The March 25th NBA Trade Deadline is approaching, and it seems the LA Clippers are not through tinkering. Just a few days after telling us they would only be looking at improving around the margins, today we learned that may not be the case.
Just today, we learned that the LA Clippers are asking around about one of the best defensive bigs in the league.
The LA Clippers have shown interest in Pacers center Myles Turner
In a recent article for the Indianapolis Star, J. Michael mentioned that several teams have come knocking on the Pacers’ door to ask about the big man, among them the LA Clippers, Lakers, Knicks, Hornets and Pelicans.
It’s interesting to see the LA Clippers mentioned in that list, but it’s not hard to see how Turner would fit on the team. The 24 year old big man would anchor a defense that’s been on the rise lately, and he would contribute consistency on that end of the floor to a team that is calling for more consistent play.
The question, of course, is how would the LA Clippers get him? And the answer to this question opens up an even more interesting question. At $17.5 Million, matching Turner’s contract means moving more than just some spare pieces at the end of the bench.
To begin, there’s no way that the LA Clippers make a move for Myles Turner without including Ivica Zubac. You don’t make a move for a player as impactful as Turner just to make him one of a three headed monster at center. While it would be tough to part from Zu, Myles is one of the few centers that would be worth including him for.
But Zubac alone doesn’t make the money work; we’re still $10.5 Million away. The easiest way to make up that money is to throw in Patrick Beverley, which seriously hurts. However, you could mitigate that a little bit by including Mfiondu Kabengele. That gives us enough financial freedom to include T.J. McConnell from the Pacers.
This brings up the follow-up question. What does it mean if the LA Clippers are asking around about players that would almost require Patrick Beverley to be included? There have never been any whispers about trading Bev; is something changing there now?
Of course, all we’ve done so far is match money. The question now is, do the LA Clippers have enough to interest the Pacers? It’s tough to see that happening, but things get a little easier if Zu and Beverley are part of the deal. Does Indiana have any interest in Kennard? A young shooter is always tempting, but the contract may push them away.
It boils down to “what do the Pacers want to do?” If they’re looking to shed salary and free up cap space, the LA Clippers can’t really help there. The three guys who might make the deal interesting – Bev, Zu and Luke – are all on multi-year deals. The problem is that other teams can probably make a better package if the Pacers want to try to get better right now.
It will basically come down to how the Pacers feel about Zu and Luke, and whether the LA Clippers are willing to move some of their core players. While this particular deal may be tough to make happen, it’s very telling that the Clips are asking around about players on larger contracts.