Shaun Livingston
This right here ladies and gentlemen, would be the cherry on top for an utterly fantastic Clippers offseason.
Obviously pulling in Kawhi Leonard and Paul George were the main factors in creating the best offseason in Clippers history, but some pieces were lost this summer that proved to be very important to the squad of last season.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will be missed not only because of his untapped potential, but also because he played such a large role on the team that took the defending champs to a Game 6. It is hard to recoup a loss like that, unless you have the option to sign a veteran point guard like Shaun Livingston.
Livingston is best known for being one of the best backup floor generals the past couple of seasons helping the Golden State Warriors win three titles in the last five years. He was instrumental in being a facilitator for the Warriors bench unit, very similar to Gilgeous-Alexander’s role with the team last year.
While SGA was primarily a starter last season, he played a decent amount of minutes with both the starters and bench players. His main role on the team was to facilitate and help run the Clippers pick and roll heavy offense, as well as hit the occasional mid-range jumper.
During the season, he posted a 22.3 assist ratio, the second highest on the team trailing only starting point guard Patrick Beverley, leaving a large facilitator role to fill. When looking at Livingston’s contribution to the Warriors last year, he filled an identical role to running a bench unit offense that also relied on the pick and roll.
Livingston posted a 29.7 assist ratio during the 2018-2019 season, the third highest mark in a season during his long tenure with the Warriors. He also posted a higher assist to turnover ratio, 3.88, than SGA did last season, 1.91.
In regards to shooting, Livingston will do a great job of filling the void that Shai left. He has always been an efficient mid-range shooter, 21.7% of his points coming from that range last year. That will easily fill SGA’s team leading 16.2% he posted in his rookie year.
To answer a bigger question that fans may have:
Yes, Livingston has never been a three point threat, and yes, SGA was growing into his own last season behind the arc. However, if we are looking to replace what he produced last year, the team only has to replace .8 threes per game, and something tells me Paul George and Kawhi Leonard may help add to that total.
This proves that Livingston would be more than capable of helping facilitate and add value to an already stellar second unit, especially if a core player were to sustain an injury. If signed, Livingston would most likely have the largest role compared to others on this list, mainly because of his playoff experience and how beneficial he has proved to be to championship teams in the past.
While Jodie Meeks may be a good value, if the Clippers are going to have to decide on one veteran guard, the best bang for their buck is going to be signing Livingston. He can be an important role player that helps this squad make a deep playoff run come April.
Plus, what better way than end a great career on the same Clipper horse he rode in on when he entered the league in 2004. The real question is, will Livingston steal his beloved #14 jersey away from Terrance Mann.