Ranking Clippers' Top Trade Targets After 2023 NBA Playoff Loss
The Los Angeles Clippers spent most of the 2022-23 NBA season waiting to have their full roster intact.
It never really happened. Not when it would have mattered the most, at least.
Before the playoffs even tipped, they lost Paul George to a right knee sprain. The Clips then lost Kawhi Leonard to a right knee sprain after they split a pair of games with the Phoenix Suns in their first-round matchup.
L.A. received better-than-expected production out of Russell Westbrook but couldn't overcome George and Leonard's absences. The Clippers ultimately fell well short of their championship aspirations yet again after the Suns won Games 3-5 for a 4-1 series victory.
So, what now?
Theoretically, the Clippers could explore blowing things up and starting over. After all, both Leonard and Geroge hold player options for 2024-25, meaning next season is the last guaranteed one on their contracts.
That feels more dramatic than necessary. If L.A. could ever keep its stars upright at the right time, this could still be a championship contender. But it probably needs more help to make that jump, and if it looks for that lift from the trade market, the following three players should be priority targets.
3. Doug McDermott, San Antonio Spurs
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The Clippers could stand to up their three-point volume.
Trading for Doug McDermott would be one way to do that.
The veteran sharpshooter just wrapped his ninth NBA season. This was the sixth campaign he's finished with a 40-plus percent splash rate. His 3.4 threes per 36 minutes matched the most of his career, per Basketball-Reference.
He also looms as one of the most logical trade candidates in the league, since he doesn't fit the San Antonio Spurs' timeline and is approaching the final season of his contract. Prying him out of the Alamo City shouldn't be too difficult.
2. Tyus Jones, Memphis Grizzlies
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Westbrook had a good run in L.A., which might suggest he has more left in the tank than people thought. More than anything, though, it should've shown the Clippers the importance of having competent play at the point guard position.
L.A. has far too often lacked a top table-setter around George and Leonard. While the star wings provide a good amount of playmaking between them, asking them to be the lead distributors on top of being the best scorers and perimeter stoppers is a little much.
That's why the Clippers should see what it would take to pluck Tyus Jones away from the Memphis Grizzlies. As good as he's been in relief of Ja Morant, Memphis would still do well to turn its backup point guard into a prime asset or two.
And Jones might be worth that kind of price for the Clippers. He provides masterful ball control (5.2 assists against 0.9 turnovers this season), and he keeps improving as a scorer and shooter.
1. Terry Rozier, Charlotte Hornets
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If the Clippers make a significant addition this summer, point guard would be the obvious position to target. But L.A.'s trade budget only stretches so far, and it's probably nowhere near where it would need to be to chase Damian Lillard or Trae Young.
Terry Rozier seems reasonable, though.
He is 29 years old, not exactly cheap and playing for a Charlotte Hornets team that's headed nowhere fast. He's also coming off one of his worst shooting seasons in years, having hit just 41.5 percent of his field goals and 32.7 percent of his long-range looks.
Maybe the Hornets would be hesitant about selling low, but maybe they aren't confident he'll dramatically turn things around. Or maybe they'd just rather use his minutes and money on younger players with a chance to stick with this franchise long-term. Either way, the Clippers should have enough to get him, and he'd fit in nicely as a feisty defender, capable shooter (this season notwithstanding) and secondary playmaker.
