LA Clippers host The Playbook to discuss recent trade

Members of the LA Clippers’ Front Office sat down in another iteration of The Playbook to discuss the team’s recent trades at the deadline.

The surprise moves surrounding the trade deadline left LA Clippers’ fans in shock. Tobias Harris, Boban Marjanovic and Mike Scott all left the team and in return, Landry Shamet, Wilson Chandler, Garrett Temple, Ivica Zubac and a trove of picks joined.

In order to help explain the necessity of these moves, the team hosted another iteration of The Playbook. General Manager Michael Winger and President of Basketball Operations Lawrence Frank joined Rachel Nichols to discuss the deadline.

Dealing Tobias

One of the more discussed things by media was the willingness to deal Tobias Harris, arguably the team’s best player. Trading him came just slightly a year after trading away Blake Griffin. Frank clarified that trading him wasn’t always in the cards, but they saw an opportunity and had to pounce on it. (All quotes courtesy of the LA Clippers)

"It wasn’t our intent going in to trade Tobias, but the dialogue we had with Philadelphia was a very unique opportunity. Not only were we acquiring a young, forward player in Landry [Shamet], a veteran in Wilson [Chandler] and Mike Muscala was in the trade. It also was one of the only two unprotected first round picks in circulation and we were able to receive one of them, the Miami 2021 pick."

The logic is hard to argue with. While Tobias was a great player, the pieces the team got back are just too good to pass up. Losing him now does suck, but in a few years when that pick comes to fruition, we could be looking back at this trade in a very, very positive light.

Michael Winger said as much.

"It’s this delicate balance of honoring the team that you have today, the players that are working their butts off to make sure that they are prepared for a game. The coaching staff that is uber-ly prepared for that game and the next game, and the next game. Laying that against taking care of our tomorrow selves. Not necessarily our tomorrow self, but next year’s self and the year after that and the year after that, with the hopes of continuing to ascend the team…which we hope results in some championships along the way"

It truly must be a difficult time to find that balance. The team experienced an extreme upheaval and it greatly impacted the organization both now and moving forward. Doc Rivers now has to work to insert five new players into his rotation. The front office has to start evaluating trade opportunities they may not have had as well as prepare for free agency this summer.

The New Guys

While picks are great and will undoubtedly help the franchise in one way or another, the players the team got back are also noteworthy. Both Frank and Winger seem extremely high on Landry Shamet, a first round pick from this year’s draft, who has already garnered comparisons to J.J. Redick.

But it’s not just his innate ability to shoot that has impressed. It’s his inquisitive mind. Frank met with Shamet during pre-draft workouts and couldn’t believe how smart he came off.

"As we’re asking questions – and we do tons of work with intel, background, and you’re doing a lot of fact checking to make sure that you can check all the boxes about what he’s consistent about, his character, his work ethic, type of teammate – and then typically it’s a throw-away line, you go, ‘any questions?’ and normally a guy goes, ‘I’m good.’ Landry is like, ‘Yeah I have 5.’ And he’s got Jerry West, he asks Jerry questions. He has Doc, he’s asking Doc questions. He asked Steve questions, and those impressions, those stick with you."

Impressing people with your mind can go a long way. The fact that he showed the willingness to ask questions means he could be very coachable and can easily develop into a much better player than he already is. Shamet could be the other part to the future backcourt with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who the Clippers took in the first round this season.

But it’s not only Shamet. Wilson Chandler also seems to be a big get for the franchise.

"Wilson is a guy that over the past couple of years, when he was in Denver, he’s always been a target for us. He has a lot of Clipper characteristics. He’s hard playing, he’s tough, he’s competitive and versatile, he has leadership qualities."

Culture (as indicated by the last Playbook) is something the Front Office is really trying to build up. Patrick Beverley already encompasses the toughness they are looking for and adding Wilson Chandler to that only serves to help. It’s also convenient that Chandler has played next to Danilo Gallinari all but one year of his career. The two are familiar and should have solid chemistry once Chandler is able to get back onto the court.

Chandler is a free agent this summer, but if he helps the team as they compete for the playoffs this season, perhaps he will be brought back to help shore up the team’s bench and to provide leadership.

The Future

It’s easy to look at the picks gained, the young talent and the possible leadership that the trade brought in. But let’s face it. Free agency in 2019 seems to be the ultimate target. Both Winger and Frank discussed how they believe the franchise is set up to be big players in free agency going forward. And you know what? Michael Winger believes it all starts with owner Steve Ballmer.

"I think that when players have the opportunity to sit face-to-face with him, they get a feel for his energy, they get a feel for his passion, his commitment to winning and that commitment, it really bleeds throughout the entire organization. Whether it is within our player development staff, or our medical staff, front office staff, or the building, or the new arena, or the new facility. These are just tangible examples of his thumbprint on the organization and I think it ultimately starts with him…Steve presents the vision for the franchise. I think it is a compelling vision."

To say Ballmer is an upgrade from… previous ownership is the understatement of the year. He has helped to make the Clippers not seem like just “the other LA team” and an actual legitimate franchise. In fact, Lawrence Frank sees the team as somewhere that can offer a little bit of everything to players this summer.

"We’re in a free agency meeting. We got the best city in the NBA, right? The thing we offer in this city, you get all the benefits without the drama. Two is, you’ve got the best owner in sports. Three is, you have a master architect in Jerry West. Four is, you have a championship coach in Doc Rivers. Five is, you have a foundation, a good balance of young guys. Think about this, Montrezl Harrell is only 24 years old. Lou Williams, I mean come on, is there a better sixth man in the league? When you combine that, we can show how we’re going to continue to build this out. This is not just going to be a one-year thing. This is going to be a series of runs to continue to compete. If you’re a Clippers fan, come along, it’s going to be a great ride!"

That’s a whole lot of confidence in what has been put together in Los Angeles. Frank lists a lot of positives for joining the team though, but this summer will be the true test as to whether the reasoning is actually validated.

The trade deadline was an exciting time for Clippers’ fans, but from the sounds of it, the future will be even more bright. Buckle up Clipper Nation.