Report: P.J. Tucker, Mo Bamba, More Traded from Clippers to Jazz for Mills, Eubanks
P.J. Tucker's ill-fated time with the Los Angeles Clippers has come to a close.
The Clippers are trading the 39-year-old forward, who has yet to play this season, along with center Mo Bamba and a future second-round pick to the Utah Jazz for forward Drew Eubanks and guard Patty Mills, according to ESPN's Shams Charania.
The news doesn't come as a surprise. Coming into the year, the Clippers announced that Tucker wouldn't be with the team.
"P.J. is a pro who has achieved a lot in his career and there's more he wants to accomplish," the Clippers said in a statement on Oct. 6. "We will continue working with P.J. and his representative to find the best situation for him moving forward."
It was unclear if that would eventually result in a buyout—Tucker is on a $11.5 million player option this season and will become a free agent in the summer—or a trade. Ultimately, the Clippers were able to move him via the trade route.
Bamba, meanwhile, has been used as a reserve in the frontcourt. He's averaging 4.6 points and 4.3 rebounds in 12.6 minutes per contest through 28 appearances.
Swapping Tucker and Bamba for Eubanks and Mills, both bench players in Utah, doesn't improve the Clippers that much. The trade does, however, ease their financial burden slightly.
Tucker will also welcome the change of scenery.
A divorce felt inevitable after he wasn't a big part of the rotation last season. He was traded to the Clippers as part of the James Harden deal and appeared in just 28 games (seven starts), averaging 1.6 points and 2.5 rebounds in 15 minutes per game while shooting 36.7 percent from three.
Tucker publicly expressed a desire to be moved last season, which ultimately cost him a $75,000 fine.
"I want to be somewhere where I'm needed, wanted and can do it all," Tucker said in those comments in February. "I don't know what's going to happen but I have my fingers crossed and I'm hoping to go somewhere else, whether I get bought out and choose where I go or where I can play."
Tucker didn't get his trade last year, but this season the Clippers were able to find a suitor in Utah.
As for what he offers at this point in his career, that's up for debate. The power forward has traditionally been a rugged, multi-positional defender and glue guy who could hit enough spot-up threes to not completely tank his own team's offense. But given his age and limited role at this point in his career, his $11.5 million salary is fairly steep.
Considering the Jazz own the Western Conference's worst record (10-36), a buyout seems the likeliest outcome. They could prefer to keep Tucker's expiring salary on the books to preserve a sizable cap hold for 2025-26.
