15 June 2015 – Giving Lance a chance
Doc traded away Matt Barnes and Spencer Hawes to the Charlotte Hornets in exchange for Lance Stephenson after an unsuccessful time on the east coast. Stephenson started the first eight games of the season before deeming him not ready to play.
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He experienced sporadic minutes off the bench, sometimes not playing at all before the latest trade with a first-round pick for Jeff Green.
So, rather than solely putting it in terms of Stephenson, the Clippers have traded a 2019 first-round pick, Barnes and Hawes for Green. Green has had a fairly poor season for the Grizzlies as both he and Courtney Lee were traded away as the Grizzlies attempt at small-ball failed.
Now that the Clippers have sent their 2019 first-rounder (lottery protected) to the Grizzlies, they only have one pick (a 2016 second rounder) in the next three years (which they have rights to switch with the Nets).
Next: Why Jeff Green is not the solution for the Clippers
Without a Western Conference Finals appearance yet it could well be time to get a proper GM on board. The flagrant disregard for draft picks should be alarming when you consider how effective they’ve been for the Spurs over the last twenty years and for the Golden State Warriors in the shape of Draymond Green.