The biggest Clippers’ trade of the 2025 NBA trade deadline (by far) was one they executed today about 30 minutes before the deadline, sending Terance Mann and Bones Hyland to the Atlanta Hawks for Bogdan Bogdanovic and three second-round picks.

For the Clippers, the major piece outgoing in the deal is Mann, who has been an organizational favorite and success story since his selection at 48 in the 2019 Draft. Terance was the Clippers’ lone draft hit of the entire 213 era, playing in 382 games in his 5.5 seasons on the team and starting nearly half of them (168). He quickly won fans over with his energy, hustle, and finishing abilities, and will absolutely be missed by the fanbase. Perhaps most importantly, Terance’s Game 6 performance against the Utah Jazz in the 2021 playoffs will forever be etched in Clippers’ franchise lore, a magical, special game in all of the ways sports can be so rewarding. Mann’s 39 points and incredible seven three-point makes drove the Clippers to a huge comeback win and their first-ever Conference Finals, and that can never be taken away from him or from the Clippers.

Unfortunately, Terance has never quite reached those peaks again. He’s mostly hung around the Clippers’ rotation, but was demoted in 2023 due to the arrival of Russell Westbrook, and has been on the fringes for much of this year due to an injury and the play of other wings on the roster. Terance’s three-point shooting has just never gotten good enough for him to solidify a spot as a true starting-level player, and his lack of confidence and aggression has been a similarly persistent issue. Despite the Clippers giving him a 3-year, $47M extension before this season, it was time to move on for both parties. The Clippers will get Terance’s money off their books for coming seasons, and Terance will get a new start in Atlanta. I wish it had ended differently for the second-longest tenured player on the Clippers, but Terance should be in a good spot with the Hawks.

Bones Hyland will be a much less fondly remembered Clipper. His acquisition at the trade deadline in 2023 for a couple second round picks was met with much excitement, as he was less than a year removed from being on the All-Rookie team and was brimming with potential. Unfortunately, Westbrook’s arrival that year (and the Eric Gordon acquisition) followed by Harden’s early the following season meant Bones rarely cracked the rotation. When he did, there were a few moments of brilliance (that one Bulls’ game last year lives on), but not much else. And, while the players seemed to get along with Bones, the coaching staff clearly did not trust him or feel that he was ready and prepared to be called upon when needed. The Clippers have been shopping him for months, and his inclusion in a deal at the deadline seemed a foregone conclusion.

Bogdan Bogdanovic is by far the most pedigreed of the three players, having played for Sacramento and Atlanta for 7.5 seasons. Coming over to the NBA late, Bogdanovic is already 32 years old, and has suffered a number of lower body injuries that have slowed him down. Those injuries and his subsequent downturn in play (this year has been by far the worst of Bogdans’ NBA career) are why he’s available at all after being a key piece for the Hawks. Bogdan has played in just 24 games this year, and is averaging 10 points per game on 37.1% shooting from the field and 30.1% from three in 24.9 minutes per game. For his career, those averages are 14.4, 43.5, and 38 respectively, with the three-point shooting coming on very high volume (6.5 attempts per game).

When Bogi (as he’s affectionately known) is right, he’s a dead-eye three-point shooter who can hit shots off the catch, off the dribble, and off movement. While never a great defender, he has the size at 6’5, 220 to not be a target on that end. Additionally, while not a great playmaker or lead ballhandler, Bogi is good enough at both skills to be a focal point of second unit offenses, coming in top-six in Sixth Man of the Year voting two times. In short, Bogdan is a well-rounded offensive weapon who can both be more of a leading man when hot and fade more into a role player, floor-spacing style as well when not.

The question for the Clippers is whether Bogdan has much left in the tank. The numbers this year are very, very bad, and the sample size is large enough that it’s a concern whether he’ll be able to play at his former level again (at least this season). If he can, he’s someone who will easily fit into many Clippers lineups and will effectively take the place Amir Coffey had been filling so far as the 6^th man. If he’s more limited, he will probably fit in more to the KPJ role as the 8^th man.

However, it seems reasonably clear the Clippers did not really do this trade for Bogdan himself. Instead, they did the deal to move off Mann’s future salary to give themselves more financial flexibility in years to come (Bogdan’s deal is slightly less money than Terance’s, and ends in 2027 instead of 2028) as well as to get a few picks back in the door. The Clippers’ pick asset chest was nearly depleted, and these picks will help with replenishing that stockpile. To be more specific, the Clippers got the 2025 Timberwolves second (likely to be in the 47-52 range), a protected 2026 Memphis pick (will go to them if it’s between 31-42), and, most importantly by far, their own 2027 second round pick. That is the crown jewel of the lot, as it both gives the Clippers a real asset of sorts and will allow them to reap at least a small benefit of being bad if they are deep in the lottery that season (high second round picks are more valuable than late firsts, usually).

There’s one other wrinkle, here, which is the obvious: the Clippers sent out two players and got back just one, clearing a roster spot. This could be used in one of two ways. First, the Clippers could sign a buyout player – think Malcolm Brogdon or Ben Simmons as the two most likely candidates. Second, if the Clippers don’t get a buyout candidate, they can convert Jordan Miller from a two-way to a full NBA contract, locking him up for years to come at a cost-controlled value.

Overall, this trade is a pretty good piece of work by the Clippers. They got off longterm money (even if it was a fan favorite player), acquired a player with some upside in Bogdanovic who is on a slightly cheaper and shorter deal, opened a roster spot, and received some draft capital. It’s not a homerun, but it is a nice, B to B+ type move (similar to the Eubanks trade) that should give short-term and long-term benefits.

Best of luck to Terance and Bones in Atlanta, and welcome Bogdan to Inglewood!

Clippers Trade Bones Hyland and Terance Mann for Bogdan Bogdanovic Plus Picks
Robert Flom

The Clippers have made a trade, sending PJ Tucker, Mo Bamba, a 2030 2nd round pick, and cash to the Utah Jazz for Drew Eubanks and Patty Mills.

Tucker, who was on the books for $11.54M, has not played for the Clippers this season and has been “away from the team” since the start of the year. Bamba was signed in the offseason to be the Clippers’ backup center, but has been a major disappointment, averaging 4.6 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 1.0 blocks in 12.6 minutes per game across 28 games, but with eye test and impact far worse than those seemingly decent numbers. Bamba had clearly lost the trust of head coach Ty Lue, who has increasingly gone to small-ball lineups instead of playing Mo.

Eubanks was signed by the Jazz to a two year, $10M deal this past offseason (his deal is non-guaranteed next year) and has been their primary backup center. In 37 games played, Eubanks has averaged 5.8 points, 4.5 rebounds, 1.2 assists, and 0.9 blocks in 15.4 minutes per game. Both the regular stats and advanced metrics have Eubanks being a similar level of player to Mo (which is not great) but the Clippers will roll the dice on Eubanks being better. Prior to the Jazz, Eubanks played for the Spurs for 3.5 years, the Blazers for 1.5 years, and the Suns for a year, with his best full season probably being 2023 with the Blazers.

Mills is one of the most tenured and respected veterans in the entire NBA, a beloved veteran who won a championship with Kawhi Leonard on the Spurs in 2014. However, at age 36, he’s no longer a rotation caliber player. He’s barely played for the Jazz, and when he has, he’s been awful, shooting just 34.2% from the field and 29.8% from three. Any value he has at this point is purely as a locker room guy (which is still meaningful to some extent). Law Murray has reported Mills will stay with the Clippers for now, but that could change depending on the buyout market.

This trade, however, was not done for the roster players coming back, even if the Clippers might hope Eubanks is an upgrade over Bamba. Instead, this was done for tax and cap flexibility purposes. Eubanks makes over $6M less than Tucker, dropping the Clippers below the luxury tax and giving them real flexibility under the first apron. They also get $6.5M and $2.1M trade exceptions, per ESPN’s Bobby Marks.

The long and short of this means the Clippers will now be a major player in the buyout market. By remaining under the apron, they can now sign any buyout player, regardless of how large their previous salary was. They also have wiggle room to take on additional salary (in a Bones Hyland trade, probably) if they need to for another deal. The Clippers essentially paid a second round pick and some cash to get tax savings and bolster their roster flexibility entering the final trade deadline and buyout market. The Clippers do also still have the remainder of the non-tax MLE that they mostly spent on Derrick Jones Jr. to use as an enticing option for buyout guys to give them some extra salary above the minimum.

At the end of the day, this is about as unexciting of a deal as you can find in the NBA that involves actual players (the Suns trade with the Jazz entirely for picks probably takes the cake for lamest trade in NBA history). However, that doesn’t mean it’s a bad one. The Clippers did move off a real asset (their 2030 second) but the gains in flexibility are probably worth it. That’s not even counting any gains to locker room presence from Mills (if he sticks with the team) and a shot on Eubanks as an improvement at backup center over Bamba. Eubanks’ salary for next year is non-guaranteed, meaning that if he doesn’t work out, the Clippers can easily trade him this offseason or simply waive him.

Whether this trade has any real impact will probably be determined by the rest of the trade deadline and whether the Clippers get anyone in the buyout market, but it’s a decent move with some upside and minimal downside. Let’s see what the Clippers do next.

Clippers Trade PJ Tucker & Mo Bamba for Drew Eubanks and Patty Mills
Robert Flom

Free agency is just two weeks away, which means chatter is starting to pick up. On Friday, ESPN news breaker Brian Windhorst went on a show and said that the Clippers and Paul George are still far apart in negotiations. That part wasn’t new, but Windhorst did also say that if PG is through with the Clippers, he could pick up his player option and then be traded away. Following that path would allow the Clippers to get something back for PG and also enable him to have a wider market than just teams with cap space.

For trades, I only really considered places George might accept trades to/consider re-signing at. Thus, no Jazz trades. These are just rough outlines of deals that should work in the salary cap and make at least some sense for each team. I’m not strongly advocating for any of them and the deals are, again, just outlines, but I think there are some intriguing options here. Also, try not to be shocked at how little is coming back to the Clippers here – in these situations, the Clippers would have very little leverage, as PG would effectively be forcing his way out.

Trade 1: Kevin Huerter, Harrison Barnes, and Picks

Kings Reasoning: The Kings slipped this year after a fantastic 2023, and need a true 3^rd banana on the wing to complement De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis. PG would be willing to defer to those two as the primary playmakers while providing exceptional shooting, serving as an upgrade on defense compared to Huerter and Barnes, and adding additional creation and “bail-out buckets”. He’s a lot older than the Kings’ two stars, but Fox and Sabonis are in their primes and the Kings should be trying to make win-now moves.

Clippers Reasoning: The Clippers get younger and cheaper while filling two holes in their rotation. Barnes and Huerter are both signed for two more years, with Barnes’ deal being an overpay but not a crippling one, and Huerter on a fairly team-friendly deal. Barnes is not a starting-level player anymore, but he still adds size, three-point shooting, and veteran competence at the power forward spot. Huerter had a slight down season last year, but he’s an excellent three-point shooter who can do some tertiary creation and on-ball stuff. A Harden-Huerter-Kawhi-Barnes-Zu starting five would be pretty good, with Mann swapping in for Huerter or Barnes as needed for more defense/athleticism. The picks would be key – I think a good first, a well protected first/swap, and a couple of seconds is fair.

Trade 2: Dejounte Murray and Clint Capela

Hawks Reasoning: The Hawks have discovered that the Murray-Trae Young backcourt does not fit over the past two years, and this trade would effectively pull the plug on that. George is a much more seamless fit next to Trae Young due to his ability to play off-ball and take a high volume of catch-and-shoot threes. George is a lot older than Trae, and way older than whoever the Hawks select with the first pick, but Trae is in his prime and the Hawks seemingly want to win. Capela is well past his prime, and moving him would enable the Hawks to give Sarr or Clingan a big role if they’re select with that first pick.

Clippers Reasoning: I have questions about Dejounte’s fit with James Harden (maybe the Clippers let him walk in this case…) and his defense has slipped, but he’s a good player, he’s in his prime, and he’s on a reasonable contract for the remainder of his 20s. This trade would not fill the Clippers’ hole at power forward, but adding Murray could make moving on from other pieces easier. Capela is nowhere close to the player he was, but he’s on an expiring deal and is still a capable rotation center to plug in behind Zubac or fill in as a starter as needed.

Trade 3: Cam Johnson and Dorian Finney Smith

Nets Reasoning: I don’t think it’s good reasoning, but Joe Tsai and the Nets view Mikal Bridges as a star and want to put another star around him. Would that star make more sense if they were a guard or big man and not another wing? Sure! But this does get the Nets a star and give them a really strong pairing at wing for the next few seasons.

Clippers Reasoning: If the Clippers are truly trying to win now with Kawhi Leonard even with PG walking, I think this is the best trade of the bunch (even if it’s not my favorite overall). Johnson is an exceptional three-point shooter with size and plus defense who would be a great fit next to James Harden and Kawhi. Ditto for Finney-Smith, who would be a true power forward to help Leonard on bigger defensive assignments while still adding three-point shooting. A lineup of Harden-Johnson-Leonard-Finney-Smith-Zubac would be extremely well-balanced with shooting, defense, and creation, and would be mostly under control for the next three years. Johnson is 28 and DFS is 31, putting them right in Kawhi’s timeline.

Trade 4: Paul George and PJ Tucker for Julius Randle and Miles McBride

Knicks Reasoning: The Knicks’ run over the second half of the season showed this is now Jalen Brunson’s squad, and the Knicks found success in putting a certain type of team around him. Julius Randle doesn’t fit great there, but George does, largely due to his shooting and ability to play off-ball while still being able to add more creation than guys like Josh Hart or OG Anunoby. This move would re-center the team firmly around Brunson and make them more playoff ready (despite PG’s struggles in the postseason, he is infinitely better there than Randle).

Clippers Reasoning: Randle might be a playoff disaster, but he is a regular season floor raiser who could help keep the Clippers afloat when Kawhi inevitably misses time. He is also a bruising, old-school power forward who would add physicality and athleticism to the Clippers and help Kawhi shift back towards the perimeter. McBride had a breakout third season for the Knicks, with his combination of tenacious perimeter defense and three-point shooting being a huge boon for a Clippers team that lacked both of those items at time last year.

Trade 5: Bennedict Mathurin, Aaron Nesmith, and Isaiah Jackson

Pacers Reasoning: Adding Paul George to Haliburton, Siakam, and Myles Turner would make the Pacers a true contender, even though that core is way too expensive for Indiana and would probably have to be broken up after two years. In that window, however, they’d be one of the best teams in the NBA, with George adding even more spacing and shot creation to the best offense in the NBA while also bolstering their defense. Really, the Pacers’ willingness to pay up is the only question here.

Clippers Reasoning: I’m fairly low on Mathurin, but he’s still young, talented, and a legitimate bucket-getter who possesses real star upside with his size and athleticism. Nesmith is a bit undersized as a four, but he defends above his size well and is a nice 3 and D wing in today’s NBA on a very cost-effective deal. Jackson would help the Clippers get younger in the frontcourt and provide a stable, viable backup center option behind Ivica Zubac. The Clippers would remain competitive while getting the chance to roll the dice on Mathurin.

Trade 6: Cason Wallace, Lu Dort, and Kenrich Williams

Thunder Reasoning: The Mavs’ series revealed the Thunder’s lack of true lights-out shooting and scoring creation beyond SGA more than anything about their lack of experience or size. Paul George would add both of those qualities, helping the Thunder’s young core significantly while fitting in positionally next to Shai, Jalen Williams, and Chet. He’s on a different timeline, yes, but Shai is an MVP-caliber player, and it would be silly of Presti to not mortgage some of the future to try to win now.

Clippers Reasoning: This is a fairly light return (maybe a pick or two could be added), but the Clippers are not getting any of the Thunder’s Big 3 in a deal. Cason is the real prize here, a Second Team All Rookie selection who was a positive contributor for a contender at just 20 years old with plenty of upside to fill. Dort is one of the more overrated players in the NBA in my opinion, but there’s no question he adds toughness, defense, and regular season outside shooting. Williams is more of a throw-in, but is a deep rotation guy of the caliber the Clippers just did not have last year. Again, the Clippers would get younger and add real upside while still putting out a highly competitive roster next season.

Six Trade Ideas for Paul George
Robert Flom

The Clippers have already been linked in trade rumors to Jrue Holiday, and it seems very likely Jrue will get moved in the next week or two. But how would a Clippers trade for Jrue Holiday work?

Well, let’s first rule out Kawhi Leonard and Paul George as trade chips, as Portland wouldn’t want them and the Clippers need them to contend. There were PG trade rumors early this summer, but that’s not happening now, and certainly not for Jrue.

Now let’s consider the Blazers perspective. They just traded away their franchise superstar and are actively tanking. They also just went out of their way to get a starting center (DeAndre Ayton), and their three best young players are all guards (Scoot Henderson, Shaedon Sharpe, Anfernee Simons). All the reporting is that having gotten Ayton and with their stable of young guys, they’re mostly looking for draft capital.

Returning to the trade package, Norman Powell seems like a non-starter. He’s a guard, the Blazers traded him to the Clippers in 2022 because they regretted paying him his current deal, and he’s not on their current team’s timeline. This is important because the Clippers need to get very close to Jrue Holiday’s nearly $37M in salary for the deal, and Norm’s is the biggest salary of the non 213 group.

For assets, the Clippers’ young guys mostly don’t have a ton of value, and the second overall most promising of them by broad consensus, Bones Hyland, is positionally redundant with all of the Blazers’ young guys. That makes him an unlikely candidate to be in such a deal.

What we are left with is probably one of two options. The first is the Clippers sending all three of their veteran power forwards – Morris, RoCo, Nico – to make the salaries work, attaching any of the fringier young guys as needed (Moussa, Jordan Miller, Preston, Boston), and then putting in both the 2028 and 2030 first round picks. The Blazers are after picks, and with no blue-chip player/prospect (or anything remotely close for that matter), the Clippers would have to send both. Maybe they could put light protections on one or both, but it seems unlikely.

The second version of the trade would have Terance Mann in instead of one of the power forwards (the Clippers would presumably prefer to keep Nico) and sending over just one first round pick. The Blazers would honestly probably prefer the first scenario unless they really love Terance, as while he’s a good player and would fit next to their young guys, he is already in his prime and it seems like they’re in for a long rebuild.

I do think the Blazers would probably do either of these deals in a vacuum. There are now two follow up questions – can other teams beat this offer, and would the Clippers accept either of the deals.

The answer to the first question is yes. The Heat, Celtics, Knicks, and Sixers are the teams who have been firmly rumored to be interested in Holiday, and all but the Sixers have significantly more picks to offer than the Clippers. Whether any of them would send 3 first round picks is a different story, but the Celtics and Knicks in particular have the assets to do so.

The second question is murkier. Jrue Holiday is a fantastic fit next to Paul George and Kawhi Leonard, and would easily be the 3rd best player on the team as well as their best teammate in the 213 era. On the court, it’s great. There are questions though, as Holiday is 33, has a lot of miles, and has just one year left on his deal. There have been rumors he might retire, and if not, he’d probably want a massive deal. The former would mean sacrificing most remaining future assets for a rental, the latter would require committing the next four years to an aging core of Kawhi, PG, and Jrue.

To me, trading both firsts for Jrue (if both are unprotected or very lightly protected) is a tough pill to swallow. As much as I appreciate Terance Mann, what he does can largely be done by Jrue, making it a bit easier to send him out compared to a Harden deal. Whether that deal is enough for Portland remains to be seen, but if a Jrue Holiday to Clippers trade occurs, my bet would be something along the lines of Terance, Morris, RoCo, the 2028 pick, and maybe a swap or some seconds.

What Would a Clippers Trade for Jrue Holiday Look Like?
Robert Flom

Per Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports, one of the more plugged-in news-breakers in the NBA media (in the tier right behind Woj and Shams), has said that “Norman Powell is considered available for trade across the league” at the end of his free agent roundup this morning.

This is not surprising on its face. While Norm has been productive as a Clipper, he’s 30 years old, owed $57.8M on his three remaining years of his deal, and has not been very durable in his 1.5 years as a Clipper. The Clippers also have a ton of guards, with Paul George, Eric Gordon, Terance Mann, and Bones Hyland on the roster, Russell Westbrook presumed on the way back, and young guys like Brandon Boston, Jason Preston, and Jordan Miller all vaguely in the mix.

The question is what the Clippers could get for Norm. While he’s a highly capable scorer, Norm’s age, lack of playmaking, and declining defense make him much more of a bench player than starter – and 3 years at $57M is a lot for that kind of player. This summer has all been about cap savings moves, and unless Norm is traded for someone making more money than him over a long period, it seems that the Clippers would probably have to attach assets (albeit minor ones) to get off his salary.

What’s more interesting is whose name has not been mentioned: Eric Gordon. Marcus Morris and Amir Coffey were of course in the aborted Brogdon deal, Norman Powell has been mentioned here and on the Lowe post pod, and Robert Covington’s name has come up as well. But no whispers about Gordon, which is odd considering his contract for $20.97M becomes fully guaranteed tomorrow, and seems like a highly useful trade chip.

It’s quite possible that the Clippers would prefer to keep Gordon over Powell. Even though Gordon is older (he’ll turn 35 in December) and a worse scorer, he’s a better defender and passer than the score-first Powell. His contract also ends after this year compared to Powell’s two additional years of significant money.

However, if the Clippers can’t move Powell, they will once again have a massive backlog at guard which they will assuredly fix by going small – again. Trading (or just cutting to save a lot of money) Gordon seemed like an obvious play, yet 24 hours out from his money being guaranteed, there are no whispers of anything.

We will continue to keep an eye on Clippers’ trade rumors, but outside of this mention, all is quiet right now.

Norman Powell Considered Available, Per Jake Fischer
Robert Flom

The Clippers had one trade fall through already, but more trades are assuredly on the way. Some of Clippers’ fans favorite trade ideas didn’t come to fruition with the draft passing, but there’s still plenty of time to make deals. With that said, here are ten trade ideas for the Clippers in the 2023 NBA offseason spanning massive shakeups to minor deals.

Paul George Trades

Trade 1

Clippers Trade: Paul George

Blazers Trade: Anfernee Simons, Nassir Little, 2027 1^st round pick, 2028 1^st round pick swap, second round picks

Clippers’ Reasoning: This is a step back in top-end talent for the Clippers, but is a move to get younger and shake things up in a major way. Simons is just 24, is under contract at a reasonable cost for three more years, and is an incredibly dynamic shooter who can make up for a lot of Paul George’s offense. He’s not as well-rounded as a scorer or as good a playmaker, but he’s also steadily improved over his five years in the league and is still young enough to make further improvements to his game. Nassir Little has had a lot of injury issues in his career, and has not been much better than “replacement level” for the Blazers, but is just 23 years old and is on an extremely team-friendly deal for the next four years, giving the Clippers a young option to develop at power forward. This move would keep the Clippers as a contender-level team while giving them much greater flexibility and potential and replenishing their pick stock.

Blazers’ Reasoning: Paul George is a major upgrade over Anfernee Simons, but more importantly, he’s an infinitely better fit next to Damian Lillard. If the Blazers are serious about building around Dame, this trade puts them closer to the “contender” tier than they are now, even if they’d still have moves to make to really get in that conversation. With Scoot and Shaedon Sharpe around as hopefully building blocks for the long-term, the risk of losing picks in 2027 and 2028 is somewhat diminished.

Trade 2

Clippers Send: Paul George

Sixers Send: Tyrese Maxey, Tobias Harris

Clippers’ Reasoning: Maxey is young (turns 23 in November), an incredible shooter, a dynamic ball-handler who can get to the rim at will, and a fun and energetic personality who enlivens his teammates. He’s exactly what the Clippers have been missing, and while he’d be a fantastic fit next to George and Kawhi, it seems impossible the Clippers could get him without moving PG. The Clippers would get younger and more athletic in a flash while filling their long-term hole at point. Tobias Harris is hugely overpaid, but in the last year of his deal, and is a major upgrade over the Clippers’ power forwards. A Maxey-Mann-Kawhi-Harris-Zu lineup is still extremely good now and better positioned for the future.

Sixers’ Reasoning: If the Sixers bring back James Harden, as it seems like they will, they’ll be completely tethered to his timeline as a declining 34-year-old as well as Joel Embiid’s as a perennially injured 29-year-old. Paul George is a fantastic on-court fit, providing a much better pairing with Harden than Maxey due to his size and defensive capabilities as well as comfort playing off-ball. He’s older and injury-prone, but George alongside Harden and Embiid would probably make the Sixers Eastern Conference favorites if healthy.

Other Major Trades

Trade 3

Clippers Trade: Marcus Morris, Eric Gordon, Brandon Boston, 1^st round pick swap in 2027, 1^st round Pick Swap in 2029, top-5 protected 1^st Round Pick in 2028, and some 2^nd round picks

Bulls Trade: Zach LaVine

Clippers’ Reasoning: This is more or less an all-in move for the next year or two, clearing the Clippers of most of their remaining pick assets to put a true 3^rd star next to Paul George and Kawhi Leonard. LaVine is not the cleanest fit, as he’s another guy better suited to be a play finisher than playmaker, but he does add creation, athleticism, and incredible shooting. He’d be far and away the best player 213 has been alongside in Los Angeles, is just 28, and is under contract for three more years (PO in 2026) to help take more of the load as PG and Kawhi age. This would rocket the Clippers back into the true championship tier contention, giving them a similar Big 3 to the Suns but with much better depth, and giving them at least a shot against the Nuggets.

Bulls’ Reasoning: This era of Bulls’ rejuvenation is more or less dead on arrival. DeMar DeRozan is still awesome but aging, Nik Vucevic is almost 33 and the Bulls would have to pay him significant money to keep him going forward, and Lonzo Ball might never play again. None of their young guys look like anything more than role players. Trading LaVine would jump start their rebuild with a load of picks, clear the books beyond next summer, and provide an interesting prospect in Boston. The Bulls could possibly get a bigger return for LaVine, but those $178M over the next four years for an All-Star, non All-NBA player with injury issues will dampen his value considerably.

Trade 4

Clippers Send: Ivica Zubac, Nic Batum, Eric Gordon, 2027 Pick Swap, 2028 1^st Round Pick, 2029 Pick Swap, 2^nd round picks

Timberwolves Send: Karl-Anthony Towns

Clippers’ Reasoning: For all of his flaws, KAT is a true star-level player, a walking 20 and 10 on good efficiency while providing exceptional spacing as a big man. He’d be a fantastic fit on the court next to Kawhi and PG, helping alleviate some shot creation due to his abilities in the post while also stretching the floor for them to open up drives to the rim. While turnover-prone, he’s a capable passer and playmaker as well who could really help to juice the Clippers’ offense in numerous ways. He’s a defensive step down from Zubac, but is at least a very good rebounder and should be hidden at least a bit by the Clippers’ perimeter defense.

Wolves’ Reasoning: Towns is starting an absolutely insane 5 year, $255M deal. Not only is that an overpay for a 3^rd-Team All-NBA level player, but his fit in year one with Rudy Gobert did not look good. KAT is better and younger than Gobert, but Gobert is thoroughly untradable due to his age, declining play, and own monstrous deal. This move would clear off future salary, replenish the Wolves’ pick situation to some extent, give them the best backup center in the league in Zubac, and provide a couple solid floor-spacing veterans for Gobert and Anthony Edwards next season.

The Center Upgrades

Trade 5

Clippers Send: Ivica Zubac, Nic Batum, Brandon Boston Jr., 1^st round swap 2027, multiple 2^nd round picks

Cavaliers Send: Jarrett Allen

Clippers’ Reasoning: Allen is essentially just a better version of Zubac. He’s a superior finisher around the rim, a stronger defender, and a more dominant rebounder. Allen wouldn’t add new dimensions to the Clippers, but he would boost the defense and vertical threat on offense, which are two things the Clippers could really use. HE’s also on an incredible contract paying just $20M a season for the next three years. If anything, the Clippers might have to include some other assets to get him, and barring anything crazy, like multiple unprotected 1^st round picks, I’d probably add a bit more if needed.

Cavs’ Reasoning: While Allen is awesome, the Cavs probably need to reallocate their resources a bit to other positions, especially as Evan Mobley grows into more of a center. Ivica Zubac can do 85% of what Allen does for less cost and with an easier shift to a bench role if Mobley is ready for the starting center role. Batum is the connective wing and deadeye shooter they’ve needed at the wing. Boston is another bet on a young wing to hopefully grow into a long-term piece for them. And then there are picks to help replenish the stock diminished by the Donovan Mitchell trade.

Trade 6

Clippers Send: Ivica Zubac, Marcus Morris, Amir Coffey

Suns Send: De’Andre Ayton

Clippers’ Reasoning: For as frustrating as Ayton can be in terms of effort and the lack of physical dominance for a guy with his build and athleticism, he’s still a more productive player than Ivica Zubac. Ayton is a walking 18 and 10 without even being a focal point on offense, and he’s someone the Clippers could feed on offense to take the burden off of Kawhi and PG. Ayton is also just 25 and could still improve, especially in a different environment. His upside is simply much, much higher than Zubac’s, and he’s younger to boot. His contract is big, but he’s a good to very good player with still outside potential for greatness. It’s a clear talent upgrade, which the Clippers desperately need.

Suns’ Reasoning: The Suns have publicly had issues with Ayton’s effort for a while, and even though the team will look very different this season, it seems like he’s still someone they don’t really trust. More importantly, the Suns have massive depth issues, with really nobody around their Big 3 outside of Ayton and maybe Cam Payne. For as bad as Marcus Morris and Amir Coffey were last year, they’re still better than a lot of the options the Suns might get on the minimum, and do fit around the Suns’ stars as a floor-spacing forward and high-energy wing respectively. Zubac, of course, is the Ayton replacement, and a much steadier and more consistent option who will help keep the Suns’ defense at a respectable level. The Suns might want Nic Batum or Robert Covington instead of Morris, and I’d probably still do that deal.

Smaller Trades

Trade 7

Clippers Send: Eric Gordon, Draft Assets (multiple seconds or a future highly protected 1^st)

Hawks Send: De’Andre Hunter

Clippers’ Reasoning: The Clippers have wanted to get younger and bigger on the wing, and De’Andre Hunter accomplishes both goals. HE’s older than you’d think for a 2019 draftee, as he turns 26 in December, but that’s still younger than every Clippers’ rotation player from last year but Bones Hyland. At 6’8, he adds legitimate size on the wing, even if he doesn’t leverage that size much as a rebounder. He’s a decent three-point shooter and midrange shot taker who’s fine-ish defensively but doesn’t add playmaking. His 4 year, $90M contract kicks in this offseason, and he hasn’t been anywhere near that good so far, but there’s still time for him to put things together, especially on a new team.

Hawks’ Reasoning: Hunter has been a major disappointment as the 4^th overall pick. The Hawks are a perpetually cap-conscious team, and have a real desire to move off Hunter’s long-term money, even if they just inked that extension less than a year ago. AJ Griffin’s promising rookie season and the acquisition of Saddiq Bey also means they have plenty of other youth and options on the wing who will be cheaper than Hunter going forward. Eric Gordon is still a helpful veteran who could provide guard depth for the win-now Hawks or could be flipped in future deals as an expiring, while the picks would help grease such a deal as well.

Side Note: This same exact trade could be done for John Collins as well, and I’d like that one even more, but Collins is better than Hunter and has one less year on his deal so I’m unsure of how much it might cost to get him compared to Hunter.

Trade 8

Clippers Trade: Marcus Morris, Amir Coffey, Brandon Boston Jr., future 2^nd round pick

Wizards Trade: Monte Morris, Mike Muscala

Clippers’ Reasoning: The Clippers have been seeking a point guard to put next to Kawhi Leonard and Paul George for four years. Monte Morris is a guy who should fit quite well – he can play off-ball and shoot threes, but is a very capable ballhandler and playmaker who can run an offense. Most importantly, he doesn’t make mistakes, and is one of the very best players in the entire NBA at not turning the ball over. Mike Muscala is a veteran big man who has been a positive impact player for years, and adds a stretch element to the Clippers’ center rotation.

Wizards’ Reasoning: The Wizards don’t have much of a need for Morris with Tyus Jones, who is a slightly better version of Morris, especially with Delon Wright also on the roster. Mike Muscala is a rotation big man who they have no need for either. Doing those guys a solid and moving them to a contender in exchange for a cost-controlled younger wing in Amir Coffey and a talented prospect in Boston along with any minor assets needed (cash, 2^nd round picks, etc) is a fair exchange.

Trade 9

Clippers Send: Eric Gordon

Hornets Send: Terry Rozier

Clippers’ Reasoning: Terry Rozier fits a lot of what the Clippers have been looking for at point guard. He’s an excellent three-point shooter on high-volume, someone who can play off-ball and space the floor for PG and Kawhi. He also possesses an ability to create his own shot, though he’s not great at rim pressure. And, while he’s not an amazing playmaker, he’s a capable ball-handler and passer who doesn’t turn the ball over much. His defense has slipped over the years, but he’s someone who is capable of playing solid defense as well when locked in. His contract is bad and long, but the Clippers could use someone with his skillset.

Hornets’ Reasoning: Rozier is signed for three more years at significant money and is on a different timeline than the rebuilding Hornets. The Hornets get off his salary and receive a veteran in Gordon who can perform a similar role in the short term before being moved again later in the season for assets as an expiring.

Trade 10

Clippers Send: Amir Coffey, Brandon Boston Jr., Future 2^nd Round Picks

Knicks Send: Obi Toppin

Clippers’ Reasoning: While Obi Toppin has never been a big-minute player for the Knicks, he’s consistently made a positive impact. And, in fact, his lack of minutes has led to some unhappiness with his role, which should make him available this summer. Toppin is not nearly as good a three-point hooter as the Clippers’ current power forwards, but he adds vertical athleticism and sheer size in the frontcourt that the Clippers need. He’s also just 25 and is someone the Clippers could presumably re-sign to a cost-controlled deall for the rest of his prime if he had a good season.

Knicks’ Reasoning: Toppin is apparently not happy with his role, and considering how many big men the Knicks have, there really isn’t much room for him to expand his role. This isn’t a great return for a former top-10 pick, but Toppin has not produced at that level, and the Knicks get a solid depth piece on the wing, a young prospect in Boston, and other assets that they could use for a bigger move.

10 Clippers Trade Ideas for 2023 Offseason
Robert Flom

The big NBA news yesterday was the reporting that the Wizards and Bradley Beal are considering trade opportunities. Beal has been in rumors for years, but this is the first time something close to concrete is out there that he really might be on the move. The question for Clippers fans is – can the Clippers trade for Bradley Beal? And the follow-up: should they trade for Beal?

Can the Clippers Trade for Bradley Beal?

The short answer is yes. The medium answer is that it depends on what the Wizards want in return. The long answer is yes, but that it is convoluted enough to be unlikely. Let’s break it down a bit.

Bradley Beal will make $46.7M in the 2023-2024 season. The Clippers can get to that number easily with a few of their expiring contracts, but it’s not so simple. After trying trades through ESPN Trade Machine and Real GM trade checker, due to various rules about the tax as well as Beal’s 15% trade kicker, the Clippers would need to be sending out well over that $46.7M in salary. The issue then becomes the Wizards being able to eat all of that salary. The solution is to make the deal a three-teamer, with a team with tons of cap space (like the Spurs or Rockets) eating up some of the Clippers’ outgoing salary. An example of a trade that seemingly passes the CBA would look like this:

Clippers Receive: Bradley Beal

Wizards Receive: Eric Gordon, Marcus Morris, Brandon Boston Jr., and Jason Preston

Spurs Receive: Robert Covington, Amir Coffey

There would need to be other elements as well, as all teams need to “touch” each other in multiple team deals, so the Spurs would have to send something to the Wizards and vice versa, though it could be as minor as a highly protected pick or rights to an international player who isn’t ever going to come over. The Clippers would also need to send some kinds of assets (presumably minor ones) to the Spurs for the trouble of taking on the salary. This trade could also be adjusted to include Norm Powell instead of a couple of the other Clippers, but I doubt the Wizards would want to take on his long-term salary.

Before talking about the Clippers’ side of this, let’s discuss the Wizards. This seems like a shockingly low return for a player of Beal’s caliber – two aging veterans, one decent prospect, and one fringe prospect. To be clear, this probably wouldn’t be enough. I think the Clippers would have to attach at least one future first, though I think they could get away with it being lottery protected or at worst top-8 protected. Even that doesn’t seem like much of a return, because it isn’t.

However, Bradley Beal has all the cards here. He has a no-trade clause, which means that he can veto any trade the Wizards put forth – he can determine where he goes. If he wants to go to a contender, that limits his options considerably, and the Clippers are undoubtedly still in those ranks despite a disappointing 2023 season.

Additionally, Beal’s contract is onerous, and all the reporting from Washington is that they want to start a rebuild. Eric Gordon is old and mediocre and Marcus Morris is old and bad, but both guys are on expiring deals, meaning the Wizards get out of Beal’s long-term money, take the 2024 season to get a high draft pick, open up space for next summer, and add in two young prospects and a pick. Maybe it still isn’t enough, but this package probably isn’t quite as laughable as it seems. Because of Beal’s no-trade clause, he and his desired team(s) hold the cards, so the Wizards won’t be able to really get much of a bidding war going. For now, let’s just assume this package, or one like it, will be enough to get in the running.

Should the Clippers Trade for Bradley Beal?

Before diving into the specifics of the deal for the Clippers, let’s look at Bradley Beal. Beal is turning 30 in a couple weeks (makes me feel old), is under contract for the next four seasons at around $200M total, and last made an All-Star team in 2021. Beal has averaged at least 22.5 points per game each season for the last seven years, making him legitimately one of the most consistent high-volume scorers in the NBA. Beal’s scoring is also usually highly efficient (with 2022 being an exception) due to his combination of high-volume three-point shooting, free throw attempts, and scoring ability at all three levels. Beal is also a decent rebounder for his size, and is averaging over 5.5 assists per game across his last five seasons.

It’s not all sunshine and roses on the court, even leaving aside the contract. Beal’s a below average defender despite decent size and strength, and he’s not likely to get much better as he enters his 30s, though he could improve due to having less on his offensive plate. He’s also fairly turnover-prone, with an assist to turnover ratio that usually hovers around 1.5:1 – not awful, but not ideal either. However, worst of all for the Clippers are the availability issues. After three iron man seasons from 2017 to 2019, Beal has played in 57, 60, 40, and 50 games over the past four seasons. Even counting the fact that the Wizards more or less rested him down the stretch in several of those, and that two were shortened due to COVID, that’s not great. The Clippers are injury prone as is without another star who gets hurt frequently.

Now let’s look at the Clippers’ side of things. They have clearly needed a true 3^rd option after Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. Beal answers that. The Clippers specifically have missed consistent scoring and playmaking from other players on their roster since Lou Williams began to age out. Beal answers that. The Clippers, especially last year, looked old and slow and needed athleticism. Beal does not answer that. The Clippers also have too much depth and must consolidate their roster to solidify roles. Any Beal trade would accomplish that. Beal is not a perfect fit next to Paul George and Kawhi Leonard due to his injury-prone history and less-than-perfect playmaking. But he’s a massive talent upgrade and would give the team some much needed “juice”.

For this deal specifically, it seems that the Clippers are trading away half their roster. But look closer. Eric Gordon is already superfluous and would be triply so with Beal. Morris was awful last year. Boston is a promising talent but hasn’t actually done anything in the NBA. Preston has some solid G-League numbers but that’s it. Losing Nic Batum and Robert Covington hurts a lot, but they’re also role players in their mid-30s. Amir Coffey is a nice rotation piece who’s in his prime, but barely played last year and isn’t much more than a 9^th man. In short, this trade would gut the Clippers’ forward depth, but Beal would push Kawhi to the power forward spot anyway, so they’d just need to pick up a couple depth pieces.

Final Thoughts

I don’t really think the Clippers will trade for Bradley Beal. Multi-team deals (which this would almost certainly have to be) are always very complicated to pull off. Additionally, while I think the Clippers can get to a good, maybe a very good offer for Beal, it’s doubtful they have the best one, so Beal would need to have the Clippers top on his list (possible, not likely). Ultimately, most iterations of a Beal-to-Clippers trade I would do. I’d be leery of trading Terance Mann for Beal, and would be opposed to trading multiple future 1sts unless heavily protected. Overall, Beal is a star-level player who fits a lot of what the Clippers need and does seem like he’ll be available, so expect at least some sniffing around by the Clippers.

Can the Clippers Trade for Bradley Beal?
Robert Flom

As is 213 Hoops tradition, we do roundtable grades for all of the Clippers’ trades. First up at this trade deadline, the Clippers’ involvement in a three-team deal that sent Luke Kennard to Memphis, John Wall to Houston, and Eric Gordon to Los Angeles.

Lucas Hann: C+

On a sentimental note, I’m really happy to have EJ back as a Clipper, and I think he’s going to be more efficient and consistent than Reggie was this year in the “score-first ballhandling guard” role.  But his being a better scorer and slightly worse playmaker, when the Clippers would have ideally given up some scoring for additional playmaking, making me question the fit with Norman Powell (a very good scorer and very bad playmaker).  His strength will help him switch more effectively on defense than LAC’s previous guards.  Moving back in the 2023 first round is disappointing, especially to not get an ideal fit.  The return of three 2nds for Luke Kennard is a touch underwhelming but fine/acceptable given his play and contract.  I think Gordon is a slight upgrade in his role, but maybe not worth moving what is currently the 18th pick for the 28th.  The real x-factor here isn’t his play, but his contract–if the Clippers are able to use his large, team-friendly, non-guaranteed deal to make “the next trade” in June, then this trade becomes a big win. Otherwise, it’s far from bad, but doesn’t move me in a major way.

Ralston Dacanay: B

My immediate reaction to the trade was it’s going to be awesome to see Eric Gordon back in a Clippers uniform. Like many others, though, I do have some question marks about the fit, especially since Terance Mann has played great starting at point as of late. But, after listening to Lucas break it all down, it certainly makes sense that Gordon will likely be “Bledsoe 2.0” from an asset standpoint, since his contract is tailor-made to set up the Clips’ next big trade, so I’m just hoping to see EJ ball out for however far LAC is able to go this year. Seeing Luke Kennard go to the Grizzlies isn’t fun, but it has seemed like the right time to turn him loose and the fit for him over there isn’t particularly great either. Best of luck to John Wall, it just didn’t work out here.

Niels Pineda: B-

The prodigal son is back after over a decade!  While it wasn’t the most exciting move, it’s one that I’m overall pleased with considering the upgrade in talent and fit.  Losing Kennard’s elite 3-point shooting may hurt, but as we’ve seen with Norman Powell, being able to put the ball on the floor and score at 3 levels is incredibly valuable to a team that often becomes too reliant on 3 pointers.  On top of this, Gordon is the epitome of a team first player with a proven track record of offering valuable minutes in whatever situation he finds himself in–something that Kennard struggled to do with his inconsistent role, minutes, and aggression. This was a solid move that I think may end up being one of the more underrated moves in all of free agency, but it gets a knock due to the 8-10 spots (hopefully not more) the Clippers will likely fall in the ’23 draft due to the swap we had to include (please don’t make us all regret this).

Shapan Debnath: B-

I’ve talked myself into Eric Gordon quite a bit since attaining him via trade, even though I know he isn’t quite what we envisioned as a new Clippers’ guard coming in. LAC has often looked listless with a bunch of side-to-side halfcourt guys when Norm Powell has not been in the game, so having Gordon means that even when Norm is out, LAC has a bruiser at the guard spot that can get a paint touch with a bit of efficiency. He’s not going to solve setting up 213, and the downgrade in the first round with that Bucks pick swap is absolutely something, but the Clippers badly needed another north/south guy and I believe Gordon can be that. And, I’m just happy to root for him again.

Robert Flom: C+

This isn’t a bad move, and the value in moving down 10 spots, getting three seconds, and swapping Gordon for Wall and Kennard (effectively) isn’t awful. That said, it’s unexciting to me. Gordon is a better driver and ball-handler than Luke, certainly, and the Clippers need those traits. But he’s overrated on defense (I’d say about the same as Luke, though heftier), and is extraordinarily duplicative with Norm Powell in terms of skillset. Since Norm has been so good, again, that’s not a bad thing per se, I just do wonder how Ty will configure the rotations to keep those two apart. If one of them starts over Terance for that purpose, that’s a negative for me. In short, I think Gordon is more explosive and might help the Clippers a bit more this year than Luke (or Reggie, whose spot he’s really replacing), but I wish the Clippers had gone for a bit of a different skillset (more defense with size or playmaking, preferably).

David Mendez-Yapkowitz: C+

While Gordon is certainly capable of being an instant offense kind of player, as he showed with the Rockets, I’m just not sure he truly addresses a need for the Clippers. He’s another smallish guard – albeit strong – but he just doesn’t have the playmaking skills that ideally you would have wanted an incoming guard to have. On the positive side though, he does give the team another scorer capable of creating his own shot and perhaps being able to keep the Clippers offense from stagnating so much. He’s someone defenses have to pay attention to. He’s a consistent three-point shooter as well. Plus it’s always cool for a former player to return to where their career began.

213 Hoops Roundtable: Clippers Trade for Eric Gordon
Robert Flom

With things heating up around the NBA off-season this week, it’s time to really get serious about following all of the rumors and scuttle as we head in to Thursday’s 2022 NBA Draft–which is of course not only where we’ll (probably) meet the newest Clipper rookie, but the second-busiest trade day of the year behind the deadline in February.

I personally think it’s likely that the Clippers will be working a lot of angles trying to make a trade happen in the next couple of weeks. They have a (distant) future first available, too many solid veteran role players to fit into one rotation next season, and a significant incentive to try to add a third “star” (this guy might not actually be a “star” or All-Star, but someone who would be a clear #3 or #4 on this team) as they try to win the 2023 NBA Championship in what will hopefully be a healthy season for Paul George (32 years old) and Kawhi Leonard (turns 31 this month).

The problem with trying to approach this from an analysis perspective is that the question is almost too open-ended to tackle. George and Leonard are both elite two-way players who can play multiple positions, switch across 4 or 5 positions defensively, and initiate the offense or play off the ball. There aren’t very many high-end starters in the NBA who you’d look at and go “we can’t build a lineup around PG, Kawhi, and ________.” And the Clippers’ depth, even as they thin it out a bit in this kind of consolidation trade, is pretty well-suited to adapt to whoever joins the team. I love both Reggie Jackson and Ivica Zubac and I hope both are Clippers for a long time, but I wouldn’t have major reservations about moving either to the second unit if the Clippers got the right guy to upgrade their spot in the starting lineup. So, instead of coming up with a list of 5 or 10 names myself, I figured why not approach such an open-ended question by letting you guys pick the targets? I asked on twitter and here were your ideas:

The Illegal Ones

Okay, let’s start out with some basics about sign-and-trades, especially with regards to DeAndre Ayton, who I get a lot of questions about. Acquiring a signed-and-traded player hard caps you (sending a signed-and-traded player to another team does not). The hard cap this year (if triggered) is $143M, a number the Clippers already exceed by more than 20M before presumably big raises coming for Nico Batum, Isaiah Hartenstein, and Amir Coffey. To fit in $30M for Ayton and fill out the roster after the S&T, they’d have to shed about $60M in salary first. It’s just not possible–and the takeaway here is an important one: whoever we want the Clippers to target has to already be under contract. The same principle applies for the second trade, where Jusuf Nurkic (who is reportedly staying in Portland) would be signed-and-traded to the Clippers.

Poaching Pacers

Everyone wants to talk about Malcolm Brogdon this off-season, and it makes sense why. He’s a good but sub-All-Star player (i.e. gettable without a hefty price tag), versatile offensively and defensively to fit around stars, with trade value lower than his on-court value due to health (only 55 games played per season in his career), contract (a rather hefty $68M due over the next 3 years), age (already 29, limiting his market to teams that are good now), and team situation (the Pacers are probably leaning into stinking and being young for a little bit). He makes sense as a Clippers target because he’s a big, switchable, defensive-minded guard, but one wonders if his health woes and inconsistent three-point shooting (only 31.2% last season) make him slightly less attractive to LAC.

Another thing to consider is that adding Brogdon, who would presumably start at point guard, pushes Reggie Jackson to the second unit where he’d compete for minutes with Norman Powell, Terance Mann, Luke Kennard, and Amir Coffey. That’s… a lot of competition. Of the frameworks above, I think Francisco’s is best–Morris and Kennard (and perhaps that 2028 first round pick) outgoing, presumably with the younger Kennard being a piece for Indiana moving forward and Morris potentially going to a third team.

This is certainly an interesting one but to be honest, I’m just not that into Myles Turner. First of all, he’s a dreadful rebounder for a center (11.8 rebounds per 100 possessions vs Zubac’s 17.0 number), and he misses about half of his team’s games and spends most of his minutes floating around the perimeter being a below-average three-point shooter. He’s a massive athleticism upgrade over Zu as a rim-roller (if you can convince him to go into the lane and risk taking contact) and a much more mobile team defender and rim protector. As long as he’s on the court, he’s an upgrade over Zubac, but his availability and warts leave me thinking he’s still a guy Ty Lue would be benching down the stretch of key games. That’s not quite what I’m looking for if I’m going to give up that 2028 first round pick.

I’ve always liked McConnell as a backup point guard (the caliber of guy who you trust to help you win shifts all year but can afford to trim out of the rotation in the playoffs), and I wouldn’t rule out him being available for next to nothing this summer–he’s 30, the Pacers are rebuilding, and the three years remaining on his deal are probably something they could do without. Getting him into a TPE makes sense if things up the roster shake out where you might have a role for him (otherwise, Ballmer isn’t paying like $50M in tax penalties for TJ to be your 3rd stringer). Sending Morris into Indiana’s cap space makes little sense to me, though, since he’s also in his 30s and owed a lot of money, and absorbing him would require renouncing their bird rights to TJ Warren. I’m going with a no on this deal but a maybe on absorbing TJ McConnell into the TPE depending on what happens with the rest of the roster.

Kyle Kuzma

Kuzma is probably my preferred “realistic” target this off-season. He has really taken huge strides as a defender, he’ll only be 27 next season, and he really fits the Clippers’ style of play as a versatile two-way forward. I also love that he’s an excellent rebounder (he grabs more than Myles Turner) and can switch defensively, which will really help keep smallball lineups viable. He’s already won a championship in a significant role, which is a nice perk. It’s possible the Wizards don’t want to move him at all, since they want to have him alongside Bradley Beal and Kristaps Porzingis next season. But he’s going to demand a lot of money next summer and the Wizards have young forwards who they took in the lottery trying to get playing time.

I don’t think Luke Kennard for Kuzma is going to intrigue Washington straight-up, although the Wizards’ evaluation of Luke could be a big factor here. @Gespacho4All’s framework, which incorporates the “Morris to Miami for Robinson + 1st” rumor we’ve heard since the deadline, has been one of my favorites to toy around with the last few weeks. I’d also be receptive to keeping Robinson on the Clippers (despite his unfavorable contract) and sending Kennard to Washington, if they prefer. The downside is that trading Morris and Kennard to bring back Robinson and Kuzma doesn’t actually help much with the Clippers’ logjams.

Rudy Gobert

Rudy Gobert is another name that gets brought up a lot, with a Utah Jazz breakup this off-season feeling inevitable, and I get why. He’s been the most impactful night-in, night-out defender in the league for years, and the concerns that he’s “played off the floor” in the playoffs are mostly misattributed–teams go small and he can’t be in two places at once (both protecting the rim because his teammates can’t stay in front of a cone, and covering a corner shooter). When tasked with switches where he just has to guard a star perimeter player one-on-one on an island and not worry about covering multiple players, I actually find him impressive. My bigger issue is offensively, where he’s a substantial downgrade from Zubac. He takes fewer shots (despite being Utah’s highest-paid player while Zu is LAC’s garbage man), almost never scores outside of 3 feet, and is substantially worse from an assist/turnover perspective. Utah’s downfall with Rudy in the playoffs isn’t guarding smallball, but punishing it on the other end: he’s woefully ineffective in the post, even against smaller defenders, and his teammates have learned over the years to not even pass it to him when he has a guard sealed on the block.

The upgrade defensively is miles bigger than the downgrade offensively, but when I watch the Clippers, I am really hesitant to say their big move should be to get less offensive versatility from their center than they’re getting with Zubac. If you’re gonna go for it, though, @pm_aji has the right framework: it will take at least three of the Clippers’ medium-sized contracts to make the math work, and even including the 2028 1st might not be enough if other teams offer frameworks with stronger centerpieces.

John Collins

Collins was the most popular name to come up, which makes sense because he was the guy most clearly in Clippers twitter’s sights earlier this year at the trade deadline (when Brogdon wasn’t trade-eligible due to his recent contract extension). A legit PF with enough shot-blocking chops to cover small ball C minutes, he’s young, athletic, and versatile on both ends of the court. It’s never quite all come together (overall, he’s been a pretty poor defender despite seeming like he should be able to be an elite one), and the Hawks are in a strange place as an organization with lots of money committed to players who are good, but probably not quite good enough to take them where they want to go.

I’d love Collins and would give up pretty much everything the Clippers have to give up to make it happen (although trading Terance Mann would kill me inside), but we’ve been down this road before. I don’t think the Hawks are going to move a player of his caliber for spare parts and distant future so that the wheels can spin in the mud next year with Luke Kennard and Marcus Morris instead. If I had to guess, they view him as a centerpiece to package for an upgrade (maybe even Rudy Gobert) to re-shape their team around Trae Young going forward.

Miscellaneous

Jarrett Allen is great, and was an All-Star last year and I think a legitimate DPOY/All-Defense candidate if he hadn’t gotten hurt down the stretch, which hurt his candidacy due to games missed and plummeted the Cavs in the standings. He’s one of the big three of Cleveland’s young core (with Darius Garland and Evan Mobley) and I think he’s next-to-untouchable in trade talks. If they entertain anything for him, it would be to package for a bigger star, not to get a package from the Clippers.

This one is so boring that it might just be reasonable, though I think you would probably substitute another player in for Thybulle, who has just enough value and upside that the Sixers would probably hang on to him. I’d suggest Georges Niang, an only-fine veteran backup PF on an expiring $3.5M deal whose role would be entirely eliminated by adding Morris anyway. Green tore his ACL in the playoffs, so he’s done for most (if not all) of next season and turns 35 this week.

You’re basically just swapping Morris for some expiring dead money and a first, which actually might be better value than the Miami package (Duncan Robinson + 1st) that requires taking on long-term salary. The real question is what else the Clippers do. I don’t think they’re going to just cut Green, let Niang be a third stringer, and use the 23rd pick. Does that pick + Kennard + LAC 2028 1st do enough to get Washington’s interest for Kuzma? Now we’re talking.

We’ve got issues right off the bat here with Mike Scott’s inclusion. Would he agree to a sign-and-trade? Sure, but only because he’s probably not going to be cashing NBA checks next year and this gives him a free $10M. Bringing Buddy Hield in doesn’t move the needle for the Clippers and makes the backup wing logjam weirder since now there’s a guy making $20M, and pick #23 isn’t tempting enough to deal with all of that. The good news is that I can absolutely see the clear logic here for both Indiana (get a little younger/cheaper shooting specialist) and Philly (flip dead money + #23 to get a veteran contributor). But it doesn’t quite come full circle for the Clippers.

I’m a big Mike Conley fan and I think he would help the Clippers in spots, but at this stage in his career the defense is completely gone and the offensive burst is quickly deteriorating (though he’s still smart as hell with the ball and potent from three). I’d go as far as to say that if you assume Reggie Jackson’s efficiency is going to go back to 2020-21 levels playing off of stars instead of being the star like he was this season, Jackson to Conley is a lateral move or just a slight upgrade. Going one-for-one on rotation guys still leaves the Clippers with a crowded roster, too.

The Wild Ones

This is a pretty fun/ny trade that makes a whole mess of the Utah Jazz (between Lowry, Conley, Herro, Clarkson, Kennard, and Robinson, they’d be playing 48 minutes of 3-guard lineups with very, very little defense). Ultimately, I think Utah trades Rudy and keeps Donovan, although this is a helluva value for Miami (losing Lowry, who is old and had a dud first year there, and Duncan, who they want to dump anyway, to upgrade from Herro to Donovan Mitchell is wild).

(retching sounds)

This is a wild one to even think about, and of course it’s extremely imbalanced and unlikely. But we have seen in recent years that stars run the NBA and they control their own destinies. If the Nets spurn Kyrie and KD tells them he’s out and the Clippers are where he wants to go, then sure. Go ahead and throw in Terance Mann plus swap rights for other future LAC 1sts (it would be 2027 swap, 2028 1st, 2029 swap). I would guess that it’s unlikely, even by “star forcing his way out” standards, first of all because he has 4 more years on his contract, and second because if he did ask out and had any teams on his list besides LAC, they would for the most part be able to give more attractive packages back to Brooklyn. Combining the two, even if a team like Miami wasn’t on his list, they’d be happy to make a massive offer and then try to make it work once KD got there.

I think Timberwolves fans would yell and scream if you suggest this, but maybe it’s not that crazy. That team desperately needs to defend and I would say that overall, KAT and Gobert are pretty even. The Clippers, of course, give up a lot by adding in Norm and the 2028 1st, but if a guy like KAT becomes available you accept that the trade is going to cost you. It’s Utah who really get nothing out of this, just Morris (who is worse than their current PF Bogdanovic) and Zubac (a severe downgrade from Gobert) with no future assets. If things are truly so dire with Rudy’s trade value that that’s the best Utah can do, I think they’ll just keep him and try to make it work with Donovan, a new coach, and some tweaks to the supporting cast. But my intuition right now is that they’ll be able to get a good young player as the centerpiece of a return for Gobert.

Kind of like the Jarrett Allen trade, I think the Kings clearly indicated with the Tyrese Haliburton trade that they “chose” Fox and are hoping to have Fox and Sabonis be the stars of a squad that they believe can compete for a playoff spot. I don’t think it’s going to work, but it’ll be 1.5-2.5 years before the Kings front office gives up and they become available for trades.

Clippers Twitter Trade Mailbag: Reading Your Trade Ideas
Lucas Hann

The Clippers did make a trade deadline move after all, sending Lou Williams, two second round picks (2023 Portland, and their own 2027 per Andrew Greif of the LA Times), and cash to the Atlanta Hawks for Rajon Rondo.

On the face of it, this trade “makes sense”. Rondo is a battle-hardened veteran who has won two championships, and has consistently proven his mettle in big moments. There has also been chatter all season about the Clippers’ need for a point guard, and Rondo is nothing else if not a point guard.

Look a little deeper though, and the trade seemingly falls apart. Lou has taken a step back this year, sure, and his fit with some of the other Clippers has come into question a bit. However, Rondo has been maybe the worst veteran rotation player in the NBA this year, a completely putrid presence on both ends of the court for the Hawks. Moreover, what Rondo does better than Lou (pure passing, maybe defense) is not as valuable for the Clippers as what Lou offered as a shot creator and downhill attacker.

Many of the complaints about the Clippers of late are in regards to their ability to get to the basket and draw free throws – ways of creating offense that go outside of shooting jumpers. Well, Lou has taken 119 free throws this season in 918 minutes. Rondo has taken 2 (!!!!) in 402 minutes. The Clippers downgraded big time at one of their biggest weaknesses.

“But Rob”, you might say, “The Clippers are building for the playoffs, and Lou Williams has been bad in the postseason while Playoff Rondo is definitely a thing!”. And, well, that’s where the argument is for this trade. Again though, it doesn’t hold up great in actuality when put under the microscope. Despite individually poor numbers, the Clippers outplayed the Nuggets by a vast margin with Lou on the court in last year’s playoffs. Rondo’s numbers, meanwhile, were buoyed by unsustainably hot three point shooting in the infamous bubble setting, and any defensive numbers are tricky to navigate considering the Lakers’ overall dominance in that department last year. It’s easy to look good when playing next to the best basketball player of all time and a Hall of Famer in his prime who’s on-fire from all over the court while playing inferior opposition.

That’s not even counting the fact that Rondo is now 35, and has worsened from a really bad regular season player last year to one of the worst in the NBA this year, and there’s no guarantee he can raise his level again in the postseason. Rondo also played well in the playoffs for the Pelicans, but that was now three years ago, and outside of that he’s only played in four playoff games since 2012, making the “Playoff Rondo” situation a very small sample size.

Finally, outside of the individual players involved, this seems like awful asset management. Even if you think Rondo is a better or more reliable postseason player than Lou (questionable, as discussed above), giving up two second round picks (both of them decent) is a lot for a guy having as bad a year as Rondo is having, and who has another season at $7.5M on his contract while Lou was an expiring. Worse, there were other point guards moved today that are just better than Rondo (Delon Wright and George Hill) who were picked up for second round picks and salary filler as well – why weren’t the Clippers interested in either of them? Or Victor Oladipo, who was acquired by the Heat for the mere price of a poor pick swap and salary filer?

Ultimately, I don’t think the Clippers making this trade of Lou Williams for Rondo will have much of an effect. Rondo has a much lower floor than Lou, and while he has a higher ceiling in the playoffs, his best strengths aren’t really what the Clippers need. Giving away assets for a maybe upgrade for a guy with questionable locker room history (and awful on-court antics) for a Clippers legend is just very tough.

I haven’t talked about Lou much, really, because he deserves a much longer and more thoughtful goodbye than this rushed recap. The Underground GOAT has given the Clippers 3.5 years of mostly excellent play, entertaining basketball, coolness, and leadership, and he will be missed dearly. Atlanta is not a championship caliber team this season, but hopefully Lou can win won somewhere. And if the Clippers do raise a banner this season, the only former Clipper who deserves a ring is Sweet Lou.

Clippers Trade Lou Williams for Rajon Rondo
Robert Flom