Shooting Guard
The LA Clippers don’t really need a shooting guard.
Landry Shamet will presumably pick up right where he left off in the starting lineup. Since being acquired in the Tobias Harris trade, Shamet has been lights-out for the Clippers, posting an effective field-goal percentage of 57.6. His stellar play reached new heights when he hit the game-winning three-pointer in game two of the first round of the playoffs against the Golden State Warriors in what ended up being the biggest comeback (31 points) in NBA Playoffs history.
Behind Shamet is Lou Williams, one of only two players in league history to win three Sixth Man of the Year awards. Williams has been nothing short of phenomenal in his time with the Clippers. He is currently at his peak as a scorer and as a playmaker.
In his two seasons with the Clippers, Williams has averaged 22.6 and 20.0 points per game, the first and second highest marks of his entire career. His passing is also at a career best, as he averaged 5.4 dimes on an assist percentage of 33.3 (also a career high).
The Clipper surely hope that Jerome Robinson can take the next step in his career. After selecting him 13th overall in the 2018 NBA Draft, Robinson proved to be a project. He only saw NBA minutes in 33 games and spent the majority of his rookie season on the Clippers’ G League affiliate. Since they spent such a high pick on him, the Clippers will understandably be expecting Robinson to make strides toward being a real rotation piece soon.
So, the Clippers really should not sign another shooting guard. They already have a surplus of talent at that position. But, in the interest of keeping the name of this article accurate, there is one shooting guard the Clippers should consider.
Malcolm Brogdon (MIL)
By signing Malcolm Brogdon, the Clippers would be adding on to their log-jam in the shooting guard position. While Brogdon played off-ball as a two while Eric Bledsoe ran the point in Milwaukee, he can still bring the ball down the floor and initiate an offense.
He demonstrated this ability when, according to Basketball Reference play-by-play data, he played 54 percent of his minutes as a point guard.
He is also one of the best shooters in the game today. Throughout his career, Brogdon has connected on 40.8 percent of his 3-pointers. Notably, he has made 50 percent of his three-point attempts when Giannis Antetokounmpo is assisting, which happened 1.4 times per game last season. Brogdon clearly strives when a superstar finds him open on the perimeter, and if the Clippers are successful in their quest to land two All-NBA talents this summer, he would make for an effective signing.
The Milwaukee Bucks threw Brogdon a qualifying offer, for obvious reasons, which makes him a restricted free agent. Any team looking to woo Brogdon and his talent will have to pay a hefty price to convince the Bucks not to match.
Like I said before, perhaps it’s better for the Clippers to focus on other positions.