The Los Angeles Clippers, by virtue of the James Harden trade, gutted their frontcourt depth as they sent away three of the power forwards in their rotation to the Philadelphia 76ers. And then in Harden's very first game with the team, the Clippers proceeded to lose backup center Mason Plumlee to a knee injury, making LA's frontcourt one of the thinnest in the entire association.

Now, the Clippers have already made a move to rectify their lack of quality frontcourt depth, signing Daniel Theis after the German center agreed to a buyout with the Indiana Pacers. But before signing Theis, the Clippers looked into other options when it comes to infusing their frontcourt with some athleticism and rebounding. According to Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports on the latest “No Cap Room” podcast via RealGM, they reportedly pondered the possibility of signing Kai Jones, who fell out of favor with the Charlotte Hornets this past offseason.

Given the Clippers' lack of youth up and down the roster (or at least quality youth, as Kobe Brown, Moussa Diabate, and Amir Coffey haven't exactly earned the trust of the coaching staff), acquiring Jones could have been a good shout for the team. Jones is only 22 years old, and he has been one of the best athletes in the league over the past few seasons — he's the first player to posterize Victor Wembanyama after all.

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Nonetheless, there, of course, are concerns surrounding Kai Jones off the court. This offseason, Jones landed in hot water when he went live on Instagram while appearing to be on some sort of substances, and his evaluation of his own abilities has made him look very delusional. Moreover, Jones also took a few shots at his Hornets teammates, so signing him doesn't come with any risks for the Clippers or any other prospective suitor.

Be that as it may, the Clippers still devoted one of their open roster spots to Josh Primo, another player who has a checkered past off the court, so it's not like the team is being risk-averse. Perhaps they saw Daniel Theis as the overall better option given how well he performed for gold medal-winning Germany during the 2023 FIBA World Cup.