The Los Angeles Clippers have been one of the most pleasant surprises in the NBA this season. Well, maybe that should be “had” been, as the Clippers have kind of come crashing back down to earth lately. Still, the Clips, considered to be a sure-fire lottery team by most people coming into the 2018-19 campaign, currently own a record of 28-24 and sit in eight place in the Western Conference standings.
How long will it last? Probably not much longer, as LeBron James just returned to the ninth-seeded Los Angeles Lakers, but hey; the fact that the Clippers are even contending for a playoff spot speaks volumes.
That being said, even with how well they have been doing this year, the Clippers have some holes that need patching. Better yet, they have some pieces they need to trade.
Let's face it: Los Angeles probably is not going to make the postseason, and it would actually benefit the franchise to miss the playoffs, because if the Clips do get in, the Boston Celtics will get their first-round draft pick. If the Clippers land in the lottery, their draft choice is safe.
So, yeah; it would really behoove the Clips to lose the rest of the way. I mean, it's not like this team is going to make any noise if it does ultimately make the playoffs, anyway, and while it would be a nice experience for the team's young guys, I would prioritize the draft pick over a first-round sweep.
We know about the Clippers' young talent. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has been very impressive during his rookie campaign, looking beyond his years. Montrezl Harrell is simply a beast up front and is versatile enough to guard multiple positions. Jerome Robinson is also interesting as a potential two-way stud.
Tobias Harris? We pretty much know what he is at this point, but sure; he's a solid player.
But guys like Marcin Gortat, Avery Bradley, Lou Williams and Patrick Beverley? They are players who will have no place on this team moving forward, and the Clippers should act accordingly.
All of those guys have trade value. Plenty of teams could use a tough big man like Gortat up front to help with rebounding and interior defense, Bradley and Beverley are tenacious perimeter defenders and Williams is a microwave scorer who can really bolster a contender's offense.
If the Clippers are smart, they will do whatever they can to re-home most—if not all—of those guys by the Feb. 7 trade deadline in order to get some assets back in return and to ensure that they do not make the playoffs this season.
Make no mistake: those players have value, with most of them either being on good contracts or representing expiring deals.
Of course, Gortat is making $13 million in the final year of his contract this season, so he might be difficult to move, but Bradley, Beverley and Williams aren't going to hurt anyone's wallets.
Let's also remember that the Clippers are going to have ample cap space this summer, enough to sign two max free agents. So, the more assets they obtain, the more lethal they can potentially be in the future. They may be the Clippers, but they still play in Los Angeles, which is why we have heard countless rumors about Kawhi Leonard looking at the Clips as a top destination in free agency this coming summer.
Imagine if the Clippers land an impact player in the lottery this June and pair him with Gilgeous-Alexander, Harrell, Robinson and Harris, and then Kawhi and Kevin Durant come in July. That team would be a force to be reckoned with for quite some time.
The key for Los Angeles should be acquiring as many pieces for the future as possible while also not sabotaging its cap room this summer. A tall task, sure, but not one that is impossible with smart, shrewd decision-makers.
This season really means nothing to the Clippers outside of making sure they get that draft pick. Making the playoffs would do nothing but negatively effect the team going forward, and I'm sure the front office understands this.
Of course, Los Angeles is probably going to look very different come October 2019 than it does now, because there is a legitimate chance it will have two max players on its roster, but it isn't October yet; it's only February, and the Clippers are still, well, the Clippers until we get to that point.
So, if the Clips are thinking about buying between now and Feb. 7, they are crazy. This should be all about liquidating whatever veterans they have on the roster in an effort to build for the future.
In a couple of years, the Clippers might be really, really good, and what they do this trade deadline could go a long way to making that possible.
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