Kawhi Leonard and the Los Angeles Clippers have had an eventful but overall disappointing offseason so far after their first round playoff exit vs the Dallas Mavericks this past spring. The biggest move was not an acquisition but rather the departure of Leonard's long time running mate Paul George to the Philadelphia 76ers, and although the Clippers have made a few smart signings on the margins, it's looking less and less likely that they will be able to keep up in an increasingly crowded Western Conference playoff picture.
The team did manage to resign point guard James Harden to an extension after what was a mostly successful first year for him in the red and blue, but the team is still going to be missing a major scoring kick that George provided during his five years with the franchise.
Thus, it makes sense that the Clippers brass would be interested in potentially pursuing some targets on the trade market to help shore up this discrepancy and give Los Angeles more firepower on the offensive end of the floor. One of those players could reportedly come from an Eastern Conference teams that sure seems to be in the midst of a firesale this offseason.
“NBA people still feel like if there's a place Zach LaVine could end up going to – either before the season or at the deadline – don't rule out the Clippers,” reported NBA insider Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times on X, the social media platform formerly referred to as Twitter.
The Bulls have already traded Alex Caruso and (technically signed and traded) DeMar DeRozan so far this offseason, with names like Nikola Vucevic and Lavine being sensible candidates to be moved next. Thus far, Lavine's contract and storied injury history have made other teams hesitant to give up much for his services, but for a Clippers squad that is running out of options and doesn't have much in the way of a youth movement, it might be worth the gamble.
How much would Lavine elevate the Clippers?
When healthy, Zach Lavine remains one of the most talented pure scorers in the NBA, capable of going for 40 or even 50 on any given night, and still possessing otherworldly athleticism despite being on the wrong side of 30.
The downside, besides just his not so team friendly contract, is the fact that he offers next to nothing on the defensive end of the floor, which would be a major problem for a Clippers squad that already has James Harden–not exactly a defensive stopper in his own right–in the backcourt and lost their second best defender in George this offseason.
Of course, Leonard in theory should make up for this in some capacity, but the unreliability of his health makes it so that the Clippers would be playing with point of attack defensive fire if they decided to make Lavine and Harden their full time backcourt.
In any case, the Clippers still have a lot of decisions to make before the 2024-25 NBA season gets underway in October.
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