Three Players the Clippers Shouldn't Trade For

LA might be missing a piece, but these supposedly available options aren't the answer.

Many will argue that the Clippers’ roster, while deep and versatile, is still lacking a piece that will push them over the edge in terms of competing for championship. Recent reporting from The Athletic indicated that LA was making a bid for Derrick Rose before the New York Knicks eventually acquired him. It seems that the Clippers’ front office is at least slightly concerned that their current roster, as it is presently constructed, requires some fine tuning before they can consider themselves on par with the defending-champion Lakers, along with whoever comes out of the east.

However, this insecurity could be detrimental. A miscalculation of a player’s skill set or their ability to succeed in a playoff setting could leave the Clippers worse off than where they are now. Remember when the Dallas Mavericks made a mid-season trade for Rajon Rondo? Mavericks fans would like to forget it. With that in mind, here are three players that the Clippers shouldn’t target before the trade deadline despite their reported availability and intriguing attributes.

JJ Redick, New Orleans Pelicans

Redick has been in and out of the rotation for the Pelicans this season, and recent reporting from Brian Windhorst and others has indicated that Redick wants out of the bleak situation. Redick also stated on his own podcast that he is willing to work with the Pelicans’ front office to find a deal that will benefit them both.

Clippers fans would be delighted to see the familiar face back in a Clippers uniform. Redick hit a lot of big shots for the Clippers during the Lob City era, and was an excellent fit next to a ball-dominant guard like Chris Paul. But the current LA squad is not Lob City, and their needs are entirely different.

The Clippers’ current priority should be a playmaking guard who can run an offense for brief periods and take pressure off of Paul George and Kawhi Leonard for stretches in crunch time. Redick, on the other hand, is a completely dependent player. He too requires another guard to find him coming off of screens and cuts, and cannot create off the dribble or playmake.

Combine this with the fact that Redick is shooting a career-low 34% from three and that he’s 36 years old, and he just doesn’t fit the bill for LA. The Clippers would have to give up Lou Williams, Patrick Patterson and Mfiondu Kabengele in order to make the salaries match, likely in addition to a second-round pick to sway New Orleans.

The Clippers already have their version of Redick: Luke Kennard. If Kennard could just add Redick’s willingness to unconsciously shoot the ball whenever it is fed to him, he can give the Clippers the spacing Redick would provide in addition to some more defensive length and off-the-dribble bounce.

Elfrid Payton, New York Knicks

In response to the New York Knicks’ acquisition of Derrick Rose, Ian Bagley reported that “at least one team” is interested in Elfrid Payton to “bolster their backcourt.” Could this one team be the Clippers? Fans should hope not. While Payton is the starting point guard of the sixth-best defensive team in the NBA and has shown creativity throughout his career as a playmaker, he still carries a fatal flaw that cannot be overlooked: he’s shooting 24% from three on just two attempts a game.

Payton’s salary is much cheaper than Redick’s at only $5 million, so the Clippers wouldn’t have to give up any key players to acquire him, but he would have no place in the rotation come playoff time. He might be able to defend close to the level of Patrick Beverley, but he surely cannot shoot like him. He also doesn’t have Lue Williams’ off-the-dribble creation. At most, he’d supplant Reggie Jackson as the third-string point guard, but even that might be an overstatement given how well Jackson has played in Beverley’s absence.

Lonzo Ball, New Orleans Pelicans

Lonzo Ball has been supposedly connected to the Clippers as of late. It seems that this fit is based on a misinterpretation of what Ball actually does as a basketball player.

Sure, he’s officially labeled a point guard, and he makes some spectacular passes in transition that few NBA players can even see, but he’s not exactly the traditional point guard that the Clippers are looking for. He can’t create off the dribble in the halfcourt, and his finishing at the rim leaves a lot to be desired.

Additionally, his shooting has come and gone and come back again throughout his early career. It might start to sound repetitive, but if the player that the Clippers acquire cannot hit an open three-point shot in an intense atmosphere, he should not deserve a spot in the rotation come postseason time.

Of these three candidates, Ball is the most defensible option. He’s still young with room to grow, and his defensive capabilities make him an intriguing fit. But he’ll also be a restricted free agent this offseason and there will be a team that makes him an expensive offer sheet that the Clippers would rather not match. It would take either Patrick Beverley or Lou Williams plus salary filler to make the deal work (plus obligatory second-round picks), and it is still unclear if Ball will ever be as good as either of those guards.

The Clippers’ trade options are slim. Unless a new name enters the forefront that does not carry the flaws of the above players, LA is probably better off waiting until the trade deadline passes and desirable veterans are bought out.