For the past six seasons, the LA Clippers have had, by far, the best stretch in the history of the organization. The Clippers have had five 50-win seasons and 40 wins in the shortened lockout season in addition to six straight playoff appearances, nearly matching the seven they’ve had in the rest of their history combined. This makes for a tremendous story about this team that ultimately has fallen short of its championship aspirations but has been the pride of its fans.
That era may be over.
Chris Paul jumped ship in the offseason, hoping to find more team success in Houston. Now the Clippers are 8-14 as they navigate myriad injuries and look to be in danger of missing the postseason, especially as Blake Griffin sits out for two months with yet another injury. Having already brought in Jerry West as an executive to relieve Doc Rivers of his front office duties, the Clippers seem poised to make some changes.
Writers and fans of other teams have been calling for the Clippers to blow up this team for years now, with playoff failure after playoff failure marring what has been a largely successful run for a previously unglamorous team. For once, those calls may no longer be unfounded, and the decision starts with DeAndre Jordan.
The Clippers center is entering free agency this summer and will most certainly look at many options before making his decision. At 29 years old, Jordan may be looking to get his final big deal, almost certainly a max contract while teams will weigh the risk of signing an older player whose game is so heavily dependent on athleticism.
As Jordan gears up for free agency, trade rumors have begun to buzz about the big man. Adding to the smoke that may or may not be indicating a fire, Jordan hired a new agent on Monday after navigating the past two years of his career without one. Jordan unquestionably sees the possibility of being traded before the February deadline. In an NBA where tampering is almost never enforced, having an agent allows the center to inform teams of the chances he re-signs with them if they acquire him via trade.
The question becomes whether the Clippers should pull the trigger on a trade. The positives are apparent: trading Jordan will allow LA to acquire young assets (be they players or draft picks) that they currently lack even if teams will be wary of giving elite talent or top picks up for a potential rental. Moreover, moving away from Jordan will allow the Clippers to officially tank, bottom out, and hope for a top-five pick in a draft class with high-end talent.
On the other hand, Jordan is the heart and soul of the Clippers, having spent all ten seasons of his career in Los Angeles, growing into the All-Star status he earned last season. Moving on from Jordan is not as cut and dry as people outside of the organization and the Clippers fanbase may think.
The Clippers have roughly two months to make this difficult decision but for now they can wait to see the market for Jordan – a market that will have to be created by high demand for the star center to counteract his age and contract status.
LAC should have plenty of suitors for Jordan so here are a few (unsourced) options operating on the best landing spots for Jordan and what he could net back for the Clippers:
Brooklyn Nets:
The Nets are still rebuilding so they won’t be a prime destination for Jordan. But they have talented, young players and big salaries (Timofey Mozgov and DeMarre Carrol) to trade for him.
Jordan would be a great player to team up with D’Angelo Russell and could help the third-year pro immensely in his development. But the issue is that the Nets, despite their promise, don’t look anywhere close to contending right now. Jordan does not match their timeline.
Milwaukee Bucks:
The Bucks are clearly trying to win now, having won the Eric Bledsoe Hair Salon Sweepstakes to bring a big name to play alongside Giannis. With an identity as a long, defensively menacing squad, Jordan would fit right in as the team’s starting center, replacing John Henson.
Jordan could turn the Bucks into a defensive juggernaut and his rim-running and above-the-basket game should open up plenty of space for Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bledsoe to operate despite the lack of spacing.
The Clippers would almost certainly try to hold out for sophomore guard Malcolm Brogdon in addition to salary filler in such a trade. While Jordan is a better player than Brogdon, that would be a difficult decision for a Bucks team already short of talent on the bench.
Portland Trail Blazers:
The Blazers’ defense has been surprisingly great through the first quarter of the season but it’s their offense that has been struggling. Jordan isn’t a go-to player offensively but that’s not what Portland needs. The center can be their rim runner and screen setter to get better looks for Damian Lillard, C.J. McCollum, and the rest of the Blazers’ shooters.
Jusuf Nurkic has been woeful this season after a great start to his Blazers career last year. The Blazers could swap him, Moe Harkless, and Meyers Leonard along with whatever fillers and picks to make it all work. It’s a bit of a risk but when you play in the Western Conference, you need tons of top-end talent and Jordan can provide that for Portland.
Washington Wizards:
The Wizards have invested a lot of money into the center position over the past few years and have not been able to get nearly enough production. Spending more money on a center would be a difficult pill to swallow but one that the Wizards may need to in order to contend with the Eastern Conference heavyweights.
Jordan would give John Wall an elite pick-and-roll partner and draw defenders inside to free up Bradley Beal on the perimeter. With him on the interior, the Wizards could turn into a legitimately great defense if the guards show more consistent effort.
The Clippers would surely have to take on one of the Wizards’ centers (likely Marcin Gortat as Ian Mahinmi’s contract is one of the least appealing in the league) but could ask for sweeteners like first-round picks and Kelly Oubre, Jr. to make the trade worthwhile.
Cleveland Cavaliers:
The Cavs are the most intriguing team to go after Jordan. He would fit perfectly next to LeBron James, Kevin Love, Isaiah Thomas, and whomever Cleveland chooses to play at the two-spot. Jordan provides rim protection for a team who struggles defensively and gives James and Thomas a big target down low for easy shots at the basket. In effect, Jordan would turn into a supercharged Tristan Thompson.
The question is what Cleveland would give back to get Jordan. Their best tradeable asset by far is the Brooklyn Nets’ first-round pick but that would be a huge overpay and a huge risk to send over to the Clippers. If DeAndre doesn’t re-sign (and LeBron leaves as has been rumored), then the Cavs lose their starting position to rebuild.
Thompson would most certainly be shipped out but Cleveland would probably have to find a third team to make this an offer the Clippers cannot refuse.
