The Los Angeles Clippers just ended a disappointing season. The 2021-22 season for the Clippers was mostly marred by injuries, but it is still one year of the Paul George-Kawhi Leonard duo wasted. Their championship window is shrinking and due to assets that they lost, mostly through the George trade, the Clippers need to think fast. There is virtually no cap space to be played with, so the only avenue of improvement for the Clippers will be trades. In that vein, let's look at two unrealistic trades the Clippers must try to make in the 2022 NBA offseason.
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Unrealistic Clippers Trades In 2022 NBA Offseason
Clippers get Kyrie Irving; Nets get Luke Kennard, Norman Powell
There are two important things to keep in mind with this deal. For this to happen, Irving would have to opt into his current contract, as the cap situation in the Clippers is not ideal. Additionally, with Irving opting in, the Clippers, if they do this deal, would pay a ton in luxury tax, as they would be around $25 million over the tax burden. Also, it is important to mention that the Clippers have hinted towards straying away from a Kyrie Irving trade, despite Irving reportedly putting them on his list of preferred teams. However, we could see the sense for both sides in this deal.
For the Clippers, it is more than obvious – Kyrie Irving is a world-class player. On his day, Irving is a top-five player in the NBA, due to his immense offensive talent. Even if we take into account all his flaws, on and off the court, Irving is worth any tax payments and loss of significant depth. When we pair this up with the fact that Leonard and George should be entering the season healthy, we come to the conclusion that this deal could make the Clippers massive favorites for the NBA title. One more bonus would be getting one over the Lakers, who are also reportedly interested in Irving. It just makes too much sense for the Clippers not to entertain this idea.
For the Nets, it is about extracting value out of a poor situation. The contract talks with the Nets star have stalled and Irving leaving is imminent. With this deal, the Clippers could provide the Nets enough incentive to make a quick deal, if they are able to convince Irving to opt in. Coming back to the Nets side, losing Irving for free after everything that was invested in this team would be heartbreaking and while both Powell and Kennard play a similar role to Joe Harris, who is due to get back healthy, they are both great pieces, either as players or as possible trade assets. The Nets could flip them further to strengthen the roster and to make a better case for Kevin Durant to stay, something unlikely to happen if Kyrie is a goner.
Clippers get D'Angelo Russell; Timberwolves get Marcus Morris, Norman Powell
While trading away Norman Powell does seem counterintuitive since they did sign him for a large extension recently, the Clippers might be inclined to go for a third star. Russell is not a star in the conventional sense, but he did lead an unlikely Nets roster to a playoff appearance just a few years back, and he has been great at times for the Timberwolves. With the roster as it is currently set up, the Clippers really do not have a true point guard, and while Russell is not a pass-first guy, he would be an upgrade. Let's look at both sides and why this trade works.
For the Clippers, this is a no-brainer. It gives them financial flexibility, something they sorely need with two gargantuan deals on their books, and a shot at a more conventional setup. Russell is not a pass-first guy, as mentioned above, but he did average a career-high 7.1 assists last season, playing for the Timberwolves. Losing Powell and Morris would be hard to take for the Clippers' depth, but there are a lot of solid options in the market this season, so they could use free agency to fulfill that, especially since they have an MLE available to them this summer. If it falls through, they can always get rid of Russell in the summer and use some of the cap space to get some new players in.
For the Wolves, this deal with the Clippers makes sense because it does two things. Firstly, it gets them more depth, as both Morris and Powell are great rotational pieces and can be utilized in a myriad of ways. Secondly, by trading away Russell, they are giving the ball almost fully to Anthony Edwards, which he has earned with how he played in the postseason. With the duo of Karl Anthony Towns and Edwards, the Timberwolves really just need depth around them and this would be the move to get a lot of good players in. They do sacrifice some long-term financial flexibility, but the Wolves were never a huge free agent draw anyway, so having a ton of cap does not mean a lot.
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