LOS ANGELES – Paul George and the Los Angeles Clippers saw three of their teammates get traded ahead of the February 9th NBA Trade Deadline. Reggie Jackson was dealt to the Charlotte Hornets, Luke Kennard to the Memphis Grizzlies, and John Wall to the Houston Rockets.
In the trades, the Clippers were able to acquire Mason Plumlee, Eric Gordon, and Bones Hyland. The moves likely aren't enough to improve their championship odds, but they did add some interesting depth while getting rid of guards with the same strengths and weaknesses who struggled to crack the rotation all season long.
“I mean, it's always tough to go through trade deadlines any time,” Paul George said of the Clippers trades. “Every year, it’s tough. Obviously Reggie was one of the closest guys in the league to me. He’s one of my best friends in the league so it’s sad to see him go. Same for Luke. A great guy, great teammate, John. You feel for those guys.”
Reggie Jackson had his career rejuvenated with the Clippers under head coach Tyronn Lue. He averaged 12.8 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 3.8 assists per game in four seasons and 211 regular season appearances with the Clippers. Those numbers that don't jump off the page, but Jackson's emotional connection to this fanbase is something that can't be measured by any statistics.
“He meant a lot to our team as far as going to the first Western Conference Finals we’ve ever been in an organization in history,” head coach Tyronn Lue said of Paul George's good friend, Reggie Jackson. “Being a starting point guard and how that year he was in and out, being a starter, not playing coming off the bench and then being a starter the playoffs and how he took his game to another level. It helped us accomplish what we wanted — to win a championship with Kawhi going out, but making the Western Conference Finals. He was big in that.”
Luke Kennard was already a great three-point shooter, but he shot a career-high and league-leading 44.9 percent during the 2021-22 campaign. He had been over 45 percent this season prior to a recent cold streak.
“Luke Kennard, just a guy I loved,” Lue added. “One of my favorites. Just the development from the first year to the second year being the best three point shooter in the league last year was huge for us. And just continued, kept developing.”
John Wall signed with the Clippers in the offseason with the hopes of being able to rejuvenate his career. Unfortunately, it just didn't pan out and an abdominal injury effectively ended his season with Los Angeles.
“With John, he was great. I think he won some games for us this year with his pace, able to get downhill and attack and I don't think from a standpoint with John. I think it was tough because he didn't get a chance to play with a traditional big every night. Cause his advantage is getting downhill, making passes, hitting the bigs on the roller, hitting the roller as he gets downhill. And then also making the corner skips and passes like that. So when we had to play with that small unit, we really didn't get a chance to see the full John Wall.”
While Luke Kennard is expected to fit well with the Memphis Grizzlies, both Reggie Jackson and John Wall are expected to be bought out of their respective contracts and free to find new homes. Regardless of whether winning a championship or simply getting game reps, each one will have a decision to make.
“Hopefully they go to another situation where they can shine and thrive, But you talk about Reg and Luke who have been here the longest. They're going to be mean something within this group. We accomplished something that this franchise had never done. So you remember the good times that those guys were here. But again, hopefully they go to a great situation where they can shine.”
John Wall hasn't been linked to any NBA teams officially, but Reggie Jackson has reportedly garnered interest from both the Suns, and Warriors.
“They were a big part of the fabric of our organization,” Lawrence Frank said in a press conference Friday. “You never get numb to how painful it is to trading players. Just thinking about trading people is a tough concept. It is a whole lot more than brainstorms on the computer or widgets. These are human beings with lives, with families that you grow very close to, there dose to their teammates, people in the organizations so we want to thank Reggie [Jackson], Luke [Kennard], and John [Wall].”
There have been reports that Paul George and Russell Westbrook have interest in a partnership, but Westbrook is still a member of the Jazz and has yet to decide what to do with him.
Players who want to be bought out to sign with another team have to be released before March 1st in order to be playoff eligible.
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