Whether or not the LA Clippers get Jimmy Butler in a trade, they are in a position they never have been- a good one. Promising youth, talented vets, and a bench that doesn’t stop.
According to multiple sources, most recently the Bill Simmons podcast, the LA Clippers have the best possible package and fit for Jimmy Butler. Woj has recently reported that Minnesota’s asking price is too high, and teams around the league have grown frustrated.
ESPN Reporting w/ Zach Lowe: Minnesota’s asking price for Jimmy Butler remains too steep for teams. Minny seeks quality vets/top prospects/future assets/cap relief. Too high a price for interested teams, including Miami. Sources are skeptical of Thibodeau’s desire to make deal.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) September 27, 2018
As we’ve reported, the Clippers’ front office is wise not to pay too high for Butler. If being conservative causes them to lose out on the Butler sweepstakes the Clippers are still in a great position. While the team still has some problems and questions that need to be addressed, they are problems and questions teams would LOVE to have.
Going into the preseason the team has 19 players on the roster. That means they have to cut 4 guys from the team before the start of the season. There’s only one easy cut to be made; Johnathan Motely. Another obvious pick might be Angel Delgado, the young undrafted center on a two-way contract. But with the only true centers on the team being Marcin Gortat and Boban Marjanovic (please hold your applause until the end of the article), Delgado’s depth might be a nice addition.
The point is this; the Clippers have quietly put together one of the deepest teams in the league. The only flaw on this squad is the lack of a true star. It’s really the opposite system from the Lob City era in which the team was top-heavy with stars and lacked depth at all. But there’s an even bigger difference between this team and Lob City all-stars; players WANT to come here.
Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan (pour one out) were drafted. Chris Paul was traded for. The only real notable names, that still had gas in the tank, that inked the Clippers were JJ Redick and Jamal Crawford, with JJ being a sign-and-trade. The Clippers have never been a team that big talent has wanted to join. But things are changing.
According to Woj, not only are the Clippers at the top of the list for Jimmy Butler, but they are also at the top of the list for Kawhi Leonard. This is new territory for the Clippers. The team has had some ups and downs but this might be the first time in franchise history that it has become a destination; not an easy feat, especially with LeBron down the hall.
The new, revamped front office is in the middle of what might be an unbelievably successful rebuild. They have torn down a team that was considered a title contender and put together depth and smart contracts to allure the talent to build another one; IN A YEAR.
As is, the team could surprise a lot of people with a playoff run. Health will be a big “if”, but we learned last year that won’t stop these guys from competing every night. It will all come down to next summer and how the team uses it’s wide-open cap space, but so far it’s looking really nice.