There are three players the LA Clippers should work to re-sign.
The LA Clippers enter the offseason with some questions about their roster. There are two main points of concern for the team to address: the point guard position and the center position. While making deals or adding players through free agency are both probably necessary this offseason, they also have to worry about taking care of their own players.
The Clippers have six players entering free agency this offseason:
- Marcus Morris
- Montrezl Harrell
- JaMychal Green
- Reggie Jackson
- Patrick Patterson
- Johnathan Motley
Of those, I think the team should only truly worry about re-signing three of them.
Patrick Patterson
First on the list and likely the easiest to bring back is Patrick Patterson. Pat Pat played spot minutes for the team all season but when he did, he was able to contribute. Most notably, Doc Rivers used him against Anthony Davis in the regular season to which Patterson played decently.
He appeared in 59 games, starting 18 for the team. He only averaged 13.2 minutes but put up a respectable 4.9 point on 40.8% shooting (39% from deep), 2.6 rebounds, and 0.7 assists. Those stats won’t blow you away but as far as an end of the bench piece, teams could do a lot worse.
Patterson is 31 and probably isn’t going to get a ton of offers. He was brought in to be a stable presence and because he is close friends with Paul George. Assuming PG isn’t going anywhere and that the team intends to re-sign him after next season, keeping Patterson around only makes sense.
The Clippers should and likely will “prioritize” re-signing Patterson. I use quotation marks around prioritize because I don’t expect the team to offer him more than a veteran’s minimum which they can do at any point during free agency without it affecting anything except the hard cap. The team might agree to terms with him quickly but not officially sign the paperwork until they have made other moves.
JaMychal Green
Next on the list if PF/C JaMychal Green. This one comes with a caveat. Green has a player option for the 2020-21 season. If he accepts it and takes his $5,005,350, then great! The LA Clippers don’t have to worry. If he declines though, the team has to try and bring him back.
JaMychal is a perfect bench piece for Doc Rivers. He spaces the floor, he hustles, he rebounds, and he is a tough defender capable of playing against both bigger and smaller players. In short, he’s the perfect second or third option big on this team. If Montrezl Harrell leaves, the team will need to shore up the position and Green should be the primary target.
Luckily for the Clippers, they do have his Early Bird Rights. This means they can offer him a little over $9 million per year.
Green this season provided a lot for the Clippers. His scoring was down compared to last season while his minutes were up slightly but this is in part due to the emergence of Trezz as a scoring threat with the bench unit. Even so, Green can provide for the team.
He shot 38.7% from deep on nearly four attempts per game. His ability to shoot from the center position is something that neither Harrell nor Ivica Zubac currently posess in their game.
There’s another reason the team needs to prioritize keeping Green. Kawhi Leonard wanted him. Last summer when Leonard was figuring out his free agency decision, he reportedly reached out to JaMychal Green, asking him if he would stay. Green did, turning down bigger offers in the process.
While the decision didn’t pay off this season, Green still has to feel good about the team’s chances. Hopefully, he doesn’t get some offer that blows him away and the Clippers can bring him back while still giving him the pay bump her deserves.
Marcus Morris Sr.
The last person the LA Clippers have to re-sign is Marcus Morris. This will be controversial to some but hear me out.
Quite frankly, the team will not be able to acquire someone as talented as Morris on the free agent market. They just don’t have the money. Re-signing Morris will cost them too unless for some reason he is willing to just take a veteran’s minimum.
The Clippers have his Non-Bird rights. While they do allow him to re-sign above the soft cap, he can make120% of his previous salary. That will cost the Clips a pretty penny. Letting him go though will be more costly.
The team gave up a first round pick for Morris. While he was solid with the team, they didn’t even get half of a season out of him (to no fault of his own). Giving up a first-rounder for just 19 regular-season games is not a good look if you cannot bring the guy back.
Outside of that though, Morris just fits. Sure, he has some issues when it comes to interacting with opponents on the court but he is a productive player. In those 19 games, he put up 10.1 points on 42.5% shooting, 4.1 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 0.7 steals, and 0.7 blocks.
In the playoffs though, he was more effective. He averaged 11.8 points on 50.5% shooting, 4.8 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 0.8 steals, and 0.1 blocks in only a minute more of playing time than during the regular season. He also proved himself a capable defender, handling bigger assignments like guarding Luka Doncic.
Morris is a scoring threat and a great third option. When one or both of Leonard and George sit for load management, he is also capable of being a temporary number one option. He can play either forward spot and even ran the center position some when the Clips went ultra-small.
There’s just too much versatility lost if the team cannot bring Morris back. He helps in multiple ways and the team gave up too much to only get him for a short time. Would you bring him or the other players listed back? Let us know on Twitter and keep checking back for all your LA Clippers news, rumors, and more!