The trade that sent Tobias Harris, Boban Marjanovic and Mike Scott to the Philadelphia 76ers for Landry Shamet, Wilson Chandler, and Mike Muscala along with a cornucopia of future picks was meant to set “realistic expectation” for a franchise who as of now, is battling to hold onto the last playoff spot in the West, according to ESPN Insider Bobby Marks.
The Clippers could well miss out on going to the postseason with the assets they had before the trade, and locking up a promising rookie, future assets along with some expiring contracts sets them up to be big players in free agency.
L.A. was jostling for position with the Utah Jazz for the seventh spot, but finds itself only a game ahead of the fast-chasing Sacramento Kings and 2.5 games over the struggling Los Angeles Lakers, who could make a last-minute push with LeBron James as the leader.
Trading Harris, the team's leading scorer whom the team reportedly intended to re-sign over the summer, could have been a gamble of sorts for the Clippers, after a rousing start to the season and a sudden decline in the past two months.
Yet L.A. has successfully set the franchise as another with the cap room necessary to sign two max-level free agents and have the youth and flexibility to hone their young players into a support role.
The Clippers did not simply give their best player away, but rather set their sights in something grander, giving them a surefire chance to take a shot at free agents like Kawhi Leonard and Kevin Durant over the summer.
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