3 Trades That Could Improve the LA Clippers This Offseason
As the NBA offseason begins, we look at three trades the LA Clippers could make that could put them in a better spot next season.
Fake trade season is my absolute favorite. I spend way more time than is healthy just playing around on ESPN’s Trade Machine, imagining fun moves that could make my favorite team better.
Today I’m looking at three deals that I think are (at least) semi-realistic that could make the LA Clippers a better team, or could make the future brighter without sacrificing current success, or both.
Two important notes here. First, I wanted to avoid trading away our superstars. You hear the Twitter whispers that maybe moving PG is the right thing to do, but I don’t buy them and I don’t agree. So in these fake trades, Kawhi and PG are off limits.
Second, I assume that in some or all of these trades, second round picks would have to be moved. I wanted to avoid trades that would need a first or multiple firsts, because the Clippers don’t have them and I think their main focus is getting better rather than building assets. So when you see these trades, understand that I think these are realistic to within a second round pick going one way or another. I’ll mention when I think a second would have to be involved.
With that in mind, let’s start with the first idea, in which the LA Clippers make a move for a playmaker.
Why the LA Clippers do this:
By doing this trade, the Clippers get the playmaker that they so desperately needed last season. They also get a pass-first point guard in Ricky Rubio who is far better than anybody they could hope to get on the free agency market.
And, while doing so, they won’t totally sacrifice their defense at the PG position. I’m not going to win any reporting awards for saying that Ricky Rubio isn’t the defender that Patrick Beverley is. But Rubio knows where to be and what to do, and can be a positive defensive contribution.
Having Rubio would open up the offense. The 30 year old makes the right decision far more often than he makes the wrong one; he boasted a 3.25 assist/turnover ratio last year. His passing would lead to far less hero ball from our superstars and could be used to get our role players more involved.
As a scorer, we wouldn’t be losing much when going from Bev to Rubio. Ricky shot the three at a 36% clip last season and put up 15 points per 36 minutes. Of all the trades mentioned in this piece, this one feels the most like a no-brainer for the Clippers.
Would the Suns say yes?
Offensive wunderkind Devin Booker has become adept at running an offense in recent years, and moving Rubio would allow Booker to play the point on offense and grant him total control over that side of the ball.
On defense, Patrick Beverley could take the toughest guard assignment and let Booker conserve his energy for scoring and playmaking. Bev would also bring a veteran presence to a young Phoenix team and could help them take another step forward.
McGruder isn’t really moving the needle here. His contract just makes the money work, and he’s fairly easy to move on from should the Suns not want to keep him long term.
Giving their best player control of the offense while adding an All-Defense level talent seems like a win for the Suns. This could be one of those trades that both teams win. I’m not even sure you need to include any picks; I think both teams might be happy here.