Clippers Rumors: P.J. Tucker Frustrated with Role After 76ers Trade with James Harden

P.J. Tucker hasn't played for the Los Angeles Clippers in the past five games, falling out of the rotation entirely, and reportedly he isn't happy about it.

According to Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium, Tucker "has expressed frustration about his current situation with the team, and both sides are discussing ways to resolve a role for him there or elsewhere, according to league sources."

The Clippers have found a nice groove of late, winning eight of their last 11 after initially struggling following the trade for James Harden, which also brought Tucker to Los Angeles.

A number of moves from head coach Tyronn Lue have served as the catalyst for the change in form, including moving Russell Westbrook to a sixth-man role off the bench and giving Kobe Brown more minutes in a reserve role, ostensibly at the expense of Tucker's own playing time. Charania noted that Brown's promotion has been done to "infuse youth and athleticism" into the team.

Lue has preferred the four-man bench of Westbrook, Brown, Norman Powell and Daniel Theis in recent games behind the starting group of Harden, Terance Mann, Paul George, Kawhi Leonard and Ivica Zubac, leaving Tucker by the wayside.

The veteran power forward did express previously that finding the right balance for a roster with Leonard, George, Harden and Westbrook was going to be a challenge.

"There's not enough basketballs on the planet for this team, really," he told The Athletic's Sam Amick on Dec. 4.

He perhaps didn't envision being one of the players left behind, however.

Tucker, 38, is averaging just 1.2 points and 2.4 rebounds in 14.4 minutes per game for the Clippers, shooting a woeful 27.3 percent from three. His inability to offer much on offense later in his career—he averaged just 3.5 points per game for the Philadelphia 76ers last season—has begun to offset the positive defensive impact he brings.

Still, the toughness and leadership he offers may be appealing to contenders with less depth than the Clippers.

Chris Haynes of B/R and TNT previously reported that "contending teams are monitoring the Clippers situation as far as how they're handling Tucker. They're wondering if he's going to be made available at some point."

Tucker appears to be wondering the same.