The LA Clippers still have a chance at one of these three point guards.
When the NBA’s trade moratorium lifted on Monday, the moves happened quickly. The two biggest deals of the day centered around point guards. Chris Paul was sent to the Phoenix Suns for Ricky Rubio, Kelly Oubre, and other assets. Jrue Holiday was sent to the Milwaukee Bucks for a trove of picks, Eric Bledsoe, and George Hill. The LA Clippers had a couple of the players in these deals circled as potential targets and now must look elsewhere.
That isn’t to say there isn’t a shortage of attainable point guards but with the Holiday trade setting the precedence for the rest of the trade market, the team might have trouble finding a partner. With that in mind, let’s look at the three best point guards that still seem attainable to the Clips.
Honorable Mentions
Russell Westbrook
Russell Westbrook wants out of Houston. Now that it has become apparent that James Harden will likely be traded and the Rockets are blowing things up, it stands to reason that the Rockets will part ways with Westbrook as well.
There’s one issue – his massive contract. According to Brian Windhorst of ESPN, Westbrook is more or less untradable at this point in time. Sure, teams can offer things for him but Houston won’t get value back equal to his talent. The Clippers could make an offer to bring him to LA but unless Montrezl Harrell agrees to a sign-and-trade and the team adds in the likes of Patrick Beverley and Rodney McGruder, getting the $41 million together is a tough ask.
Westbrook will move eventually but it’s tough for me to count him as “attainable” for the sake of this article. Just don’t forget he’s lingering out there.
Ricky Rubio
The forgotten player in yesterday’s dealings is Ricky Rubio. Rubio had a nice season in Phoenix but was the victim of circumstance. Obviously, Chris Paul was an upgrade over him, so it makes sense he ended up in Oklahoma City. Do I think he stays there? Probably not.
However, I also don’t think the Clippers have what the Thunder are looking for. The Thunder reportedly don’t want long-term deals and instead want assets. Seeing as how they already own all of the Clippers’ draft picks for the next 50 years, LA just doesn’t have a route to get Rubio at this point. There is the possibility that they flip Lou Williams for the Mavericks’ first round draft pick but until that materializes, I think Rubio is a long shot.