Gone are the days of NBA Big Threes. With Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, Anthony Davis and LeBron James, Russell Westbrook and James Harden, among others, the landscape of the league has transitioned from star trios to star duos.
Prior to the season, a rumor derived from an article written by ESPN's Zach Lowe mentioned that one of the NBA's newest and most exciting duo's — Leonard and George could be candidates to add a third member — Washington Wizards shooting guard Bradley Beal
For a team like the Clippers, adding a top-tier talent like Beal was at the very least, incredibly intriguing. Beal is one of the best two guards in the NBA. The eighth pro is currently averaging a career high 28.5 points, 7.1 assists and 4.5 rebounds but is wasting his talent away on a non-competitive Wizards team.
Unfortunately for the Clippers, Beal agreed to a two-year, $72 million dollar extension effectively taking him off of the trade market
On paper, a trio of George, Leonard and Beal would have been one of the best in recent memory. On the other hand, the Clippers currently sit at 13-5 and third place in an incredibly tough and deep Western Conference. It's still early in the season but with George just recently returning from injury, it's clear the Clippers are title contenders just as many thought they would be prior to the season.
A trade for Beal would have likely moved Leonard to the three and George to power forward. The NBA, in recent years, has gone towards “small ball” so that may not be a problem but with the Clippers trading away the majority of their future draft picks, the cost of someone like Beal might be too much — something Lowe mentions in his article.
“The Clippers don't have the draft assets for such a trade, but but I wonder how they would feel about a theoretical package of Patrick Beverley, Montrezl Harrell, Landry Shamet and Mfiondu Kabengele — leaving a thin and aging roster Beal, Leonard and George,” Lowe said.
The Clippers have one of the most talented and deep benches in the entire league with the second unit averaging a league-leading 51.7 points per game so getting rid of that advantage for another star like Beal likely would have do more bad than good.
Plus, the Clippers have already been one of the best offensive teams in the league so far this season while also ranking in the top ten in defensive rating so it's not like they needed the influx of offense that Beal would provide.
It already seems like the Clippers, if they stay healthy, will end the season as one of the top teams. As they say, “if it ain't broke, don't fix it.” A trade for Beal would've obviously been exciting and might've made the Clippers better on paper but at the same time, such a trade would've likely diminished the team's biggest advantage and possibly harmed the strong chemistry already evident from this year's team.
Obviously hindsight is 20/20, and Beal is obviously an incredible talent, but it seems like the Clippers made the right decision sticking with a dynamic duo rather than big three.
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