, thereby creating a situation of leverage where they can get some value back to help the team next year (either via a flippable asset or a useful player on an undesired contract). Say what you will about not wanting to pay them next season, but both of their contracts end after just one more year (and in Gordon’s case, only the amount required to make trade math becomes guaranteed, meaning he could offer some instant savings–more on this in a second). That’s not true for someone like Ben Simmons, who will make $40M in 2024-25. Would the Nets downgrade from Dorian Finney-Smith to Robert Covington if it meant the Clippers ate Simmons’ extra year in exchange for Gordon and Morris? Would they give LAC an additional asset too? If the Heat need Duncan Robinson’s outgoing salary to make a trade work this summer but their trade partner doesn’t fancy owing him $30M over the two seasons beyond next year, would Miami compensate the Clippers for taking on that deal in exchange for Morris’ expiring, and could they use that asset with Gordon to land a new power forward? Would the rebuilding Hornets jump at the opportunity to offload 3 years and $75M of Terry Rozier, a player who could be useful to LAC? What about the Hawks and ever-rumored forward John Collins’ similarly big deal? Atlanta particularly strikes me as a team that has to prepare to pay their upcoming young talent and could look to offload money this summer to set the stage for those deals in future years.

While it’s possible that some trade partners could value Gordon as a short-term role player, his presence allows for some immediate savings, too. His deal is fully non-guaranteed, which means the Clippers are completely off the hook for his salary if they cut him by June 28th. It’s not a complete mulligan for trade partners, though–enough of his contract needs to be guaranteed to make a trade legal. Still, teams can save money that way. Let’s look at that Gordon/Morris/Covington for Simmons/Finney-Smith deal, just as an example. To bring back those two players, the Clippers would have to send out about $38.6M. After Morris and Covington, the Clippers would only need an additional $10M, meaning that the Nets could immediately cut Gordon and have trimmed $13M ($19.6M if they elect to stretch his salary hit over the next 3 years) from their payroll for next season on top of savings on Simmons’ additional year.

Of course, there is the possibility of bigger deals solving these issues organically–maybe Gordon, Morris, Terance Mann, and future picks can land the Clippers Zach LaVine (good luck figuring out how to make him fit with Paul and Kawhi on offense, but talent is talent). If they get off of Morris’ deal in such a fashion, there are a couple of younger, less established power forwards that the Clippers could always look at as upside plays with the knowledge that they can turn to Batum or move Kawhi up a position in the playoffs: Obi Toppin is looking for a way out of New York to a bigger role, and the Clippers are rumored to have interest in Rockets forward Kenyon Martin Jr. One issue with targeting Toppin or Martin, aside from their relative inexperience and unprovenness, is that their salaries are too low to make a swap for Morris easy. Another is that they’d likely cost draft capital to acquire, something the Clippers have very little of and need to treasure.

Then, there are the elephant(s) in the room: the lingering rumored availability of Paul George in trade talks (and Damian Lillard’s satisfaction in Portland). It’s been mentioned throughout the week that the Clippers are gauging George’s value, though the latest update from Andrew Greif in the LA Times suggests that the feedback they received wasn’t great, with teams concerned about the downside of trading serious packages for a 33-year-old with a looming opt-out next summer who has averaged just 47 games played over his 4 years as a Clipper (2 of which were shortened from 82 to 72 games due to COVID scheduling, for what it’s worth). Still, Knicks reporter Ian Begley says he would expect New York to continue a pursuit of George if the Clippers are open to trading the star wing. The problem: both teams are trying to get closer to a championship in the near future, not further away. The Clippers would surely entertain a George-Randle framework for the same age, health, and contract reasons that the Knicks wouldn’t; the Clippers would hopefully rebuff a package built around RJ Barrett for the same quality disparity reasons the Knicks would pursue it. Perhaps a convenient way out: if Damian Lillard does finally decide it is time to leave the Trail Blazers behind instead of hanging around to mentor #3 overall pick Scoot Henderson, could a 3-team deal sending George to the Knicks, Lillard to the Clippers, and Barrett and a heap of draft picks to the Blazers satisfy everyone? The Knicks are committed to Jalen Brunson as their younger, cheaper star point guard, but covet a two-way All-NBA wing to join their core, while the Clippers would embrace the Lillard upgrade, especially given George’s reluctance to be a playmaker last season. I wouldn’t bet money on it, but I wouldn’t rule it out either. Lillard isn’t eligible to be traded until July 9th, the one-year anniversary of signing his designated veteran maximum extension last summer, so I’d expect these talks to be slow-developing as all sides (including Lillard himself) consider their options.

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.

After Quiet Draft, Clippers Need Trades For Gordon, Morris
Lucas Hann

Our exit interview series at 213 Hoops continues with a look at the 2022 season of one of the Clippers’ trade-deadline-acquisitions, Robert Covington.

BASIC INFORMATION

Height: 6’7”

Weight: 209lb

Position: Power Forward/ Center

Age: 31

Years in the NBA: 8

Key Stats: In 23 games with the Clippers, Covington averaged 10.4 points, 5.1 rebounds, 1.3 blocks, and 1.2 steals in 22 minutes per game on 50 / 44.9 / 84.8 shooting splits.

EXPECTATIONS

When Robert Covington came to the Clippers by trade, he was very much the “sweetener”—not the focus of the trade, who was Norm Powell, but a nice piece nonetheless. He was having a rough year in Portland, so we did not know what to expect exactly. Lucas put it well at the time, saying “[t]he addition of Robert Covington sneakily gives LAC another small ball option and battle-tested forward.” Overall, though, we here at 213Hoops thought Covington would be a nice piece, who could be let go or traded, if he was in fact washed up as a player.

REALITY

While Powell was the celebrated addition from that trade with the Trailblazer, Robert Covington would end up having the bigger impact on the Clippers’ 2022 season, as Powell was quickly sidelined with a foot injury. Covington instantly looked energized by his new situation—he was all over the place on defense and was a willing and able shooter on offense. He had the best net rating on the team and generally fortified the Clippers rotation with his versatility. RoCo swiftly became a fan favorite for his play on the court and positive demeanor (as well as community service).

FUTURE WITH CLIPPERS

As he said it himself, “We back.” A few weeks ago, the Clippers brought Covington back on a two-year, $24 million extension. This Clippers’ roster—Robert included—is aging and getting older, so it made sense for the Clippers to lockdown a guy who can contribute in the short term. Likewise, with the Clippers, Covington can expect a steady role and a chance to compete at a very high level. I am sure both sides are expecting great things in these next two years and are not worried about the future beyond that.

Clippers 2022 Season Exit Interview: Robert Covington
Kenneth Armstrong

According to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype, several teams have expressed interest in newly-acquired Clippers forward Robert Covington since the trade Friday night that brought Covington to Los Angeles along with Norman Powell. For those who don’t know Scotto, he is an extablished NBA reporter on these types of minor rumors and has a strong reputation of accuracy.

Scotto adds that “the Clippers are open to retaining Covington,” so it’s far from a sure thing that he will be dealt again this week. While he is in the final year of his current contract, the Clippers would have his bird rights to work on a new deal this off-season. At power forward, the Clippers currently have the established duo of Marcus Morris and Nico Batum, leaving some questions about where Covington fits into the equation. Each of these guys can play in SF/PF combinations with another, but the Clippers’ long-term outlook includes Kawhi Leonard returning to the team next season (or late this season) and occupying most of the small forward minutes, while younger incumbent wings like Terance Mann and Amir Coffey also have likely earned playing time at the position. Covington can also provide cover as a small ball option at the center position, though the Clippers are dealing with a center logjam now as well. Even though many around the team, including myself, consider Serge Ibaka likely to be moved this week, the team has significant investment in defensive anchor Ivica Zubac and needs to continue to find minutes for Isaiah Hartenstein, who has the best on/off numbers on the team this season.

So, it does feel like something’s gotta give here for the Clippers. Even if you take Ibaka away from the team and don’t add another player to the rotation, they’ve got two established centers getting regular time and three quality veteran power forwards in their prime. Then, Luke Kennard, Terance Mann, and Amir Coffey are competing for limited minutes as the backup wings behind Paul George and Kawhi Leonard, once those stars return from their injuries. New acquisition Norman Powell’s best position is also shooting guard, also he’ll likely play plenty of minutes as a shadow point guard with George handling playmaking duties. At point guard, he’ll compete for minutes with the Clippers’ current leader, Reggie Jackson.

Scotto suggests that the Clippers could hold on to Covington as defensive depth and another veteran in the locker room, and that’s definitely on the table. We know that Ty Lue loves to tinker within playoff series, with support players regularly coming in and out of the rotation as needed during last year’s Western Conference Finals run, and Covington provides the luxury to make those types of adjustments. Want to play heavy centerless minutes? Covington would be a huge asset with Hartenstein out of the rotation. Need a full deck of wing defenders with no defensive liabilities? Covington could replace Luke Kennard for a game. And if someone like Terance Mann is struggling, Covington might fill the same role with a bit more consistency and poise.

In the short term, there’s a role for Covington on the Clippers, even if it’s a small one compared to the 30 minutes per game he was playing this season for Portland, where he started 40 of 48 games. In the long term, a regular role for him would likely only come at the expense of Marcus Morris or Nico Batum. It’s a luxury for the Clippers in several senses: Covington is a great luxury depth player for the next 28 games + playoffs, or he could be turned into a positive return for the Clippers in another trade before this deadline. His presence also makes it easier to explore potential deals for Morris or Batum at this deadline, as he would fit pretty naturally into the PF role for the Clippers (he’s not nearly the shooter Morris and Batum are, but he’ll camp in the corners and do just enough, while being a much better defender than Morris), and his bird rights would likewise give the team options this summer, with Morris under contract and Batum holding a low player option. Assuming Batum opts out, Covington could be insurance if Nico gets a big offer elsewhere. The Clippers could also decide to explore trade avenues for Morris and re-sign both.

For now, let’s peek at what some offers could be from the teams calling the Clippers about Covington this week. It’s probably safe to say that the market for Covington isn’t insanely robust–Portland’s surely been taking calls on him in the lead-up to this trade with the Clippers, and if they thought they could get a first-round pick for him you’d imagine that they would have been able to still avoid the luxury tax by trading Covington separately later instead of throwing him into the Powell deal. There was some chatter that Portland’s value in this trade was getting a first round pick (Keon Johnson) for Powell and a second round pick (Detroit’s 2025) for Covington. If that’s an accurate reading of Covington’s value around the league right now, then the Clippers probably won’t look to trade him. His value as rental depth plus an off-season insurance policy is worth more than a future 2nd. But that being apparent, plus the fact that multiple teams are interested, seems to suggest you might be able to get a little bit more. Maybe 2 2nds? Maybe a useful player coming back as salary matching?

The teams with interest in Covington are obviously going to be good teams with hopes of making a playoff run who would be “buyers.” But Covington being just 31 makes his bird rights a little more attractive than your standard deadline rental–he could easily re-sign with a team and be a rotation piece for several years to come. That makes for easily over a dozen teams that would be interested in adding a player like RoCo to their playoff rotation. The limiting factor here is going to be financial. Teams will need a way to absorb his $12.9M deal, either a large enough trade exception or expendable matching salary. So, who could both use Covington and has a potential trade offer that wouldn’t cost them one of their own core players?

There are only two teams in the NBA with big enough trade exceptions to absorb Covington outright: Orlando and New Orleans. The Magic clearly have no incentive to get into the conversation here, but the Pelicans might–they’re looking like strong contenders for a Western Conference play-in spot with hopes of being playoff-competitive sooner rather than later with a healthy Zion Williamson, meaning that re-signing Covington could work out for them long-term. In addition to that large exception, the Pelicans have the $10M expiring contract of Tomas Satoransky, who Robert Flom mentioned yesterday as a potential stopgap backup point guard for the Clippers. With New Orleans in mind, here are some potential Covington offers from them and other teams:

• New Orleans Pelicans: 2 2nd Rounders, with or without Satoransky. Sato has been dreadful this year and doesn’t warrant compensation. The Pelicans will have bigger fish to fry before looking at a RoCo deal, and Satoransky’s large expiring contract could well be gone as part of a package for a more significant piece than Covington. The Pelicans also have a bucket of future firsts from Milwaukee and the Lakers from the Jrue Holiday and Anthony Davis trades, so it’s possible you could get something like “the worst of NOP/MIL/LAL 2024 1sts.”
• Chicago Bulls: Derrick Jones Jr and Marko Simonovic. Simonovic is just filler here to get the math over the finish line. Frankly, I’m not sure that the Bulls would prefer Covington over Jones Jr., but Chicago is in a tight race for the 1-seed in the East and DJJ, also on an expiring deal, could miss most of the remainder of the regular season with a fractured index finger.

• Phoenix Suns: JaVale McGee, Dario Saric, and 2 2nds. McGee has become redundant with the arrival and emergence of Bismack Biyombo, and Saric is out for the season. Covington would give the Suns another switchable defensive forward to join forces with Mikal Bridges, Jae Crowder, and Cam Johnson–a position where contenders need a lot of interchangeable parts. But with the Clippers getting no short-term utility from McGee and Saric, who is owed $9.2M next season, the two 2nd round picks aren’t enough to sway me and I highly doubt Phoenix coughs up a first.
• Utah Jazz: Joe Ingles and 2 2nds. Ingles is out for the year after tearing his ACL, so the Clippers would simply release his $13M expiring deal to create a new roster spot. It’s just as well, since it’s safe to say the player who injured Kawhi Leonard with a dirty play last postseason wouldn’t be welcomed with open arms in LAC’s locker room. But the Jazz are desperate for defensive help and Covington would give them an interesting addition on that end of the floor, so he could be one of their targets with that expiring deal.

On the whole, if I were the Clippers, I would be holding out for a future first for Covington. Even if it’s a low-value pick (either because it belongs to a good team, or because it’s protected, or both), it gives LAC another relevant asset for a potential future trade package as they try to add high-end talent alongside Paul George and Kawhi Leonard. However, I think they are unlikely to get a first rounder for RoCo at this deadline, which I’m fine with–holding onto him is a pretty good worst-case scenario. I am hesitant to trade Marcus Morris because of his importance to this team, but he’s probably the guy at PF at this deadline who you take a long, hard look to see if you can get a really good return this week while leaving Batum and Covington as your power forwards moving forward.

NBA Trade Rumors: Robert Covington Attracting Interest
Lucas Hann

Lucas Hann and Shap talked about the Normal Powell/Robert Covington trade on the latest episode of TLTJTP. What does it mean for the Clippers today, and for the fully healthy Clippers? The two also spend a moment saying goodbye to Eric Bledsoe, Justise Winslow, and Keon Johnson.

Check out the podcast here! Be sure to rate and review us five stars on whatever platform you listen to us on, and give us feedback in the comments below!

Clippers Land Norman Powell, Robert Covington
Shapan Debnath

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.

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.

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