It has been an interesting season for the LA Clippers, and it is fair to say that the team has outdone nearly everyone's expectations. As of this writing, the Clippers own the sixth spot in the Eastern Conference standings, and they sit just three and a half games out of fourth, and home court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
All this of course comes in a season where many had counted the Clippers out. With no more Paul George on the roster and Kawhi Leonard dealing with more injury troubles to begin the year, nearly everyone was ready to cast the Clippers aside. Instead, Norman Powell and James Harden have led the charge to put LA back in the playoff picture and act as a spoiler in the loaded Western Conference.
Now, as the NBA trade deadline hits, the Clippers have successfully addressed one of their biggest weaknesses. As strong as they have been defensively, LA has severely lacked offensive fire power. That makes their Thursday acquisition of Bogdan Bogdanovic a total slam dunk.
Bogdanovic will improve the Clippers' offense
The Clippers sent Terance Mann and Bones Hyland to the Atlanta Hawks in exchange for Bogdanovic and three future second-round picks. All in all, this was an excellent payout from the Clippers' side of things.
For the final two months of the season, Bogdanovic can fill in nicely as both a ball-handler and scorer. If James Harden has to miss a game, Bogi can bring the ball up and initiate the offense. If Kawhi Leonard or Norman Powell miss an outing, Bogdanovic can step into more of a scoring role and help the Clippers put points on the board. Essentially, he looks to be exactly what this team has been needing.
Losing Mann and Hyland hurts at some level, but this was always the right move to make. Mann had simply never grown into that two-way star the Clippers had been hoping he would, and he was too often a non-factor offensively. Hyland simply was not getting the opportunity, having appeared in just seven games in 2025.
Bogdanovic was a great pick-up for this squad, and the Clippers did not even have to overpay. They are now set up for success even more in the second half of the season.