Unrestricted free agent Luc Mbah a Moute has agreed to a one-year deal worth $4.3 million with the Los Angeles Clippers, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski:
Free-agent forward Luc Mbah a Moute has agreed to a one-year, $4.3 million deal with the LA Clippers, league sources told ESPN.
The Clippers are paying Mbah a Moute the balance of their midlevel exception, bringing him back to the franchise after a season away with the Houston Rockets.
Mbah a Moute spent the 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons with the Clippers before signing with the Houston Rockets last summer at the veteran’s minimum.
The 31-year-old forward averaged 7.5 points, three rebounds and 1.2 steals in 25.6 minutes per game for the Rockets a season ago. His shooting has tremendously improved over the course of the last two seasons; a career 33.6-percent shooter from deep, Mbah a Moute shot 39.1 percent from 3-point range in 2016-17 and 36.4 percent last season.
Mbah a Moute is one of basketball’s premier wing defenders, and that defensive ability plus his improved shooting touch gives him a skill set that is widely craved in today’s NBA.
Mbah a Moute is the second key wing Houston has lost this season (Trevor Ariza left for Phoenix), and the Rockets will miss him dearly. It’s an interesting signing for a team like the Clippers. The Clips are stocked with good players, but lack any true stars. In the East, they might be a fringe playoff team. In the West, they don’t have a chance in hell to make the playoffs. They also don’t appear to be rebuilding, however. They’re a middling team, which, frankly, is what you don’t want to be in the NBA.
