When the Los Angeles Clippers acquired PJ Tucker from the Philadelphia 76ers in the trade that brought in James Harden, it was assumed that Tucker would have a spot in the Clippers' rotation and would fit their switch-everything ethos to a tee. Over a month into his Clipper tenure, however, that has not been the case. In 12 games with the Clippers, Tucker has scored 14 points. Not that he has ever been known as a scorer, but Tucker's reluctance to shoot has played a role in the Clippers benching him for rookie Kobe Brown.
PJ Tucker doesn't seem to like that recent development too much. Shams Charania of The Athletic has reported that Tucker has ‘expressed frustration' with his role, or lack thereof, with the Clippers and that both he and the Clippers are ‘discussing ways to resolve a role for him there or elsewhere.' It would be hard to forecast Tucker having a role with the Clippers without an injury if he doesn't have one already, so a trade or buyout would make the most sense. The question then becomes: where is the best place for Tucker to go in the event of a trade or buyout?
Milwaukee Bucks
Because PJ Tucker makes less ($11 million) than the standard non-tax mid-level exception ($12.2 million) for the 2023-24 season, he'd be eligible to sign with a team that has a payroll above the luxury tax. That's important if a reunion with the Bucks is possibly in the cards because the Bucks simply don't have many trade pieces left. They have only two future second-round picks they can trade away, so if they're going to improve their team, it'll have to get done via the buyout market. If the Clippers end up buying Tucker out, Milwaukee would make a ton of sense for both parties for a few reasons.
For one, as mentioned earlier, Tucker has already played with the majority of this Bucks core sans Damian Lillard and was a big part of their championship back in 2021. The Bucks have plenty of shooting and shot creation, so should be able to get by with Tucker chilling in the corner and making the occasional corner three.
But the Bucks also need defense on the wing. Tucker is not the defender he once was, but he still takes the challenge of defending the opposing team's best player. The Bucks currently rank 22nd in the league in defensive rating. The only credible wing defenders they really have are Jae Crowder, who is hurt at the moment, and MarJon Beauchamp, who is only in his second season as a pro. Tucker could really help the Bucks if he could find a way to get there.
Dallas Mavericks
The Mavericks essentially provide the same case for PJ Tucker outside of a previous stint with their team. They have plenty of shooting to get around Tucker's lack of shooting and have two of the best shot creators in the NBA in Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving. But they also need defense. Remember Milwaukee's defensive rating? Well, the Mavs are one spot below them in defensive rating so far this season.
Dallas prioritized defense in the offseason with every move they made. Sign-and-trading for Grant Williams, signing Derrick Jones Jr. and Dante Exum, and drafting Dereck Lively II and Olivier Maxence-Prosper were all geared to improve Dallas' defense. That hasn't quite happened yet. Last season, Dallas gave up 116.1 points per 100 possessions according to NBA.com. This season? They're at 115.7. They still could use some help there. Tucker would be just that.
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