In the next hypothetical trade of the Ways To Beat Warriors series, Tim Hiley looks at a deal between the Los Angeles Clippers and Atlanta Hawks, sending Paul Millsap to L.A.
This is a more solid, less spectacular trade idea than some of my others, but the Los Angeles Clippers would be getting three great additions that could be the difference in April, May and June. I feel like the Atlanta Hawks would jump at the chance for a deal like this, as they endured a relatively puzzling offseason. They signed Dwight Howard, but lost Al Horford, re-signed Kent Bazmore, but traded away Jeff Teague, all while attempting to trade Paul Millsap.
I have absolutely no idea what the Hawks were trying to do as it seems a complete mismatch of ideas that don’t seem to fit. Are the rebuilding? Are they contending? Answers on a postcard, please!
Millsap won’t be pleased about being involved in trade talks, and there’s no way to say that the Hawks have done anything to come closer to escaping LeBron James, their destined eliminator, in the playoffs.
So, to rework the team, attack opponents with the athletic duo of Blake Griffin and Dwight, and take a shot at signing a star free agent again next summer, the Hawks may have interest in trading with the Clippers. Of course, they’d need to know Blake’s intentions of whether he’d re-sign when he can test free agency next summer.
I felt the Clippers should have drafted Taurean Prince if he fell to their 25th pick, so it was disappointing to see him taken by the Hawks at No. 12. He would have fitted the Clippers like a glove. He’s a terrific talent with possible upside similar to players like Jae Crowder and DeMarre Carroll, a 3-and-D player who can make contributions immediately with speed and athleticism, serving as another catch-and-shoot threat for Chris Paul to aim for, too.
The Clippers would be downgrading a tad at the power forward spot, losing Griffin’s elite scoring and playmaking ability for the three-point range, driving, and 17.1 points per game of Millsap.
Although, with his exceptional, versatile defense that resulted in nine rebounds, 1.8 steals and 1.7 blocks per game last season, including All-Defensive Second Team honors, the Clippers would clearly be upgrading in that regard. On top of that, they’d be more equipped with Millsap to handle the Golden State Warriors on defense, or at least as much as they can hope to be.
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Also, without Griffin and without a clear number one option, the Clippers would see a more aggressive Chris Paul, akin to the one we saw during the San Antonio Spurs series in 2014 and after Griffin went down for the second half of last season.
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Kyle Korver had a weak season last year, granted, but it’s not too long ago since his 2014-15 campaign where he and the Hawks took the NBA by a surprising storm, finishing atop the Eastern Conference with 60 wins. Korver shot 49.2 percent from three to join Teague, Horford and Millsap as NBA All-Stars for the first time in his 14 year career. A superb free throw shooter and three-point sniper, he would thrive in the Clippers’ offense as J.J. Redick has, playing off-ball and enjoying Paul finding him for open threes.
Did Korver’s injury against the Cavaliers in 2015 cause his form to fall off? Possibly, but I wouldn’t say his age (35) is a massive issue. Just look at Jamal Crawford. The skill set of players like Korver, Redick and Crawford (far more ball dominant than the other two, but still a shooter at heart) are the type of skills that age well, unlike players who have a shorter window due to their reliance on athletic ability.
However, whether Griffin goes anywhere all comes down to the Clippers. Thankfully for fans, all reliable reports are saying that they have no interest in trading him, so it looks like (hypothetical deals aside) we can forget the Blake-to-Boston ideas.
Next: Clippers and Thunder facing the same dilemma?
Instead, we can focus on the Clippers as they are. The next episode of Ways To Beat Warriors will look at why it’s best to keep the team together, as will be the case.