LA Clippers: Explaining surprising Justise Winslow signing

ESPN has reported that the LA Clippers have signed SG/F Justise Winslow to a two-year contract.

Winslow was a surprise signing for the Clips. It’s of low-risk, however, as I can’t imagine him costing very much.

The former tenth overall pick has always had lots of potential in him as a player, too, so there’s potentially some high reward from this move.

The LA Clippers signing Justise Winslow has lots of upside for the team this year.

A 6’6″ wing who can also play the four, Justise Winslow could really benefit the LA Clippers in the time that Kawhi Leonard is out.

He’s a solid defender, and the Clippers like wings who can defend, and who can defend a few different positions on the court.

The downside in the signing is his injury history. Winslow hasn’t played close to a full season since the 2018-2019 year. In the last two seasons, he’s played in a total of 37 games.

He’s also had another season in his six-year career where he only played in 18 games. It’s not always the best decision to try to limit the damage to Kawhi being out by signing an injury-prone player.

Again, however, the deal will very likely not be for very much money, and the upside’s also there.

The last time Winslow played close to a full year (again, 2018-2019), he looked good on both ends of the floor.

He put up 12.6 points per game and 4.3 assists per game. In the process, he shot 43.3% from the field and 37.5% from deep. He averaged over a steal per contest, and even picked up 5.4 boards per game.

He’s a well-rounded player at a size that the Clippers like (especially for his position).

The Duke product is a nice depth option, and can absolutely learn a thing or two from similar players in Leonard, Paul George, Marcus Morris Sr., and Nicolas Batum.

Winslow’s game is well-suited for this Clipper team, and if he stays healthy, this move is going to prove to have great value. Winslow has what it takes to make an impact on this team.