LOS ANGELES – The LA Clippers sent PJ Tucker, along with guard Bones Hyland, home ahead of the team's final game against the Golden State Warriors in San Francisco. Tucker and Hyland are both expected to join the Clippers following the All-Star break, which concludes with the team's expected first official practice on Wednesday, February 21st.
This is just another development in what's been a frustrating season for 38-year old PJ Tucker.
Back in December, Tucker expressed his frustrations to ClutchPoints about not playing or being in the rotation.
“I feel like I still got a lot to contribute to a team to be able to win, whether that's here or somewhere else,” PJ Tucker told ClutchPoints in an exclusive interview back in December. “I know myself, my worth. I know what I bring. I know what I've brought. I know what I can continue to bring. And with that, I want to be able to go to a good team that I can be able to help that.”
With about two months left before the NBA trade deadline, the 13-year NBA veteran was hopeful to find a new home — preferably a contender where he could get legitimate rotation minutes while competing for an NBA championship. That didn't materialize at the deadline, which sparked even more frustration for Tucker.
“Coming here, you try to figure out the best way possible to be able to do what you do. But, you know, like I said, sometimes you see it and it ain't there. Sometimes you see it, but the team doesn't see it the way you see it.”
So, what does the future hold for PJ Tucker?
For starters, a buyout is not something under consideration for Tucker. The veteran is owed a little over $11 million for this 2023-24 season, as well as an $11.5 million player option for the 2024-25 season
“Nah,” PJ Tucker told ClutchPoints earlier this week about a potential buyout. “That’s not on the table.”
Head coach Tyronn Lue addressed the Clippers sending both Tucker and Bones Hyland home ahead of the All-Star break, saying he understands their frustrations.
“I mean it's a good thing because I played the game and I understand that you want to have competitors on your team,” Tyronn Lue told reporters at Wednesday's shootaround. “They want to play. And so when you try to get traded and it doesn't work out and you want to go to a place where you want to play, it doesn't mean they're not happy here, which they are. But they want to play, they want to compete.”
Tucker played in his first 12 games with the Clippers, averaging 14.4 minutes per game all off the bench. The team struggled to play at a high level during his time on the court, and a lot of it was due to a positional crunch. The Clippers went 4-8 in the games that Tucker played, including the six-game losing streak when he first arrived while registering a -8.9 net rating in 137 minutes. The Clippers desperately needed athleticism and shooting around Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, and James Harden, which is why they tried playing rookie Kobe Brown before finding something in Amir Coffey.
Tucker hasn't played since November 27th, and there's no expectation that he'll join the rotation anytime soon. In fact, Tucker, who has not been inactive for any of the Clippers' games this season, has rarely put his jersey on for almost 3 months while sitting on the bench. Since the trade deadline, Tucker has started wearing his jersey.
“When you've got guys like PJ, who have another year left on his deal, he can ride off into the sunset, he's 70 years old,” Lue added Wednesday. “But he wants to play, he wants to compete. And so you understand that you want guys like that. So the trade didn't happen, they're going to be here. So we’re just gonna give them a little time off, get their minds right and come back Oklahoma City and be ready to go.”
Still, Tyronn Lue said Tucker should remain ready to receive an opportunity as the season transitions into March and April.
Terance Mann and Norman Powell, the two players who sit to the right and left of PJ Tucker in the Clippers locker room, have credited Tucker with not letting his frustrations spill into the locker room and continuing to be the player-leader they need from the sidelines.
“PJ's been great,” Terance Mann said. “He's been great, he's always vocal on the bench, telling us what we need to be doing, what we don't need to be going. He's a great guy. He's not going to be selfish and take away from the team at all. So, you know, he's been great. I think a lot of defensive stuff, just being physical. He always taught me, move people off their spots and just being physical.”
“I played with PJ in Toronto for a season and I mean he's always been a great locker room guy no matter what's going on personally for him in his career,” Norman Powell added. “He's always given advice, always talking about the game and how we can win and improve, especially defensively. That's where he makes his mark. So I still joke with him on the things that he was telling me. He always gives me a hard time about some of the rotations. Like, ‘man, that's the same thing I was telling you when we was in Toronto. You're still doing it.' So he's always been good. He's a good vet.
“I know he is probably frustrated,” Powell continued. “He wants the opportunity and hopefully down the stretch of this second half of the season, after All-Star, he will be able to make a contribution. It's more on the coaches to figure out how to use him because he's really good, especially as an enforcer on the defensive end. I think when the game starts to slow down, especially in the playoffs and teams start to lock in, he'll be a good guy to go to and you need a big body to bang and be physical and take somebody out.”
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During the summer of 2022, James Harden and the Philadelphia 76ers worked to sign PJ Tucker as a free agent, eventually inking him to a three-year, $33 million deal. Tucker will be 40 years old at the end of his current deal, assuming he opts into his 2024-25 option.
When Harden signed the one-plus-one deal that summer, taking a paycut in order to help the Sixers facilitate roster moves to contend for a championship, the expectation was that James would opt out and receive a long-term contract the following offseason.
There were reports that Harden's malcontent with the Sixers began once they didn't communicate with him ahead of free agency, and there was reportedly no max contract offer. So while Harden’s trade request was documented, the same could not be said for PJ Tucker at the time.
A 13-year veteran who has spent time and won championships both in the NBA as well as overseas, PJ Tucker says he doesn't feel like this current role with the Clippers is something he has to endure because, unlike Harden, he never requested a trade.
“No, not necessarily because I feel like I shouldn't have to go through this,” Tucker told ClutchPoints regarding his status with the Clippers. “I didn't ask to be here. I didn't ask for and I didn't demand a trade to be here.”
In regards to Tucker being on the move, he made it very clear when asked if he ever requested a trade from Philly:
“No,” Tucker adamantly responded. “So, I don’t feel like it’s something I have to deal with. I don’t look at it as one of those things. When I was younger, struggling to play or trying to figure it out. I figured it out, I mastered my craft, and what I bring to teams. So, it’s something I got to deal with, yeah, but it is what it is.”
“So, I don't feel like it's something I have to deal with. I don't look at it as one of those things. When I was younger, struggling to play or trying to figure it out. I figured it out, I mastered my craft, and what I bring to teams. So, it's something I got to deal with, yeah, but it is what it is.”
Tucker's eventual addition to the James Harden trade package was puzzling, especially considering the different pathways that could've landed the Clippers James Harden while also retaining a respected veteran like Nicolas Batum or Robert Covington. But sources familiar with the situation who are not authorized to speak publicly said there was essentially no James Harden trade with the Clippers without PJ Tucker's inclusion.
The Sixers were determined to move off Tucker and his contract in any Harden trade, per sources, and some of the delays in getting a Harden deal done were initially because the Clippers were trying to find ways not to take his contract on, including potentially re-routing him to a third team. ClutchPoints NBA insider Brett Siegel reported on this and the James Harden trade in detail.
Ultimately, the Clippers were forced to give up Batum and take on Tucker in their deal to acquire James Harden. Tucker told ClutchPoints that being included in the trade was a surprise, especially since he was told by the Sixers' front office that he wasn't going to be moved.
“Yeah, and they still traded me.”
With a weeklong All-Star break to refocus on the Clippers, Tucker, who turns 39 years of age in May, still plans to show up to the gym early to get his work in and still plans to be the positive veteran the Clippers need.
“That's natural, regardless of what's going on with the front office. [I have] a responsibility to the guys to be positive. It's not their fault.”
“I'm 38. I know the game. I know what it takes. It's something that, like I can't get out of shape. I get out of shape, it might be over, I might get injured, all kind of shit can happen. We're older.”
A message from Tucker to those younger than him: “Kids, stay ahead of the game, stay in shape regardless of [what’s going on], in life, not just basketball.”
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