Which player has been the LA Clippers’ best deadline addition?
Tier 2
Garrett Temple, SF
Stats since trade: 3.5 PTS, 2.2 REB, 1.3 AST, 0.5 STL
Since coming over in the Avery Bradley trade, Garrett Temple has been nothing short of a competent role player, which is exactly what the LA Clippers need him to be.
He hasn’t (and won’t) put up any gaudy numbers or made many highlight-worthy plays, but he’s helping the Clippers win basketball games. In a lot of ways, he’s been what Bradley was supposed to be.
Sure, Temple has room for improvement. His 17.4 percent clip from three-point range could use some help, and he’s been prone to fouls as well.
But even if Temple’s offense hasn’t caught up just yet, he’s been gritty enough on defense to keep him in games and to continue playing meaningful minutes.
Prior to the trade, Temple was connecting on 35.2 percent of his looks from deep and was averaging less fouls per game while playing significantly more minutes. He’s surely still figuring things out on both ends with the Clippers, and as gets more familiar with his role, expect him to return to form and become a more well-rounded two-way wing.
Grade: B-
Ivica Zubac, C
Stats since trade: 9.4 PTS, 7.8 REB, 1.8 AST, 0.8 BLK
The Ivica Zubac trade continues to be one of the most puzzling things that’s happened to the LA Clippers — and perhaps the NBA — all season long.
No one can exactly figure out why the Los Angeles Lakers gave up a budding big in Zubac in exchange for Mike Muscala, a reserve center who is playing less than nine minutes per game with his new team. It just doesn’t make any sense.
The Lakers do have considerable depth down low, and there was a time near the beginning of the season when Zubac would log several DNP-CDs in a row. He’ll also be a restricted free agent at the end of the year, and perhaps the Lakers didn’t want to have to make a decision involving him. That being said, he’s still a few worlds better than Muscala, and he’s got the potential to be a legit starter on a good team in a matter of years.
Zubac has fit in nicely with LA’s starting group so far, helping to create what’s surprisingly been the Clippers’ most efficient starting lineup of the season.
The starting rotation of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Patrick Beverley, Landry Shamet, Danilo Gallinari and Zubac has been 13.4 points better than its opponent’s per 100 possessions, nearly five points better than the old lineup that featured Tobias Harris and Marcin Gortat.
It’s a more than considerable improvement, and Zubac’s play on both ends of the floor has been a big part of that.
That being said, he’s not without fault. Zubac is converting just 48.5 percent of his field goal attempts with the Clippers, an underwhelming mark for a guy that checks in over seven feet tall. He doesn’t look that confident down low either, even against smaller bigs, and he often rushes putback attempts whenever he grabs offensive rebounds.
We can see this especially in Tuesday’s loss against Portland, in which Zubac logged a Clippers career-high nine offensive rebounds — but finished the game with just four makes on 15 attempts.
He’s been best as a roll man, but it’s important that he works on his post game as well. Supposedly interested in learning the sky-hook from none other than Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Zubac could become a problem for opposing bigs if he develops a more well-rounded offensive game.