We suggest one trade the LA Clippers could make with the Utah Jazz.
We haven’t suggested many major deals for the LA Clippers in this series yet. In trying to keep things realistic, we haven’t wanted to shake things up too much with a team that already boasts a deep, championship-contending roster. Most of our suggestions have been for fun, novelty reasons, roster protection, or future flexibility.
Today, we introduce a little wrinkle into things with our suggestion for a trade with the Utah Jazz.
The Jazz currently sit in fourth place in the Western Conference with a record of 41-23. They feature a balanced roster featuring young star Donovan Mitchell, veteran leader Mike Conley, solid role players in Joe Ingles, Bojan Bogdanovic, and Jordan Clarkson, and an anchor in the paint in Rudy Gobert.
There are also rumblings that they do not have a very happy locker room after the publicity the team received stemming from Rudy Gobert’s actions before testing positive for coronavirus. Gobert, of course, was the first NBA player to test positive for the virus, just a day after taking the disease lightly and touching all of the microphones at the conclusion of a press conference. We take advantage of those rumblings, and rumors that the Jazz might want to part ways with their big man to suggest this swap:
Why we suggest this trade for the LA Clippers:
The Clippers would trade a substantial, but affordable package to get an absolute lock-down rim-protecting center in Gobert. The team’s already dominant defense would get even more ferocious with the Stifle Tower protecting the paint. The Clippers are already a championship contender, but this move launches them into an even higher tier (if that’s even possible) by bolstering their interior presence.
The two-time NBA Defensive Player of the year is also under contract through the end of the 2020-21 season. This would give the Clippers another full season with a very scary roster.
Would the Jazz do it?
If they’re really as unhappy with Gobert as some reports say, this wouldn’t be a bad package to get in return for him. Marcus Morris would provide more shooting versatility and toughness for the rest of this season. His contract is up at the end of the year and would provide them with some cap flexibility moving forward. Ivica Zubac is a proven big man with room for improvement but would help fill the hole in the middle left by Gobert quite nicely. Mfiondu Kabengele (once again making the cut for one of our suggested trades) not only helps make the money work in this deal but provides a young big man with upside to add to their developing roster.
Read the rest of our “One Trade with every Team” series here:
Pacific Division: Lakers, Warriors, Kings, Suns
Northwest Division: Nuggets, Jazz, Thunder, Blazers, Timberwolves
Southwest Division: Rockets, Mavericks, Grizzlies, Pelicans, Spurs
Atlantic Division: Raptors, Celtics, 76ers, Nets, Knicks
Central Division: Bucks, Pacers, Bulls, Pistons, Cavaliers
Southeast Division: Heat, Magic, Wizards, Hornets, Hawks