We suggest one trade the LA Clippers could make with the Los Angles Lakers.
In a new series, we will explore one hypothetical trade the LA Clippers can make with every team in the NBA. We start in-division, and in-city, and in-building with the Los Angeles Lakers.
As we move through each team in our series, some suggestions will be serious, some less so. Some will be to better the team on the basketball court, some might be for financial flexibility, and some might be just for fun.
We’re also going to ignore the fact that the trade deadline has come and gone for this season. This is a strictly hypothetical experiment.
Our suggestion for a trade with the Los Angeles Lakers falls more into the “just for fun” category. We’re not going to try to find a package to try to hypothetically pry LeBron James or Anthony Davis away from the Lakers. We’re not even going to try to bolster the team’s rim protection by looking for a way to steal the rejuvenated Dwight Howard from the team.
We just want a feel-good reunion and some good, old fashioned brotherly love.
Why we like this trade for the LA Clippers.
A Markieff Morris for Patrick Patterson trade doesn’t really impact either team in terms of basketball very much. Morris is currently scoring 4.8 points per game in 14.8 minutes of action in his eight games with the Lakers. Patterson has played 51 games for the Clippers this year averaging 4.6 points in 11.9 minutes per night.
Each player is in the final year of their contract with Morris earning $1.75 million to Patterson’s $1.62 million.
We really want to reunite Markieff with his twin brother Marcus and give the pair a chance to stop arguing about who would win in a series should the Clippers and Lakers meet.
The Morris twins first played together on an NBA team when Marcus was traded from the Houston Rockets to the Phoenix Suns in the middle of their second season in the league. The pair spent two-plus seasons together in Phoenix until Marcus was traded to the Detroit Pistons on July 9, 2015. The brothers have not played together since but were finally reunited in the same NBA city earlier this year when they were acquired by the Clippers and the Lakers.
This trade would finally bring them together again and give them a shot at going for a title with the Clippers. In the locker room, it could boost player morale and give the Clippers a little bit of insight into the inner-workings of the Lakers.
Would the Lakers do it?
While the Lakers wouldn’t be losing much by giving up Morris, they wouldn’t be gaining much from Patterson, other than trading inside information between the two franchises. Patterson is known for hosting his own movie watch party nights, and the Lakers might want to add a little camaraderie to their locker room.
Ultimately, reuniting the Morris brothers would probably give more of an edge to the Clippers in this trade and for that reason, the Lakers might turn it down.
Reuniting Markieff Morris with his brother Marcus would add a fun wrinkle to the remainder of the season for the LA Clippers. For that reason it’s our suggestion of one trade they can make with the Los Angeles Lakers.