LA Clippers Rumors: Should team call about Joel Embiid?
On The Ringer NBA Show, Justin Verrier said an unnamed league source floated the idea of the LA Clippers trading for Joel Embiid. Should they consider it?
On The Ringer NBA Show on Tuesday, Justin Verrier floated a trade idea. According to Verrier, this deal involving the LA Clippers came from an unnamed league source and while there is no real merit to the deal yet, the idea was still brought up.
The deal centers on the Philadelphia 76ers and trading Joel Embiid. While the Sixers have made absolutely zero indication that they want to trade the All-Star big man, many have started to wonder just how long he and Ben Simmons can play alongside each other given their overlap on the court. For the Clippers, Verrier notes that the team may still be searching for a big man. (Seriously, does anyone actually watch Ivica Zubac?)
The proposed deal would have the Clippers sending Landry Shamet, Montrezl Harrell, Maurice Harkless, and the Clippers’ 2020 first-round draft pick in exchange for Embiid. While everyone on the podcast laughed at the extremely low price Embiid would fetch (it’s less than they gave up to acquire Tobias Harris last season), they do recognize that the group of players coming into Philly would fit nicely next to Simmons.
On the Clippers’ side, the benefit would be obvious. Yes, Embiid struggles with injuries every year but he would provide elite play and size that the Clippers currently don’t have. While giving up Shamet hurts, the team does have a full stable of guards and losing his production off the bench would be more than offset by the scoring potential of Embiid.
There’s a snowball’s chance in hell this deal ever goes down, but it’s interesting that the media is so set on the Clippers making a deal. The team has barely played any games when fully healthy and in those select few, they have looked great for the most part. Perhaps a small move will be made to shore up the roster, but with the Clips limited assets, I just don’t see a path to pulling off anything near a blockbuster move.
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