The NBA trade deadline is next Thursday. What that means for the LA Clippers is a question of what the team has done in the past and where they are currently going.
The last time the Clippers did not make a trade between the regular-season opener and the deadline was the 2016-17 season. Since then, president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank has executed an in-season trade every year:
- 2017-18: Blake Griffin to Detroit
- 2018-19: Tobias Harris to Philadelphia; Avery Bradley to Memphis
- 2019-20: Moe Harkless to New York
- 2020-21: Lou Williams to Atlanta
- 2021-22: Eric Bledsoe to Portland; Serge Ibaka to Milwaukee
- 2022-23: Reggie Jackson to Charlotte; John Wall to Houston; Luke Kennard to Memphis
- 2023-24: Marcus Morris Sr. to Philadelphia
Some teams would look at the Clippers’ current situation (26-20, sixth in the Western Conference and consider them stuck in the middle and not a realistic contender with a roster older than every team except the Milwaukee Bucks and Phoenix Suns. The Clippers don’t have control of a first-round pick until 2030, with their selections swapped in 2025, 2027 and 2029.
But this is a team proud of the fact it has the league’s longest active streak of consecutive winning seasons at 13. Chairman Steve Ballmer is anti-tanking. Plus, this is the first season of Intuit Dome; Ballmer wants playoff games in the $2 billion palace.
If this was a Clippers team where the defense was mediocre, like the previous two seasons, then that could make a trade more enticing. But this season’s team statistically has the best defense in the NBA outside of Oklahoma City. Disrupting the Clippers’ chemistry and continuity courtesy of head coach Tyronn Lue and defensive coordinator Jeff Van Gundy’s scheme could be dicey, especially considering the high care factor.
“The biggest factor, I think, is just the mentality,” Lue said of this season’s defense. “Just having a mentality that every night, we want to go out and defend. We want to have a defensive mindset to start off games. We talked about that in the past, but this year, we really locked in, and we’ve taken on that challenge every night.
“No matter who we’re playing, we’ve got to establish ourselves defensively first before anything else happens. JVG and the coaches have done a great job of just getting our guys to believe that every night we can be a great defensive team, and that’s what we’re doing.”
So to recap: The Clippers can’t tank, wouldn’t tank if they could, are too good anyway, but not good enough to say they’re contenders. And their current pathway toward wins features delicate levels of cohesiveness and culture. Also, they have little draft-pick ammunition, and they can get out of the luxury tax by shedding $2.5 million.
Who could move? And for what? Here are the Clippers trade tiers:
Relationships matter here. The Clippers traded Griffin in 2018 months after signing what Griffin thought would be a contract that would allow him to retire a Clipper. That was certainly on Paul George’s mind prior to his departure in free agency last summer, and also why he wanted either a maximum contract or a no-trade clause.
Leonard signed his extension last January, a deal that goes through 2027. The relationship Leonard has with Lue and the organization — not to mention his hometown status — is one that makes Leonard a keystone of the team, despite his age (33) and injury history.
Those same intangibles are mirrored by Harden, albeit in a shorter period of time. Harden, another Los Angeles-area product, has become an integral part of the organization. He has collaborated with the coaching staff and led the locker room while Leonard worked to get back on the floor. Harden has a player option this summer, but he hasn’t been eager to change NBA teams for a fifth time.
Leonard’s return should help Harden in what has been the team’s biggest weakness: taking care of the basketball. Harden ranks third in turnovers per game (4.6), and only the Portland Trail Blazers and Utah Jazz have a worse team turnover percentage than the Clippers (16.3).
But Leonard is the type of ballhandler that reduces LA’s mistakes. In Leonard’s 157 minutes on the floor, the Clippers have a turnover percentage of 12.3 — which would rank third in the NBA for a team this season.
“I’m not a high turnover guy,” Leonard said after the Clippers had a season-low seven turnovers in a comeback win against the Bucks on Saturday. “I think I help the team slow the game down, give them more confidence and just (be) another guy able to shoot, pass and dribble.”
While Leonard gives the team a panacea for a weakness, Zubac is the pillar of the second-best defensive rebounding team in the league. Zubac is the longest-tenured player on the roster and arguably their most indispensable player given their weakness at the center position. Additionally, he isn’t trade-eligible because of the extension he signed in September.
Tier II: Doubt they would be moved (Norman Powell)
Entering Week 15, “Player A” is averaging 23.9 points, 4.6 free-throw attempts, 3.5 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 2.1 turnovers, 1.3 steals and 3.5 3s while shooting 49 percent from the field, 43.1 percent from 3 and 84.2 percent from the free-throw line.
“Player B” is averaging 24.0 points, 4.3 free-throw attempts, 4.9 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 2.9 turnovers, 0.9 steals and 3.2 3s while shooting 51.2 percent from the field, 44.4 percent from 3, and 79.2 percent from the free-throw line.
“Player A” is Norman Powell, who has stepped up to produce career-high numbers. Powell turns 32 in May and is a 2026 free agent.
“Player B” is Powell’s former UCLA teammate and current Chicago Bulls trade candidate Zach LaVine, a two-time All-Star. Would you trade Powell, Terance Mann, Bones Hyland and PJ Tucker just to acquire LaVine?
Norman Powell (24) and Zach LaVine have put up similar scoring numbers this season. (Kamil Krzaczynski / USA Today)
Based on Frank’s comments in July about the long-term goals of the Clippers — maintaining financial flexibility for the 2026 and 2027 offseasons, when Harden and Leonard’s current contracts expire — that doesn’t sound like a prudent move.
“We’ll look at everything, but we’re not going to be reckless if it really sacrifices future flexibility going forward,” Frank said after George signed with Philadelphia. “I think we’re going to be very good in the short term. We’re also going to have flexibility long-term to make this a sustainable organization that’s always in pursuit of winning championships.”
These four players have been regular role players for the Clippers, contributing to the team’s culture and committing to defense and playing hard.
Jones was the team’s top free-agent acquisition, and he has been the starting small forward with Leonard back to a starring role. Dunn filled in as a starter for two months and has paired with Jones to be a strong point-of-attack defender while operating as a connector offensively. Dunn is currently dealing with a minor knee injury and also going through a brutal shooting slump, but he has been valued tremendously on and off the court this season.
The Clippers never wanted to trade Batum last season to Philadelphia, and even with Batum’s muted volume production, he is valued as a versatile defender who makes the right play in his few touches. Batum is the backup center when the Clippers downsize.
Coffey did not sign a new contract to join the Clippers like Jones, Dunn and Batum; he is the best Clipper on an expiring deal. Coffey also is having a career year as the de facto sixth man, averaging 10.4 points and finishing a career-best 22 dunks while shooting 41.3 percent from 3 and 90.4 percent from the free-throw line. To go from a 2019 undrafted free agent and a player on three seasons of two-way contracts to his current form is remarkable.
Tier IV: Probable upgrade candidates (Terance Mann, Kevin Porter Jr., Mo Bamba)
This is where things get most interesting. The depth of the Clippers was on display last week in an overtime loss to the defending-champion Boston Celtics that saw Harden, Powell, Zubac, Leonard, Dunn and Batum all out. The following night, Harden praised the team’s depth while also acknowledging that some players can’t play every night.
“The depth is not the problem,” Harden said. “Having too many guys might be the problem, to where you don’t know who to play certain nights or whatever the case may be. But that’s coaching, that’s T. Lue’s job. But for the most part, we’ve got a very good team, well put together, that healthy, we can make a deep run.”
The player caught in the middle of the depth logjam is Mann, who signed a three-year extension that takes his salary from $11.4 million this season to $16 million in the 2027-28 season. Mann’s contract is tradable, but he’s had an uneven season that has seen him lose a starting job, miss a month after surgery to repair a fractured finger and collect multiple DNP-CDs since returning.
Will Terance Mann be a part of trade activities for the Clippers this season? (Photo by Katelyn Mulcahy / Getty Images)
Mann has always been highly valued by the Clippers’ front office. They have always resisted trading him, and they won’t give him away now, especially while his value and contract number are in a valley. Like Coffey, he is a homegrown talent who has been a high-floor player. But Mann has had trouble realizing much of a ceiling, and for all of the things he is, he is not a primary playmaker — or a 7-footer.
Porter is a primary playmaker, and Bamba is a 7-footer. Both have had moments this season that make it clear the Clippers could upgrade on their respective positions. Porter’s shooting percentages are subpar, and his decision-making can leave a lot to be desired. Bamba’s defensive positioning can be inconsistent, and he has shot well below his career average from 3. Considering both players are on minimum contracts, they have performed about where they should, and both have played better in January than in December. But a game like Monday night in Phoenix — where the starting 5-man lineup outscored the Suns by 15 points, only for all other lineups to be outscored by 17 points in the other 34 minutes in a 2-point loss — underscores the challenges of the bench options, especially in a playoff-type setting.
When the Clippers are fully healthy, there are not enough rotation spots to play all three of Mann, Porter and Bamba. But Mann is the only one with theoretical trade value. Is it worth packaging him with Tucker for a John Collins type? Does a straight-up deal for Chris Boucher, a 32-year-old who can shoot but isn’t the sturdiest defender, worth exploring?
There’s not much to say about this quintet. Brown has struggled to shoot 3s as a pro, but that’s not as much of a problem if he is going to get a chance to be a center like his last year at Missouri. He’s still an intriguing project and a worthwhile fifth big because of his offensive acumen.
Christie is a rookie on a four-year deal, and he is a developing shooter. Miller got a chance at rotation minutes during the fall, but his shooting and defense didn’t hold up. He still could be a promotion candidate from his two-way contract if a roster spot opens up.
That’s not the case for Jones, who remains a developmental player despite being a 2021 first-round pick. Flowers, an undrafted, two-way-contract rookie, is in a similar boat with Christie as a long-term project getting plenty of time in the G League.
Tier VI: We’ve been here, young player version (Bones Hyland)
Hyland would have welcomed a trade last year when he fell out of the rotation being behind George, Leonard, Harden, Powell, Mann and Russell Westbrook. That trade didn’t happen, and Hyland was sent home, along with Tucker, before the last game prior to the 2024 All-Star break.
This season, Hyland has played at least 15 minutes in only five games this season, all Clippers losses. There have been several games where Hyland doesn’t get off the bench in garbage time. Harden has taken Hyland under his wing, and the two are locker mates on the road this season, talking after every game.
Hyland’s expiring contract could be pawned off to help the Clippers get below the luxury tax, if nothing else, and Hyland has been champing at the bit for his next opportunity. We’ll learn soon if there is a team willing to give Hyland playing time, but if the Clippers felt they needed to prioritize a small guard with offensive juice in their lineups, they’d be playing him.
That clearly isn’t a priority, and Hyland specifically hasn’t been a priority in the rotation this season. Keep that in mind when it comes to trade results.
Tier VII: We’ve been here, disgruntled veteran version (PJ Tucker)
Tucker was with the Clippers last season, though he was a poor fit almost immediately, and was sent home with Hyland when he wasn’t traded before the All-Star break. Tucker also was fined $75,000 last February for a public trade demand.
One reason Tucker wasn’t traded last year was because he had control of an $11.5 million player option that he exercised last summer. Guys rarely get bought out with multiple years of player control on their deal. The Clippers failed to find a trade in the offseason for Tucker. When the team had its media day, Tucker wasn’t present. He went to training camp in Honolulu with the Clippers, but the plane barely landed in Los Angeles before the team released a statement announcing that he would not be with the club going forward.
Tucker, who turns 40 in May, has played his last game in a Clippers uniform, and an asset would need to be attached to include him in any trade. If Tucker is not traded, then expect him to seek a team that would be interested on the buyout market following the deadline.
(Top photo of Bones Hyland and Kawhi Leonard: Katelyn Mulcahy / Getty Images)
