Los Angeles Clippers trade of DeAndre Jordan to Wizards for Kelly Oubre should happen
The Los Angeles Clippers have shopped DeAndre Jordan, but only one trade makes sense. They need to deal him for Kelly Oubre of the Washington Wizards.
The Los Angeles Clippers seem ready to move on from DeAndre Jordan after dealing his Lob City counterpart to Detroit recently. Many rumors have swirled around the big man, including moving him to both the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Portland Trailblazers. However, only one rumor really makes sense for both sides.
Trade DeAndre Jordan to the Washington Wizards for Kelly Oubre and pieces.
No, this wouldn’t be an easy trade to pull off for a bevy of reasons. You can see below what the trade might look like, according to Zach Lowe of ESPN.
"A package of Marcin Gortat, Jason Smith (perhaps heading to a third team), Kelly Oubre and a first-round pick has long been my favorite realistic Jordan package. Oubre is up for an extension after this season. Washington will have trouble paying Oubre, Bradley Beal, John Wall and Otto Porter.Of course, they’d also have trouble paying Jordan, Beal, Wall and Porter. (They could trade Porter, but it’s unclear if the Clippers have any interest.) Interest leaguewide would be higher if Jordan signaled he might opt into his deal for next season, but that hasn’t happened, sources say. The salary mechanics between Washington and LA are tricky; the Wiz are over the tax, the Clippers barely under it."
Like I said, this would be tough to pull off. However, if the Clippers are looking to get away from money, getting Oubre, Gortat and Jason Smith wouldn’t be the worst. Gortat and Smith would obviously be fillers in the trade, but they can still somewhat produce.
DeAndre going to Washington works for the Wizards as he can get out and run with Wall and Beal and would be an excellent pick-and-roll player alongside Wall.
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Everyone in the trade is only under contract through 2019, so the Clippers would only realistically have to focus on either extending or re-signing Oubre. Speaking of, let’s look at why he is the ideal piece for the LA Clippers.
First and foremost, Kelly Oubre is only 22 years old. His career averages are 7 points, 3.3 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game. However, this year has been somewhat of a breakout one for him coming off the bench.
In 53 games with the Wizards this year, Oubre is putting up 11.9 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game. At 6’7″, he has the size to score from anywhere. His shooting has improved this year, knocking down 38.3% of his threes in 4.2 attempts per game. Although he could stand to gain a little more weight (he’s listed at 205lbs), he also has the tools to be a solid defender, albeit he’s not one just yet.
He is signed through 2019, so you could have him and still possibly make a run at a bigger name free agent this summer, but he is able to be extended after this year. If they acquire him and extend him now, they wouldn’t have to worry about potentially matching offer sheets. He has high potential and if the Clips are able to pair him alongside Tobias Harris, they could have two modern forwards to build around. Oubre also seems like he would acclimate to the LA lifestyle extremely quick.
We will keep you posted on any trade rumors and news as we approach the February 8th deadline!