Ranking the Clippers' top 5 trade assets this summer
By Will Eudy
With their move to a brand new arena just around the corner, the LA Clippers will be doing everything they can to improve their roster this summer and get more fans in seats when the new season officially tips off in the fall. The Clippers have of course been a perennial playoff contender for years, but their constant playoff letdowns are a clear sign there is still more they can do to improve.
Of course, their plans for the offseason will revolve heavily around whether or not Paul George chooses to exercise his player option for the 2024-25 season. If he does, the Clips can continue building with he and Kawhi Leonard as their framework. But if he opts to take his talents elsewhere, it could dramatically change what this team looks like come October.
The Clippers' options to make trades this summer will ultimately be limited by the fact that they have virtually no draft picks to work with. After trading away so many picks to acquire the current talent they have, LA is left with just a 2024 second-round pick, a 2030 first-round pick and a 2030 second-rounder. With that in mind, these are the six most valuable trade assets the Clippers have as of right now.
5. 2030 First-Round Pick
The fifth-most valuable overall trade asset and undoubtedly the Clippers' top draft pick they have to work with is their own first-round selection in 2030. LA dealt away their own 2024, 2025, 2026, 2027, 2028 and 2029 picks in the first round in trades over the last several years, so the 2030 pick is the only one they can reasonably use in any dealings this summer.
Many teams could be interested in getting this pick because the assumption would be that Kawhi Leonard and Paul George would have either left LA or retired by this point, leading to a potentially high lottery pick. It is one of the last picks the Clippers have left to use, so they should be mindful of that when dealing it away.
The biggest reason this pick is not higher on the list is how far into the future it will be. Obviously, the pick cannot be used before six years from now, so it will be of little use for teams trying to draft a star prospect within the next couple of seasons.