Zach Lowe on the LA Clippers: 'I wouldn't Pick Them over the Lakers.'

The ESPN insider believes LA will make a move at the trade deadline.

Mason Bissada | Mar 21, 2021

ESPN NBA Insider and all-around smart person Zach Lowe stated recently on his “Lowe Post” podcast that he doesn’t believe in the LA Clippers as a true championship contender.

“The Clippers are awesome. Let me be clear,” Lowe said during his trade deadline podcast with Bobby Marks. “I just don’t think right now, the Clippers are good enough to win the championship. I wouldn’t pick them over the Lakers.”

Lowe has been high on the Clippers since they traded for Paul George and Kawhi Leonard last summer. However, their recent struggles and their inability to earn easy baskets has given him pause.

“The red flag all year has been: they don’t get to the rim and they don’t get to the line,” he said. “They’re just a jump-shooting team.”

Lowe would go on to state that, while the need for a ‘true point guard’ might be a bit overblown, a midseason trade for a decent floor general could give LA the spark they need to go on a run. He acknowledged that LA is in a tight spot, being hardcapped and devoid of any first-round picks. He then proposed a trade that would send Patrick Beverley, Patrick Patterson, Mfiondu Kabengele and two second-round picks to the Minnesota Timberwolves in exchange for Ricky Rubio.

It’s not the first time Rubio has been brought up as a trade candidate. Many NBA insiders have reported that the Clippers have been eyeing Rubio with the trade deadline just a few days away. Lowe was sure to point out that, while Rubio could give LA some much needed energy and passing, his inability to shoot could create some issues in a playoff setting when teams refuse to guard him while he’s off the ball.

He also added that he does not believe LA has enough trade ammo to pry Lonzo Ball away from the New Orleans Pelicans.

Lowe, who is as plugged into NBA front offices as much as anyone in the league this side of Adrian Wojnarowski and Shams Charania, sounded fairly confident that the Clippers will make some sort of small move at the deadline.

“I think they’re going to do something,” Lowe said. “And the record of this team and this front office since Lawrence Frank came there is: you will not hear anything about it, and all of a sudden Tobias [Harris] will be on the Philadelphia 76ers or Blake Griffin will be on the Pistons or Kawhi [Leonard] and [Paul George] will be together on the Clippers.”

Perhaps Clippers fans will be in for a surprise at some point in the next few days.

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