Clippers Trade Talk: L.A.’s NBA trade deadline targets
By Tom West
The Los Angeles Clippers head towards the NBA trade deadline with limited assets, but they need to make an effort to deal for these backup big men if possible.
The Los Angeles Clippers continue to grind out wins without Blake Griffin. Lately, they’ve had a couple of scares against the Orlando Magic and an overtime shock against the Philadelphia 76ers. Luckily, they managed to earn two wins, and their record without Griffin has extended to 18-4. Even though their schedule hasn’t been difficult at times since losing their All-Star forward, there’s no way to deny the Clippers have stepped up their game over the last six weeks.
However, one problem with the team that can’t be ignored is their frontcourt situation. Besides DeAndre Jordan, it’s guard play, starting with the likes of Chris Paul and J.J. Redick, that has been driving the team forward. With smaller lineups that use guys like Paul Pierce at power forward, the offense has been moving quickly, utilizing the benefits of having four shooters on the floor at any given moment.
While this can be excellent for the Clippers’ offense, that now ranks 5th in the NBA with 105.9 points per 100 possessions, the defense isn’t favored in quite the same way. Overall, L.A. have still improved in this regard, and the fact they rank 7th in defensive efficiency compared to 15th last season is worth some praise. Yet, with someone like Pierce at the four, they simply can’t match up defensively in the post or on the glass. Ranking 27th in rebounding rate pretty much sums that up.
These issues aside, the lack of frontcourt is the key issue. Now that Josh Smith has been traded back to the Houston Rockets, the only typical big left on the bench is Cole Aldrich, and he can’t do everything by himself.
Even when Blake is back, the Clippers need a new big man. Which is why they need to try to make something happen before the NBA trade deadline next week if possible — despite having such limited assets.
So, let’s just get straight to it and look into a potential backup big who can provide more toughness and rebounding to help the second unit.
Next: A defensive backup