Best Potential Trade Targets for LA Clippers to Become Legit Title Contenders

The Los Angeles Clippers need to make some changes.

Following a first-round loss to the Memphis Grizzlies in the NBA playoffs, Tinseltown's stepchild is facing a crucial offseason. 

Chris Paul is an unrestricted free agent and, despite what some may be slinging, won't return to the Clippers if he doesn't believe they're genuine title contenders.

Right now, they're not. Rattling off 56 regular-season wins seems good on paper, and it is, but it means nothing when you can't rise to the occasion come playoff time.

Teams like the Miami Heat and San Antonio Spurs are the standard. Los Angeles doesn't quite measure up, falling just short of a status we were led to believe it already held.

Tasked with piecing together a contender without ample cap space that prompts Paul to re-sign, the Clippers have to take to the trade market. It's there they can find a player (or two) who will assist in carrying them to the next level.

5. Danny Granger, Indiana Pacers

Things are about to get real.

According to Marc Stein and Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com, the Clippers are interested in using Eric Bledsoe as the centerpiece of a deal that would land them Danny Granger from the Indiana Pacers.

I get it; Granger was injured this season. But he's also a former All-Star who averaged at least 18 points a game in each of his previous five seasons. Why not take a chance on him?

Granger's $14 million salary comes off the books after next year. If it doesn't work out, the Clippers can move on rather quickly.

Should Granger remain healthy, the Clippers will have a versatile scorer who can defend better than Caron Butler and who could play the part of a stretch forward if the team elects to run small.

The cost is also completely justifiable. Los Angeles would be giving up Bledsoe, who its destined to lose anyway if it re-signs Paul. Butler's contract (expiring), among other things, is likely to grease hands as well. That's acceptable.

When the return is Granger, someone who has proven valuable at his position as recently as one year ago, the risk is minimal if he can be had at the right price and the Clippers receive assurances Chris Paul won't be going anywhere.

4. Josh Smith, Atlanta Hawks

Josh Smith isn't the most serene of characters, but his addition to Lob City would be scintillating.

Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe reports that the Atlanta Hawks are likely to pursue sign-and-trade deals for Smith instead of letting him walk for nothing. When the Hawks' attempts to lure Paul away from Los Angeles fail—and they will fail—the Clippers should be one of the first ones who come calling.

The embattled forward has yet to make an All-Star appearance in his first nine seasons, but he became the 13th player in NBA history to average at least 17 points, eight rebounds, four assists and 1.5 blocks per game in a season.

Smith can excel in both half-court and transition-oriented offenses and is an improved three-point shot away (30.1 percent from deep this past season) from establishing himself as one of the best stretch forwards in the game.

Next to Paul, he would also have the luxury of deferring to what the majority considers a championship-caliber foundation. He never had that in Atlanta. Most of his time was spent ceding to Joe Johnson, and he clearly wasn't ready to be the Hawks' lifeline when they sent him to the Brooklyn Nets.

Price does become an issue here in every sense of the word. Los Angeles has to agree to pay Smith a set amount, then needs to put together a package that is to Atlanta's liking.

DeAndre Jordan would be a good place to start. The Hawks could use a center who allows Al Horford to shift to the 4. One would assume that Atlanta would insist on the inclusion of Bledsoe, but perhaps the expiring contract of Butler and a first-round pick would catch i attention. Retaining Bledsoe allows the Clippers to use him as part of a bigger deal (spoiler).

Atlanta wasn't winning any championship with Smith on the roster, a fact that will be pointed to for quite some time. Los Angeles presents a different situation and opportunity. The Clippers, unlike the Hawks, are fit to contend with Smith.

3. Paul Pierce, Boston Celtics

The truth is Los Angeles could use The Truth.

Because Paul Pierce can be bought out by the Boston Celtics for $5 million (he's slated to earn $15.3 million), he has taken a backseat to a special someone we will discuss soon enough.

According to Stein and Shelburne, however, he remains a priority and is someone who interests the Clippers.

Bledsoe's ticket out of Los Angeles has seemingly been punched. Not that he would need to be used to acquire Pierce (he might), but if Paul re-signs, he's as good as gone in some kind of trade.

Secondary playmaking then an issue, Pierce becomes an ideal get. He spent a great deal of time running Boston's offense after Rajon Rondo went down and became just the fourth player in NBA history to average at least 18 points, six rebounds and four assists in the same season after his 35th birthday. The man can still play.

While older than Butler, he's a more proven scorer and then, you know, the whole playmaking thing. He's also better suited to defend power forwards should the Clippers elect to run smaller next season.

Successfully landing his services is complicated because of his contract situation, yet these financial obstacles are worth trying to circumvent based on how many needs Pierce has the ability to fill.

2. Kevin Garnett, Boston Celtics

Kevin Garnett is that "special someone" we were previously referring to.

Talks between the Celtics and Clippers haven't exactly progressed, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports, but Stein and Shelburne report that such an acquisition is not out of the question for Los Angeles.

Even at 37, Garnett's value to the Clippers is apparent. He's an inside-out big man who can slide seamlessly into the 5 next to Blake Griffin or another certain special someone to follow.

Paul also urged Los Angeles to make a play for Garnett at the trade deadline to no avail. The Clippers won't make any moves without Paul's consent, so you have to believe Garnett's presence not only aids in retaining the point man, but also guarantees he won't be going anywhere.

The problem of course is the trade itself. Boston refuses to pull the trigger without receiving Bledsoe, whom the Clippers don't want to move in exchange for an aging forward.

No stranger to concocting trade scenarios most would consider to be ludicrous, Grantland's Bill Simmons had an interesting idea that had the Celtics snagging Jordan, Butler and Willie Green and a first-round pick in exchange for Jason Terry, Courtney Lee and Garnett, and Doc Rivers of course.

Los Angeles would have to be willing to foot the bill for the duration of Terry and Lee's contracts, but it gets to keep Bledsoe and use him as part of a bigger deal. Lee would give the Clippers a more expensive version of Matt Barnes, and Jason Terry could work nicely in a Chauncey Billups-type role either off the bench or in the starting lineup.

Boston then saves a pile of money, since Green makes a fraction of what Lee does and Butler's contract comes off the books after next season.

Investing so much in a 37-year-old Garnett may seem like overkill, but I've said it before and I'll say it again: I'd take the last two years of Garnett's career over the next two of DeAndre's without batting an eye.

Seeking to become a more legitimate contender, I'm inclined to believe the Clippers would agree.

1. Dwight Howard, Los Angeles Lakers

It's going to cost Blake Griffin, but the Clippers have a chance to acquire Dwight Howard.

Per Stein and Shelburne of ESPN.com, both the Los Angeles Lakers and Clippers could potentially be amenable to a Griffin and Bledsoe for Howard swap.

If you're the Lakers, you do it, depending on what other parts need to be involved financially. Hands down. When the alternative is losing Superman for nothing, you take on a three-time All-Star and a budding young point man, even if it cuts into your 2014 cap space. You just do.

If you're the Clippers, you might need to do this. 

Paul and Howard reportedly want to play together, according to Chris Broussard of ESPN The Magazine. Acquiring Howard takes the guess work out of Paul's free agency. He'll be back, tossing alley oops toward Howard for at least the next half-decade.

Pretending Howard isn't still the best center in the game is more than ridiculous. One off-putting season that saw him still put up 17.1 points, 12.4 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game isn't enough to change that.

Next to Paul, Howard doesn't need to be The Guy. He'll become the second-most important player on a team where he isn't ceding control to Kobe Bryant. A situation like that is where he belongs.

I also like this deal because it still allows the Clippers to acquire Garnett (or if the Hawks are feeling generous, maybe J-Smoove). If the Celtics wind up jumping at the opportunity to unload Terry and Lee's contracts in the aforementioned trade without receiving Bledsoe in return, Los Angeles has the means to trade for both Howard and Garnett.

Any team that has Garnett, Howard and Paul in the same starting lineup is a legitimate contender. Garnett has the inside-out arsenal necessary to play alongside Howard, and both he and Paul have the leadership pedigree to make a pairing of this magnitude work.

And it would work.

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