The Los Angeles Clippers were smart to not trade DeAndre Jordan

Despite coming close, the Los Angeles Clippers did not trade DeAndre Jordan at the deadline and were smart in doing so.

DeAndre Jordan was this close to not being a member of the Los Angeles Clippers last week. According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, the Cavaliers and the Clippers almost had a deal that would have sent DJ to Cleveland. The deal would have given the Clippers the Cavs’ first round pick, Jae Crowder, Channing Frye and Iman Shumpert. However, the Clippers wouldn’t budge on one thing:

They did not want Iman Shumpert.

According to Woj, Michael Winger, the Clippers’ GM, did not want the team to take on yet another shooting guard nor did he want a bad contract.

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With no third team willing to take Shumpert, the Clippers backed out of the deal.

Smart, right?

It seems obvious, but with the possibility of losing DeAndre Jordan this summer for nothing, Winger could have convinced himself that taking on a bad contract wouldn’t be the end of the world.

However, the team’s front office sticking to their plan is perfect. Yes, they may lose DeAndre this summer and not get anything in return, but they won’t be hurting for cap space. With several marquee free agents available both this summer and next, having cap space is ideal.

We really have to give props to both Michael Winger and Lawrence Frank for remembering that sometimes less is more.