The Los Angeles Clippers have traded point guard Patrick Beverley, point guard Rajon Rondo, and center Daniel Oturu to the Memphis Grizzlies for point guard Eric Bledsoe. Memphis acquired the point guard from the New Orleans Pelicans earlier this offseason in a trade. This deal acquires the dynamic point guard the Clippers have been looking for and also decreased their overall tax bill this season. The Grizzlies acquire three players they could potentially flip for more assets.
The Grizzlies, with an already packed roster, are open-minded on the futures of all three players in Memphis — and will likely consider trades with some of those arriving in this deal. Memphis gets salary cap flexibility in the summer of 2022 with trade.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) August 16, 2021
Cap ramifications for LAC/MEM:
LAC
?Eric Bledsoe: $18.1M and $19.4M ($3.9M GTY)
?LAC will see their tax bill drop from $125M to $95M (savings of $30M)
?$8.3M TE for LACMEM
?Patrick Beverley: $14.3M
?Rajon Rondo: $7.5M ($750K likely bonus)
?Daniel Oturu: $1.5M— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) August 16, 2021
The Clippers are attempting to retool their roster and compete for an NBA Championship now that Kawhi Leonard has signed a contract long-term. Bledsoe is a dynamic guard that provides scoring and playmaking at a level higher than anyone given up in the trade. Rondo and Oturu didn’t seem to be a big part of the Clippers’ plans and they viewed Bledsoe as an upgrade over Beverley. The move was simple to make after that evaluation.
Eric Bledsoe with a game sealing block ?pic.twitter.com/SuHiWFOqn1
— Def Pen Hoops (@DefPenHoops) December 28, 2020
Memphis is trying to determine the future of its franchise and trades like this may continue to happen. Bledsoe was not in the program’s long-term plans so the move works out for both teams.
