8:34pm: The exchange of Williams and Rondo is now official, per press releases from the Clippers and Hawks.
“Being able to acquire a respected veteran in Lou Williams, one of the best scorers and playmakers off the bench in league history, and two second-round picks accomplished a couple of the goals we had,” Hawks team president Travis Schlenk said in a statement.
“We could not be more excited to welcome Rajon to the Clippers,” Clippers team president Lawrence Frank said. “He is a proven winner, a relentless competitor, and one of the most skilled orchestrators of his era. We believe he will elevate our group and continue to propel us forward.”
The Clippers clarified in their announcement that the 2023 second-rounder headed to Atlanta in the deal is Portland’s pick.
1:32pm: The Hawks and Clippers have reached an agreement to swap Williams and Rondo, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).
Atlanta will also acquire a pair of second-round picks and cash in the deal, sources tell Charania and Amick (Twitter link). It’ll be a homecoming for Williams, who won’t be flipped to a third team, tweets Charania.
According to Chris Kirschner of The Athletic (Twitter link), the second-rounders going to Atlanta are 2023 and 2027 picks. That ’27 selection will be L.A.’s own. The Clippers control Portland’s 2023 second-rounder in addition to their own, so it’s not clear which of those picks the Hawks are getting.
1:30pm: Lou Williams has been discussed in the Clippers/Hawks negotiations, according to Charania and Sam Amick of The Athletic (Twitter link), who indicate that Williams could end up in Atlanta or be re-routed to a third team.
Williams is on an $8MM expiring contract.
1:27pm: The Clippers and Hawks are engaged in serious discussions about a deal that would send Rajon Rondo back to Los Angeles, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). ESPN’s Brian Windhorst reported earlier today that the Clippers were eyeing Rondo.
Rondo, 35, signed a two-year, $15MM contract with Atlanta in the offseason after spending the previous two seasons with the Lakers, winning a championship with the team in 2020.
However, his numbers have dipped since joining the Hawks, as he’s averaged a career-low 3.9 points and 3.5 assists per game in just 14.9 minutes per contest. He has also been limited to 27 games due to injuries.
Despite his declining production, Rondo could still be an asset for a team like the Clippers that has been scouring the market for a play-making guard to complement its two star forwards, Kawhi Leonard and Paul George.
If the Clippers swing a deal for Rondo, they’ll have to send out some salary. As Bobby Marks of ESPN notes (via Twitter), the point guard’s salary is $7.5MM and the Clippers have just $2.6MM in breathing room below their hard cap.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Rondo belongs with the Clippers. Helps George out a ton if he can stay healthy and on the court.
All these veteran PGs are all the rumor mill. Should the Knicks see what they can get for Payton or Rose?
Payton – perhaps an open bag of chips.
Rose – second round pick and Thibodeaux’s ire.
This has got to be the absolute worst trade suggestion in the history of time. Throw in two 2nd round picks on top of Payton and you might get that open bag of chips. Be real. Oh wait, they are horseradish cheddar chips? Okay, one future 2nd and Payton
And you are ???? The Knick analyst.
You ain’t even worth the empty bag
Relax bro ……. Rose is here to stay. A mentor, leader, backup PG. Payton yes I agree, probably will get moved.
Good points Knickerbocker, no way Thibs would let Rose get away…would be worth seeing what they can get for Payton
this might actually be a lowkey but brilliant move for LAC. they suck as PG and if playoff rondo makes another appearance this year he could be a huge help for them
Playoff Rondo is all they are buying, and all they need.
My trade grade
Hawks B+
Clippers C
Hawks get cash and 2 picks
Agreed, but if you are keeping Collins when his value is high, then you should be focused on winning now. trading for another guy who can shoot but plays zero defense is not helpful for the Hawks, and second round picks are trash.
If playing to win this year, keeping Rondo made more sense. I don’t hate the deal, but it’s like the Hawks can’t figure out what to do. That silly winning streak muddled their minds.
Then again, their defense has been getting torn up on a regular basis lately anyway, so maybe it’s just best to try to outscore everyone.
So sending Lemon Pepper Lou to the ATL? Sounds like a bad idea
I think we need to buy stock in that strip club now.
yup….Magic City is the clear winner in this trade… duh! lol
This shows how much Williams stock has dropped over the past few years.
yup – in some ways he and rondo have become ying and yang – one kills it in the reg season and flames out in the playoffs. one disappears for the reg season and plays above his weight in the playoffs
Lemon pepper Lou coming back home welcome home Lou
Love this for Atl. Rondo was ok for us but Bogdan & Dunn (who should be back soon) can handle the backup pg duties & its always good to acquire future 2nds… if LouWill stays thats great, he’s a proven bench scorer & an A-Town legend & will probably be more productive than Rondo would have been for us. If we flip Lou for a couple extra 2nds that’s cool too as we’re already extremely deep with guards when Cam & Dunn return
I am surprised its sweet Lou, but also not. I have seen him torched on defense far too often. Tye Lue isn’t playing him as a score first 6th man that Atlanta can possibly provide, or get closer to that type of role. I like it for both teams. Rondo was rotting in Atlanta during a season he can still play at a high level. Not many left for Rajon.
Good deal for the Hawks. Get an expiring deal and a couple of picks in exchange for two years of their back up PG. I just don’t get it for the Clippers though. Rondo is not THAT much of an upgrade. The picks are not much, but the money on next year’s cap could hurt them in FA.
if rondo plays like he did for la last yr in the playoffs i think itll end up being a very good deal for lac
Rondo may as well just sit home until April every year. He literally does not give a crap until playoffs time.
Worst comment on this post, easily… and sillivan commented twice… u should feel ashamed
seemed pretty accurate to me
Rajon Rondo will have the same impact he had on the Lakers for clippers. He will make kawhi Leonard and Paul George jobs a whole lot easier with him being the primary ball handler to run the offense.
Let’s go Clippers beat LBJ in the playoffs.
Clips lose a lethal scorer off the bench (still) in the hopes of catch lightning in a bottle (Rondo of last year’s playoffs, and not regular season). Bad trade in isolation, but it’s not hard to envision Rondo being real good, and Williams superfluous, in the playoffs. If the first happens, it’s a great trade.
Still, hard to believe a third team (contender) wouldn’t take Williams for a 2nd even without a defined role. He can turn a game even against high end competition.
lol clippers have multiple offensive weapons. they needed a playmaker and got it..they can still pick someone up on buyout market
OK. I guess in 2k the Clips have a lot of guys who can score against elite defenses, on command off the bench, like Lou Will.
You know first thing I think about. Is how posters on HR used to kill Rondo when he went to Lakers. Then collected his shorts after Bubble. Shows we got plenty of commentator talent. But no hard facts reality kind of fans. Lou was one best scorers in NBA in his best days. He can still light up today. So he likes Wings like no one here would go there for wings. Yeah not a wise decision move on. But Rondo don’t even play. Lakers didn’t even want to pay him. And now he’s worth Lou and 2 picks………… man how the world turns. And both are same age geeeeezzzzzz. This tells me Clippers want the Lakers bad. Can’t wait to see Rondo make Lakers pay for letting him go. After saving their yr. I pray they meet in 2nd rd. This is going to be fun.
Lou adds leadership and points off the bench. I think Hawks are not thru yet. This is a great move for them they add and give up player who wasn’t even playing. How good is that lol.
Lou avg 22 mins, 12 pts, 3.4 ast, .87% FT,
38% 3PTFG, he will help Hawks. It’s a home coming
“Playoff Rondo” coming for you Lakers !!!!
Hawks did good if they can make the 2nds diamond in the rough gem players then this was a landslide trade win
Big facts. Once we get everyone healthy this Hawks squad is gonna be extremely dangerous, especially our bench. This deal makes us a better shooting team & getting 2 2nds is big, even if they’re years away
No mention of LouW being a semi-malcontent. Okay I’ll say it.
I can go farther. LouW is paying for not going to whoever wanted him most when he was FA and staying in Ballmer’s curio cabinet for a bit of sweetener… or Lemon Pepper maybe. He has wasted a couple prime years and now has Trae to contend with. What a duo. Good enough for a nightclub show.
Cavs wanted him in 2018 when expiring. Somebody said no to a trade. What has he gotten from the Clips besides PatBev joined at the hip? He could have been in the finals without doing a thing. Maybe win it all if it did work with Lebron on the other side, instead of JR Smith PER8. Yes a critical improvement.
Now he’s not even the best-ever Sweet Lou for a struggling team and his legacy will be a chicken sauce instead of a modern Archibald.
He will probably ask his former teammates to be sure to irritate Rondo so he hollers back at them pointlessly on national TV and they say Are you okay little man, deflating his leadership asset.
Not a good trade for anyone. Both should move on for everyone’s good.
So there!