After adding Serge Ibaka and Luke Kennard to their roster while losing Montrezl Harrell, JaMychal Green, and Landry Shamet, the Clippers may not be done, according to Marc Stein of The New York Times. A number of rival teams expect L.A. to trade away Lou Williams at some point, Stein says.
Although Williams is now 34 years old, he’s on a team-friendly expiring $8MM contract and remains a very talented scorer, having averaged 18.2 PPG off the bench in 2019/20, so he’d certainly draw interest if the Clippers put him on the trade block.
Interestingly, Stein notes that the Clippers made it a top priority this offseason to make “dramatic chemistry changes.” There were reports last season of tension in the locker room based on what some incumbent players viewed as preferential treatment for new Clippers stars Paul George and Kawhi Leonard. While he doesn’t specify whether it was related to those issues, Stein says that team officials “quietly decided (Harrell) had to go.” The Sixth Man of the Year ended up with the rival Lakers.
Here’s more from Stein’s latest newsletter:
- For weeks leading up to the offseason, there had been “promising rumblings” about the Bucks‘ ability to sign Giannis Antetokounmpo to a super-max extension this fall, according to Stein. As Stein explains, there was an increasing belief that Antetokounmpo would opt for long-term financial security and reserve the right to ask for a trade down the road if he becomes dissatisfied with the situation in Milwaukee. The Bucks are now in wait-and-see mode, with Giannis expected to soon arrive back in the U.S. from Greece.
- People around the NBA are wondering if the Bucks gave up too much to acquire Jrue Holiday, having surrendered three first-round picks and two pick swaps for the standout guard, writes Stein. However, he contends that if Holiday and Antetokounmpo end up sticking around beyond 2021, Milwaukee’s “all-in approach will be redeemed.”
- After initially offering Gordon Hayward a two-year deal in free agency, the Knicks increased their offer to four years and remained in the chase for the veteran forward “throughout the process,” according to Stein, who notes that head coach Tom Thibodeau is an “admirer” of Hayward. Ultimately though, Charlotte’s four-year, $120MM was at a level that neither New York nor any other suitor was willing to match.
Hayward should be alot better this season, now that he should be fully recovered and healthy, but I cant say I blame any GM for not wanting to go near that 4yr 120mil offer Charlotte put on the table..
Hayward still has to prove he can play at an All-Star level for an extended period of time without getting hurt, before I would have been co portable giving him that kind of guarantee..Still though, the Hornets are getting an All-Star caliber player, and they dont attract guys like that typically.
Overpay or not, only time will tell, but Hayward should be a solid veteran to help out all the younger guys on its roster
He will be able to put up big numbers without so much talent around like in Boston. Sure he can play at an All-Star level, but in the east that isn’t saying much about a player’s talent level.
Xctly, Trey young was an east starter last year))
Knicks are going to make a new offer to Hayward?
Lou still has more value to clippers as a scorer then he does a trade chip for someone else
Clippers need kinda a culture shift after that nightmare of a bubble. So maybe Lou for a younger piece that would b more willing to accept a third scoring role or a athletic big to replace what Harrell brought would b best. Lou is a great scorer but I always questioned the fit with PG and Leonard because he’s a get mines guy not a play off of 2 stars guy.
He only makes 8 million ! Maybe they can trade him for George hill or Lou and Beverly for dinwidde and prince
Send Lou Williams to NY Knicks for Ntilkina Smith Jr. We need that scoring Punch off the Bench
That’s actually pretty interesting since the Clippers could use another defender and ball handler beyond the oft-injured Beverly. And, of course, this would only make sense if the Knicks would plan on flipping Lou to another contender for a first or something.
Aaron Gordon for PatBev and Lou?
So… a bad trade is forthcoming. Clips got worse, though Kawhi can change things if he’s motivated.
Funny how the preferential part ended up by not signing Harrell as if he was the problem. Smells like PG made a push for that.
Giannis will sign the Max but next season…and with Heat
from what I’ve read, Miami currently does not have the money for such a deal next year.
They could trade Lou Williams and next year first round pick to Detroit for Derrick Rose.
Harrell was leaving anyway, and the two PGs PatB & LouW would in theory be on his side. The two PGs shoul probably be traded together as top-quality defense&offense, Pat&Lou, albeit as two people.
The Clips are screwing up. I assume Jerry West is no longer a major influence; Lawrence Frank just got an EOY award to emphasize that.
The Clips collapsed due to problems that did not get a fix. Harrell leaving does not fix it as browserhound indicated. They have to address the PG as HR indicated. Also, they seem to have a lot of scheming types on the roster, IMO, and they’re still there, with most teams winding down their trading.
The new guys do not help… I have criticized Ibaka before, and Detroit with a third management now for Kennard has been looking to trade him despite his age being otherwise what the Pistons want, and not having talent waiting to replace him.
Meanwhile Jym.Green & Shamet were to my knowledge unobstrusive types, Green maybe too much so. They were not problems and played well underpaid ($6.8mil combined).
And Harrell went to their rival!
“dramatic chemistry changes” indeed— for the worse! They can bail out the offseason by making a good trade for Pat/Lou but at present Frank is the worst. Rookies Oturo & Scrubb are not expected quickly, though Oturo sounds good as a stretch-5.
Competing for the worst GM is Horst hoping Jrue is worth it, having bumbled Bogans.
To me the bad mix is Beverley. He’s overpaid and is D only. They should use Lou to move both of them. Even though I think Harrell was a big signing for Lakers. Clippers did better by replacing with. Kennard, Ibaka, drafting Oturu. Clippers really blew it in the bubble. They got something to prove. Still a good team.
I’m not trading DSJ, Frank or Knox until I see how they play with Thibs. If he can’t turn them around then deal them. I’ll give them one more chance.
Harrell is the opposite of Beverley. He may put up points for the Lakers, but he’s an enormous liability of defense. His defense is a lot worse than Beverley’s offense, and the Lakers lost a lot of their top defenders.
Clips had the right idea in terms of streamlining the rotation to better emphasize their two stars. Keep the starting unit intact, and re-configure the bench into a group that complements it, vs operating as a separate unit that had its own stars and style.
But they lost it in the execution. A day into FA they lose Harrell and Green for nothing, and didn’t appear to make much effort to keep either. This forced them to re-sign Morris at a premium, and, more significantly, use the full MLE to sign Ibaka. Great get, but he comes at the expense of a Hard Cap. Something their roster was not meant to accommodate this year. They’d have been better off re-signing Harrell and Green, and using the smaller MLE, and then revisit things before the deadline, uninhibited by the Hard Cap.
Idk if it’s possible, but a trade centered around Lou Williams and PatBev for Russ Westbrook would be fun from here in the upper midwest
No one is “wondering” if the Bucks gave up too much for Jrue Holiday – that’s obvious. The only wondering is whether or not it will bite them on the