With some expecting the LA Clippers to be active in the sign-and-trade market, we look at a few teams that they could talk to this offseason.
On his podcast with Bobby Marks and Ohm Youngmisuk, Brian Windhorst said that he expects the LA Clippers to be active in the sign-and-trade market, and he didn’t get any disagreement from the other two.
We talked about some of the restrictions a team faces if they engage in a sign-and-trade in our cap piece earlier. The gist of it is, we’ll be hard capped if we receive a player in a sign-and-trade. We don’t have exact cap figures right now, but that would mean that we’d only have ~$20 Million of space under that hard cap. It’s unlikely that we’ll be receiving any players while also keeping Montrezl Harrell and Marcus Morris.
Speaking of Trezz, that’s probably the player to whom the podcasters were referring. While it’s possible that the Clippers could try to sign-and-trade Marcus Morris, JaMychal Green or Reggie Jackson, they probably don’t have nearly the value on the market that Trezz does.
What that means practically is that we’re probably sellers in the sign-and-trade market, not buyers. Probably, but not certainly. Let’s take a look at three teams that the Clippers could partner up with in a sign-and-trade this offseason.
1) LA Clippers S&T Partner: Toronto Raptors
The Toronto Raptors are a team that could allow the LA Clippers to be buyers in a sign-and-trade, via a double S&T. There are two options that immediately jump to mind, one more likely than the other. Let’s look at the more likely one first:
This trade feels like it could make a lot of sense. Two backup bigs switch teams; the Raptors get a younger player who could develop into something more, and the Clippers get the older player who can help them win now. If Toronto thinks highly of Trezz, this could be a good opportunity.
Financially, if both guys agree to it, Serge Ibaka and Trezz could sign very similar contracts – I don’t have a great feel for what kind of money these two are going to want, but if they both agreed to something in the range of 3 years, $36-40 Million, that feels pretty fair, and it gets Ibaka on the Clippers on a dollar amount higher than the Mid-Level Exception.
I think the Clippers happily do this. They get a big who can play defense and stretch the floor on offense for his age 31-34 seasons. Do the Raptors?
That depends a lot of Fred VanVleet. If he re-signs with the Raptors on a big contract, then they certainly do not do this. They’ve got designs on Giannis in the next offseason, and having Fred on a big contract along with Trezz on a $12-15 Million contract makes that a lot tougher. Not impossible, but tougher.
That said, if VanVleet leaves, then Toronto has more flexibility in doing something like this while still being able to keep the Giannis space open. Which brings me to another possibility
Throw in a second round pick or two, depending on how these teams value those.
Remember, this is a sign-and-trade, not just a straight up trade. If this trade got offered at the deadline last year, it doesn’t happen. This is contingent on VanVleet wanting to come to the Clippers and the Raptors being willing to work on an S&T to make it work.
There’s a reason the other one was the more likely one.
But, if Fred makes it clear that he’s walking, the Raptors could see this as an opportunity to get something back for him instead of just losing him.
This is another trade that I think the Clippers do in a heartbeat. Rumors are swirling that Kawhi Leonard is pushing to acquire a point guard, and this would get probably the best one available.
On the Raptors end, it would require Fred to have made it obvious he’s leaving, and it depends on how they view Trezz. If they view him positively, this could make sense. And in the reverse of last trade, this trade assumes that Ibaka is leaving, which is also not a given.
Lou and Trezz are an offense unto themselves in the regular season and could give Pascal Siakam a rest from the scoring load. And Lou is an expiring, so his money won’t be a factor come the Giannis offseason. The fact that they’re such an offensive force, will likely be a package of around $20 Million and Lou’s an expiring make them an attractive trade piece that we’ll see throughout this article.
2) LA Clippers S&T Partner: Charlotte Hornets
Of all the options on my list, this is the one that makes the least amount of sense, but I think it makes enough sense that it’s worth thinking about for the LA Clippers.
Hey look, it’s Lou and Trezz again! Again, this operates under the assumption that Trezz signs for something in the $12 Million a year range.
The reasoning for the Clippers here is similar to the Fred VanVleet trade. The Clippers get a ballhandler like Kawhi wants (and we need). Rozier is also a great shooter who could play off ball when needed – he shot 45.7% on catch and shoot threes last year, and 40.7% on threes overall.
Terry’s a fine player. He’s just not worth the contract the Hornets gave him. The Clippers would care a little bit less about that; we’re in total win-now mode, and we’re not figuring to have cap space for the next two years anyway.
The question is, why do the Hornets do this?
And honestly, that’s a pretty good question. They have the cap space; if they want Trezz, they can just sign him outright and still have space. They don’t have to make any kind of trade to get him.
The selling point here is getting off of Terry Rozier’s contract. They get the player they want (if they do want Trezz), and they get off a pretty overpaid player’s money. Sure, they’ll be hardcapped, but they’ll still be something like $64 Million under the hard cap, and they’re not going into the luxury tax next season.
And in the following season, when the hard cap goes away, they’ll be off of Lou’s deal too, and they’ll have turned Rozier’s $19 Million into Trezz’s $12 Million or so, which is much nicer.
They’ve got Devonta Graham who took a leap last year and a high draft pick in this draft. They have options at the 1, and Terry Rozier may be slowing down the development of their young talent.
When the Hornets traded for Rozier, they praised his production in his bench role and felt he was ready to take the next step forward and become a starter. If they feel the same about Trezz, this deal could at least be worth asking about.
3) LA Clippers S&T Partner: Dallas Mavericks
From the perspective of Montrezl Harrell, this is probably the most attractive situation – getting a nice contract to play in the Big Apple feels like it’s up Trezz’s alley.
Could we see a return of Boban Marjanovic to Los Angeles? Along with the fan favorite, Delon Wright could be the playmaker we are looking for. He can make the right pass and hit open shots, and he can play solid defense at the guard position.
We know that, despite the tussle between Trezz and Luka, the Mavericks are interested in bringing in Harrell in free agency this offseason. With effectively no cap space right now, a sign-and-trade makes sense here.
More importantly, like Toronto, we know that Dallas has designs on Giannis next offseason, and this move would not stop them from pulling that off.
Boban is a great guy and a fantastic player to have on your team, but he’s not the guy who can give you a ton of minutes at the backup big position. A move for Montrezl Harrell would give them an upgrade over Dwight Powell, who can play big minutes, and who can help keep Porzingis from overwork in the regular season.
This one feels like it makes a ton of sense. The reported interest from the Mavericks in Trezz indicates that they’re not happy in their center rotation, and Harrell shores that up quickly. In the playoffs, they’re going to play Porzingis big minutes at the 5, so they need to rest him and keep him from injury in the regular season. Enter Trezz.
In return, we get a ball handler who isn’t being maximized in Dallas, and who fits in super well on the Clippers. We also get Boban, who will play spot minutes at the 5, and who would get lost in Dallas’ rotations.
What do you think? Would you do any of these, or am I out of my mind? Let us know on Twitter and Facebook, and follow along here for all things LA Clippers!