2023-07-13 07:43:38
The summer vacation of the Los Angeles Clippers is “a lot of thunder and little rain”. As of now, it’s just standing still, failing to fix any immediate flaws…or is it “pending”? Waiting for the day when the James Harden and Damian Lillard trade rumors come true. The following is a review and summary of every deal the Clippers have made since the end of the season.
The summer vacation of the Los Angeles Clippers is “a lot of thunder and little rain”. Fortunately, the two core rotations of Russell Westbrook and Mason Plumlee were re-signed at a low price, and the Rockets’ Kenyon Martin Jr. was acquired with 2 second-round picks. Persist in continuing to work hard with Paul George and Kawhi Leonard as the core, neither dismantling nor rebuilding, to put it bluntly, just standing still. Failing to fix any known flaws…or hanging around waiting for the James Harden/Damian Lillard trade rumor to come true.
Further reading: Will Paul George, Kawhi Leonard break up or fight for another year?
The Broken Malcolm Brogdon Deal
Before the draft, it was rumored that the Clippers would be the third party for the Wizards and Celtics to trade Kristaps Porzingis in exchange for Malcolm Brogdon, the Sixth Man of the Year. According to Adrian Wojnarowski, the Clippers would send Marcus Morris, Amir Coffey and this year’s The 30th pick in the first round (the subsequent selection to Kobe Brown) and so on are used as chips. Possess organizational skills and excellent three-point aim, can switch freely between off-ball and holding the ball, and has a bigger defensive body. Brogdon can be called the point guard of the Clippers management after Chris Paul left the team. ideal type. Helplessly, the Clippers were worried about Brogdon’s injury and broke the game because there was no time for a physical examination.
This broken deal tells us that there are no speedboats with any space or assets this summer, and the few feasible reinforcement methods are to gather together in various large-scale transactions. He holds tens of tens of millions of expiring contracts (Morris, Robert Covington, Nicolas Batum). If the luxury tax is not considered, he can also accept John Collins by the Jazz, Jordan Poole by the Wizards, and accept the long-term contract that the seller is eager to get rid of . Suffering from insufficient bargaining chips and poor efficiency in saving money, the speedboat did not succeed.
Another more pragmatic approach is to act as a third party in a large transaction and act as a short-term salary package provider. If the Blazers do not want to receive a long-term contract because of the trade of Lillard, or the Raptors nod to send Pascal Siakam away, someone needs to achieve a salary balance, and the Clippers can end up with Morris, Covington or Batum plus the only draft pick. The machine is a little cheaper. It’s just that this group of all-purpose bags (Morris + first-round pick) does not sell well. How much profit can they make? On the other hand, the inability to take the initiative to attack made the speedboat a lot of noise throughout the summer, but the actual changes were quiet.
Eric Gordon of Change Air
The Clippers missed not only Brogdon, but also Eric Gordon’s insecure contract. Originally, it was a check with a maximum amount of 20.92 million, which could be used as a salary balance transaction package by increasing the amount of protection. However, in the end, nothing was achieved. The speedboat rarely “turns into air” the available assets. Even if Serge Ibaka was previously cleared, at least there is an equivalent transaction exception (TE), no matter whether it is finally used or not, at least the flexibility of trading is extended. Simply laying off players is nothing.
With a salary of 20.92 million, the total salary of the Clippers team fell to 194 million US dollars, which is 12 million yuan away from the 182 million US dollars of the second Apron. We have to further turn Covington and Morris away into air, and then lay off Jason. Preston is expected to lift a number of transactions and contract restrictions under the new labor agreement. Even so, the little room for reinforcement may not necessarily help Gordon’s combat power.
Abandoning Gordon not only loses a usable backcourt force, but also wastes the first-round swap rights (20->30) given to the Rockets. The only benefit is to save $110 million in luxury taxes. Looking back at the Gordon trade case in the middle of the season, it overlapped with Normal Powell’s position and functions at that time. In the end, it was unable to take advantage of the residual value of this unguaranteed contract. The failure of this trade.
Further reading: Beal, CP3 transaction case is just the first shot!The new version of the “labor agreement” will set off a super storm in the NBA
Dispensable draft, even if your name is Kobe
Looking at the Clippers’ draft history in recent years, even if the rookie is Kobe, Jordan or Miller, it is still difficult to hold expectations. The team has no room for rookies to play, and the 30th pick in the first round is not regarded as an immediate force, and is tied to a four-year contract card. At this moment, it is more like a hot potato that is eager to be traded. According to the preliminary summer league observation, whether it is Kobe Brown in the first round or Jordan Miller in the second round, it may be difficult to make substantial contributions to the NBA in the first year.
Kobe Brown has a height of 6-8 and a strong 250 pounds. He is a 3-4 forward with all-around ball. Top support, or as a shooter C&S to shoot three-pointers, can also grasp the dislocation and use low-post play to score points. Rebound protection and passing ability are one of the highlights in the summer league. Kobe Brown is in the stage where he is good at everything but not good at everything. His offensive efficiency is not high, and he has mobility problems on the defensive end. He needs to further improve his outside grasp. As for Jordan Miller, his degree of completion is also very high. As long as he can grasp the perimeter and prove that the defense does not hinder him, he will have a chance to gradually make his mark, but it will not be the next season.
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