LA Clippers: Pass or Pursue on Clippers Buyout Rumors
LA Clippers Pass or Pursue? LaMarcus Aldridge
The LA Clippers are rumored to be interested in LaMarcus Aldridge after the San Antonio Spurs bought him out. Once upon a time, Aldridge was one of the better scorers at the combo 4/5 position, but lately he’s been exclusively a center.
There’s no denying that Aldridge could still bring great scoring to the LA Clippers. Per 36 minutes, LMA is averaging 19 points and 6 rebounds, shooting 46% from the field and 36% from deep. As recently as 2018-19, Aldridge was shooting only 0.6 threes per 36 minutes, but now he’s bumped that up to 5 threes per 36.
Another big who could stretch the floor and give our stars more room to operate would be great. He’s effectively a more efficient Serge Ibaka from deep, and the pick and pop game would be deadly with Aldridge on the floor.
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Unfortunately, the three point line basically where the Serge/Aldridge comparison ends. Ibaka shoots 57.7% from inside the line, while Aldridge only shoots 51%. A way to compare their shooting efficiency is their effective field goal percentage – a metric which assigns more weight to 3 pointers than to 2 pointers, to account for the added value of hitting threes.
Serge has an effective field goal percentage of 56.2%, well above the league average of 53.7%. LMA is below average at 51.8%. At this point in his career, Aldridge is doing his damage from deep, but not scoring efficiently anywhere else, which would limit his contribution to the LA Clippers.
Of course, we haven’t even touched on the defensive performance. I can throw the numbers at you, but I think making comps to players is more effective. When he’s been off the court for the Spurs, the opposing team has an effective field goal percentage of 52.7% – comparable to Eric Gordon and Al Horford this season. When he’s been on the court, that number goes to 56.5% – more comparable to Tobias Harris and Karl Anthony Towns.
Just by putting LMA on the floor, the Spurs defense gets noticeably worse. The LA Clippers need either defense or some elite skill from their center position, and LaMarcus Aldridge just can’t provide either of those.
Verdict: PASS