Kawhi Leonard is the reigning Western Conference Player of the Week and Mirjam Swanson of The Southern California News Group believes it’s time for the Clippers to see what they can get in a trade for the oft-injured star forward.
Leonard’s tenure with Los Angeles has largely been disappointing, Swanson writes, but he has been on a tear during the team’s five-game winning streak and is having another highly productive season. Even if the Clippers claw their way back into the play-in picture and advance to the playoffs, they may end up having to play the Thunder in the first round, likely resulting in another early exit.
Instead of continuing with Leonard, the Clips would be better off trying to acquire draft picks or a younger star to expedite the next iteration of the team, since the current group isn’t competing for anything meaningful, Swanson opines.
Here’s more on the Clippers, who are currently facing the shorthanded Jazz:
- Is L.A.’s recent hot streak sustainable? Law Murray of The Athletic considers that question, writing that Leonard and James Harden have each been carrying an enormous offensive workload after several offseason moves didn’t work out for various reasons. “I’ve never really kind of been in this situation,” Leonard said. “I’m more trying to get guys the ball and just sharing it more than what I’ve been doing. But the coaches need me to be aggressive, all the entire game.” The answer to the question could dictate the Clippers’ trade-deadline plans.
- After a brutal 6-21 start, the Clippers have been playing much better defensively of late in no small part due to the efforts of Kris Dunn, writes Janis Carr of The Orange County Register. Dunn says the team’s renewed commitment to defense started with the Dec. 20 victory over the Lakers. “Everybody just had that juice that day and everybody went out there and we like to call it a ‘hit.’ We had been in a rut for awhile and I think everybody just collectively was like, you know what, the only way we are getting out of this is if we do our jobs,” Dunn said. “Everybody went out there and just played their hearts out.”
- Injured center Ivica Zubac has begun on-court work in his recovery from a Grade 2 left ankle sprain, according to Murray (Twitter link). Zubac is expected to return to action at some point in mid-January. Veteran guard Bogdan Bogdanovic will miss at least two more games due to a hamstring injury and his status for next week’s three-game road trip is up in the air, Murray adds.