The Los Angeles Clippers may find themselves in desperate need of a new big man if they don’t re-sign Cole Aldrich this summer. Here are five players they should pursue in NBA free agency if that’s the case.
When the Los Angeles Clippers made a host of signings to completely redesign their bench last summer, one of the least praised moves was the addition of Cole Aldrich. Yet, as the season went on and his role increased after Josh Smith left to Houston, Aldrich averaging 14.8 points, 13 rebounds, 2.1 steals and 3.1 blocks per 36 minutes made him a star of the second unit. Now, though, he’s outplayed his minimum-level player option and could leave in free agency, forcing the Clippers to make another crucial acquisition.
Even if Aldrich doesn’t leave, the Clippers’ lack of size and frontcourt depth behind Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan was a problem all season, resulting in terrible rebounding (25th in rebounds per game, per NBA.com) despite the major defensive improvement.
The mid-level exception is a vital tool for the Clippers this summer. Of course, as the salary cap rises to around $90 million, it’s lost some of the value it’s had in the past. So many players are set to make more money and teams have more to spend, encouraging free agents or those with a player option to hit the market and see what hefty offers they can rake in. Regardless of the booming free agency situation, though, the approximate $5.6 million that the mid-level exception can offer is important to the Clippers, and may be their best bet to either keep Aldrich or land a valuable new player.
Perhaps Aldrich will stay and the Clippers won’t even pursue another backup big. However his future pans out, though, some more frontcourt depth would go a long way. Let’s take a look through five possibilities, working towards the top priorities at the end.
Next: An athletic rebounder