Subscribe
Follow Us
Recently, the Los Angeles Clippers raised some eyebrows by signing free agent Bradley Beal shortly after he was bought out of his previous contract with the Phoenix Suns. Beal effectively gives the Clippers a replacement at the guard position for the recently-traded Norman Powell and adds more scoring depth to a roster that has several key injury concerns.
Recently, Beal's agent Mark Bartelstein broke down what it was about the Clippers that made them such an enticing destination, hinting at why things didn't go according to plan with the Suns in the process.
“If you have Brad Beal on your team, you have to let him be Brad Beal. Otherwise, it doesn’t make sense and you’re not getting the best version of him. That’s what I think is going to happen here with the Clippers,” he said, per Mark Medina of Sportskeeda.
What is the Clippers' ceiling?
Of course, the Clippers didn't come out of the Norman Powell trade empty-handed, as they were able to acquire Utah Jazz high flyer John Collins in the process to help their big man depth. That addition, coupled with Beal, should give the Clippers one of the deeper rotations in the vaunted Western Conference entering next season.
Last postseason, the Clippers exited in the first round after a hard fought series against the Denver Nuggets that went the full seven games. They have since extended the contract of James Harden and are hoping that Kawhi Leonard avoids any injuries this offseason as he continues to age.
While they aren't exactly spring chickens, the Clippers have a considerable amount of talent on their roster when healthy, and they also theoretically have the ability to beat teams in a variety of ways, either going big around talented center Ivica Zubic, or going small, with Beal flashing the ability to play the small forward position for spurts at times during his career.
Of course, health and continuity are the two biggest caveats here, and those things were total failures during Beal's time with the Suns. It remains to be seen if the City of Angels will give him a chance at redemption.
