In the trade for John Collins, the LA Clippers lost a natural shooting guard in Norman Powell. He meant strictly buckets, and nothing else, with low averages of rebounds and assists, but over 20 points per game. Powell never let fatigue or an intense coverage from the defense get in the way of adding to his scoring tally.
Moreover, the Clippers recognized the significance of Powell’s role in their scheme, and they had a plan in place before trading him, as Lawrence Frank was certainly not going to begin the season with all his trust in a shooting guard rotation of Bogdan Bogdanovic and Cam Christie.
This would have been key for Christie’s development, but there is too much at stake to trust a second-year pro to handle heavy duties as a scorer in the second unit. Thus, Bradley Beal was signed, keeping Bogdanovic on the bench.
Preparation for the regular season had been going well, and from time to time, the Clippers’ social media team released workout images of Beal training with his new squad. He seemed happy under less pressure with LA.
Simultaneously, the Clippers’ social media team got the crowd hyped with motivational posts for Bogdanovic and the start of his run in the EuroBasket for Serbia. He was the captain, but unfortunately, the hype dropped from one hundred to zero in the blink of an eye, as the veteran wing hurt his hamstring.
The severity is still in the air, but Bogdanovic was shut down for the remainder of the EuroBasket, implying something serious, which is ultimately detrimental for Beal next season.
Bradley Beal will be under heavy pressure to stay healthy and dominate, with Bogdan Bogdanovic potentially missing time to recover
If Bogdan Bogdanovic needs an ample amount of time to get back to shooting the lights out for the LA Clippers, he could be traded for another shooting guard available, like Kevin Huerter of the Chicago Bulls. This would prevent LA from going all-in on Cam Christie before the season begins.
However, if a trade does not occur, Beal must flourish while playing in the range of 30-40 minutes each night consistently. This is where his health would become the biggest concern.
That said, no player on the Clippers next season would have more to prove, as Beal’s chance to show he is not injury-prone, and can still score the ball at a high level, will be evident if Bogdanovic is forced to miss months at hand.