LOS ANGELES – The LA Clippers pulled off their big move of the 2022 NBA trade deadline, acquiring Norman Powell and Robert Covington in a trade with the Portland Trail Blazers. NBA legend and Clippers consultant Jerry West couldn't be more excited at the young forward's potential.

On Wednesday, the Clippers held an event at their future home, the Intuit Dome, or, at least where it will be. The organization broke ground on the Inglewood, CA arena back in mid-September, and in only five months, construction crews have made tremendous progress on the stadium.

Following the event, which saw Jerry West speak alongside Mayor James T. Butts, the Hall-of-Famer and NBA logo took questions from members of the media. Among the things discussed was the newest acquisitions Norman Powell and Robert Covington, as well as another potential move.

“We need a team that can go out there and beat any team in the league on any given night both at home and on the road,” Jerry West said Wednesday. “It's been a very difficult year for a lot of teams, but losing two players of the caliber of Kawhi Leonard and Paul George certainly makes it a lot more difficult. You learn more about the players we have. How can we get better?

“I think we took a step the other day in acquiring Norman Powell, which we think will pay dividends because he did play with Kawhi when they won a championship and he's just a terrific player. We're hopeful that our general manager and Lawrence Frank will be able to go in there and find a way to get another player that'll really make a difference going into next year.”

The comment took a few people by surprise, but the idea of the Clippers making another deal shouldn't be surprising at all. At this point, Serge Ibaka feels like he could be on his way out, but nothing is imminent at this time.

Jerry West believes that part of building a championship team is never stopping to improve. Fresh off their Conference Finals appearance, West and the Clippers landed Norman Powell and Robert Covington to bolster the depth on this team whenever Leonard or George return.

” I think for sure [we're championship caliber],” West added. “Last year, we went to the Conference Finals, and Kawhi didn't play. Maybe a couple plays away from being in the championship round. But we didn't get there and it makes it incumbent on the front office and the players to want to get back to that position again and not succumb to all the pitfalls that goes into players not playing and hopefully we'll have a normal year for the whole league.”

With Powell on board, as well as two healthy stars for next season, West is optimistic about the fit and how far they'll be able to go.

“We have two top dogs. He played with Kawhi and winning a championship. But on his own, this guy is capable of averaging over 20 points a game if he were a volume shooter. But he's just a good all around player and a great person to go with a lot of great people we have here already. We hopeful they'll pay dividends.

“Anytime you make a trade at this time of year, and obviously, this is not the most powerful team in the league, but what we wanna do and in particular what the front office wants to do, they wanna be more competitive than we are. But like I said, for all the teams in the league, it's like you'd like to forget this year. There's gonna be a champion. Who knows who that might be.”

The Clippers expect to have their Intuit Dome ready for the 2024-25 season. In the meantime, they'll play their final few years out at Staples Center, as a third tenant behind the LA Kings and the LA Lakers.