Off season, free agency, coaching change.

[Ballings7]

Watch on YouTube

[og15]

Merging the two topics as it is essentially the same discussion

Who are viable MLE players- perhaps Lopez? Maybe they could get cp3 to come back on a vet minimum deal or a bit more. I think he could actually be helpful as a secondary ball handler- nobody can really initiate the offense except Harden.

Lopez as in Brook? Way too old.

CP3? Way too old

Can go after a guy like Tyus Jones if you want another ball handler initiator

they are both effective players for 15-20 minutes a game despite their age. Lopez is still a very serviceable center on both sides of the court- he would be very strong in a back up roll- which he might be agreeable to at his age

I'd rather have CP3 than Jones- still more impactful even at 40 years old. He can dribble, run screen roll with Zubac, and make open jumpers

When you get to the playoffs, the 40 year olds are worn down, effectiveness can decrease rapidly and they are scouted out of effectiveness more easily. Remember that our view of the older player is based on the past season, the next season they get even less effective.

You don't want a starting lineup with two 35+ year old players and then three backups that are 37+ if you had CP, Brook and Nico, it's just a terrible plan as you're not balancing experience and youth.

If for example the Clippers has a 23-25ish year old staring PG, CP makes sense as a vet mentor and stabilizer. When you have a 36 (next season) starting PG, more age is not what you need.

In terms of the backup C, the aim should be balance again. Zu gives a nice rim protector, post defender, post up in a pinch, he is a solid drop big but he can also switch it up.

What the team needs to balance out on offense is a mobile shooter (Brook does the shooting part, not the mobile part), or a guy who is a lob threat and mobile as Zu really isn't a lob threat like that. On defense they need a guy who is switchable but can also hold his own well enough against bigger matchups. Brook is none of those combinations, and he's very old.

Technically from a skillset perspective, Bamba was a good pickup, just didn't work on a productivity perspective. Technically from a skillset / physicality tools perspective, Kai Jones was a good pickup, just didn't work in terms of IQ and winning impact.

[madmaxmedia]

If this team preparing for 2026 FA, trade Kawhi get whatever you can for him. Harden&Zu and rest of the team carried the team anyway.

He completed the season healthy, contributed in playoffs as two way difference maker. Not superstar form but still good enough 2nd option. Sell it. I think Knicks will get embarresed in the playoffs that might bite the Kawhi cake

Star chasing is dead in my opinion. Bron, Curry, KD, etc. are almost finished and the new crop of kids either screw up (Zion, Ja) or simply don't want to become stars, or they're unable to become a star. Can't star chase when players are literally not turning into stars, unless we want to throw $50 million a year at guys like Trae Young or LaMelo Ball just to say we did something to sell tickets. I don't believe Minny is going to hand us Ant Edwards, Orlando will give us Banchero, or Detroit will hand us Cade Cunningham like Dallas handed over Luka to the Lakers for pennies on the dollar. We have to start developing players now with Kawhi and Harden playing days coming to an end.

Star chasing is a questionable strategy now with the new cap rules. But roster building skill combined with ample cap space can still help a franchise generate momentum. We'll have to see in a few years whether it's better to sign an available star, or wait further until we get some draft picks back.

[esqtvd]

Merging the two topics as it is essentially the same discussion


Lopez as in Brook? Way too old.

CP3? Way too old

Can go after a guy like Tyus Jones if you want another ball handler initiator

they are both effective players for 15-20 minutes a game despite their age. Lopez is still a very serviceable center on both sides of the court- he would be very strong in a back up roll- which he might be agreeable to at his age

I'd rather have CP3 than Jones- still more impactful even at 40 years old. He can dribble, run screen roll with Zubac, and make open jumpers

We gotta move on from old players my friend. You see Minnesota, you see Detroit, you see OKC, etc. We gotta get with this new NBA and push forward with younger athletic guys mixed in with worthy vets not backwards and still reverting to old "names" and then wonder why the injuries, slow style of play, and early playoff exits happen. Its 2025 soon to be 2026, lets go and move the team into the future for once!

The problem is that everybody's looking for the same thing--and why wouldn't they? 6'8", runs the floor, shoots the 3, great defender.

Kawhi Leonard, IOW. That's why we're paying a 34 year old Kawhi Leonard $50M a year for two more years. They don't grow on trees.

[Ballings7]

Seeing a few of those tweets about getting more size.. think they (FO) really see it was an issue enough against Denver.

- Bobby Portis
- Jalen Smith (CHI)
- Chris Boucher
- G. Yabusele (Philly)


Someone like that.. enough experience, effective on both ends, versatile defensively, boards some, has PF-level size in some manner, and can space the floor adequately or better.


-- 2nd tier .. less established, but upcoming, upside on a better team:

- Trendon Watford (BKN)
- Tosan Evbuomwan (BKN)

they are both effective players for 15-20 minutes a game despite their age. Lopez is still a very serviceable center on both sides of the court- he would be very strong in a back up roll- which he might be agreeable to at his age

I'd rather have CP3 than Jones- still more impactful even at 40 years old. He can dribble, run screen roll with Zubac, and make open jumpers

We gotta move on from old players my friend. You see Minnesota, you see Detroit, you see OKC, etc. We gotta get with this new NBA and push forward with younger athletic guys mixed in with worthy vets not backwards and still reverting to old "names" and then wonder why the injuries, slow style of play, and early playoff exits happen. Its 2025 soon to be 2026, lets go and move the team into the future for once!

I understand youth is important- but GSW just advanced with an aging roster.

I'm more concerned with finding effective players who can contribute in the playoffs, regardless of their age. For example, Dunn and Jones are great athletes, but nobody respects their shot- also Dunn cannot run an offense.

Not saying it would be a great idea to sign both of these guys, but they can definitely still contribute.

I also see that Portis is also a free agent- he would be a great big to have coming off the bench or maybe even starting at the 4 depending on the match up

Yep Portis is a guy who should be a target for this team. Not too old and in his prime, can do a bit of everything on both ends.. and spaces the floor pretty well.

[MartinToVaught]

Pinning all our hopes on free agency a couple years from now is just so stupid, it's mind-blowing. Yet another example of this organization being 20 years behind the rest of the NBA.

The top-tier stars don't need free agency anymore because they've long since figured out that they can demand a trade whenever they want. So don't get your hopes up for SGA or Luka in 2027, it's not happening. What's left after that are old men on their last legs or mediocrities who will get paid a lot more than they're worth. Like, the best-case scenario for 2027 (in terms of "star power") would be signing Trae Young. Atlanta has been trying to build around him for years and they're stuck in the play-in every year. In the west, a team with Trae on a max deal as its best player would be lucky to win 30 games. We'd be getting him just in time for his decline years, too. It's not worth it. Not to mention, why would anyone with options want to sign here anyway? Players aren't stupid, they can see that we're just spinning our wheels in mediocrity and don't have any exciting young players for them to team up with.

Sadly, it looks like we'll have to wait all the way until 2027 for this team to get the harsh reality check it's already needed for years. And even then, I'm not optimistic that Ballmer won't just double down on more delusions and excuses instead of conceding to reality.

[og15]

If this team preparing for 2026 FA, trade Kawhi get whatever you can for him. Harden&Zu and rest of the team carried the team anyway.

He completed the season healthy, contributed in playoffs as two way difference maker. Not superstar form but still good enough 2nd option. Sell it. I think Knicks will get embarresed in the playoffs that might bite the Kawhi cake

Star chasing is dead in my opinion. Bron, Curry, KD, etc. are almost finished and the new crop of kids either screw up (Zion, Ja) or simply don't want to become stars, or they're unable to become a star. Can't star chase when players are literally not turning into stars, unless we want to throw $50 million a year at guys like Trae Young or LaMelo Ball just to say we did something to sell tickets. I don't believe Minny is going to hand us Ant Edwards, Orlando will give us Banchero, or Detroit will hand us Cade Cunningham like Dallas handed over Luka to the Lakers for pennies on the dollar. We have to start developing players now with Kawhi and Harden playing days coming to an end.

Star chasing is a questionable strategy now with the new cap rules. But roster building skill combined with ample cap space can still help a franchise generate momentum. We'll have to see in a few years whether it's better to sign an available star, or wait further until we get some draft picks back.

Every strategy has its downsides and they all rely on at least some aspect that is out of the teams control.

The Clippers are not wrong to look to leverage their location and desirability factor, and at least while they don't control draft picks.

Whether it can actually lead to something substantial is a different question which only time will tell

[esqtvd]

Star chasing is dead in my opinion. Bron, Curry, KD, etc. are almost finished and the new crop of kids either screw up (Zion, Ja) or simply don't want to become stars, or they're unable to become a star. Can't star chase when players are literally not turning into stars, unless we want to throw $50 million a year at guys like Trae Young or LaMelo Ball just to say we did something to sell tickets. I don't believe Minny is going to hand us Ant Edwards, Orlando will give us Banchero, or Detroit will hand us Cade Cunningham like Dallas handed over Luka to the Lakers for pennies on the dollar. We have to start developing players now with Kawhi and Harden playing days coming to an end.

Star chasing is a questionable strategy now with the new cap rules. But roster building skill combined with ample cap space can still help a franchise generate momentum. We'll have to see in a few years whether it's better to sign an available star, or wait further until we get some draft picks back.

Every strategy has its downsides and they all rely on at least some aspect that is out of the teams control.

The Clippers are not wrong to look to leverage their location and desirability factor, and at least while they don't control draft picks.

Whether it can actually lead to something substantial is a different question which only time will tell

I still have no idea what "developing players now" means. You either got the Right Stuff or you don't. If you hit a late bloomer like Jalen Brunson, by the time he blooms, you're a FA and it's time to get PAID, about the same as a top pick who hit the NBA ground running.

Zubac was a nice middle-of-the-pack journeyman when at age 28 he took a surprising jump into the top 5 or 6. The Clippers brilliantly signed him @ $20M for the next 3 years, but also dodged a bullet dumping Mann's upcoming 3yr/$47M, also at age 28. [Good thing ATL is hopelessly stupid, but you can't rely on that.]

And believe it or not, holding onto Amir at the minimum turned out to be a smart move. Even though he wasn't playoff quality, he gave us a ton of adequate minutes [1700+], an innings-eater if you will.

And if you thought Coffey was bad, as for the rest, dayum. You give them some burn and BAM! you fall in a hole, quick. Scoreboard don't lie. Per 100 possessions, bleeding points like water, especially from T-Mann on down. If Ty could play them, he would've.

[nickhx2]

Star chasing is dead in my opinion. Bron, Curry, KD, etc. are almost finished and the new crop of kids either screw up (Zion, Ja) or simply don't want to become stars, or they're unable to become a star. Can't star chase when players are literally not turning into stars, unless we want to throw $50 million a year at guys like Trae Young or LaMelo Ball just to say we did something to sell tickets. I don't believe Minny is going to hand us Ant Edwards, Orlando will give us Banchero, or Detroit will hand us Cade Cunningham like Dallas handed over Luka to the Lakers for pennies on the dollar. We have to start developing players now with Kawhi and Harden playing days coming to an end.

Star chasing is a questionable strategy now with the new cap rules. But roster building skill combined with ample cap space can still help a franchise generate momentum. We'll have to see in a few years whether it's better to sign an available star, or wait further until we get some draft picks back.

Every strategy has its downsides and they all rely on at least some aspect that is out of the teams control.

The Clippers are not wrong to look to leverage their location and desirability factor, and at least while they don't control draft picks.

Whether it can actually lead to something substantial is a different question which only time will tell

my speculation is that ballmer's super gonna go all-in on the 2026 all star game to try and impress every star in the league: particularly with whatever direct access he gets to have from within intuit.

i mean, think about how sick intuit is gonna be JUST for the occasion alone, right? but also whatever he's allowed to do to personalize things for everybody there and make them go "hmm, that'd be pretty cool to not just be in LA, but play here for an owner who's clearly willing to spend."

will it work? shrug, who knows. but i think the team knows what it's working with and will play to its advantages.

[Clemenza]

Star chasing is a questionable strategy now with the new cap rules. But roster building skill combined with ample cap space can still help a franchise generate momentum. We'll have to see in a few years whether it's better to sign an available star, or wait further until we get some draft picks back.

Every strategy has its downsides and they all rely on at least some aspect that is out of the teams control.

The Clippers are not wrong to look to leverage their location and desirability factor, and at least while they don't control draft picks.

Whether it can actually lead to something substantial is a different question which only time will tell

my speculation is that ballmer's super gonna go all-in on the 2026 all star game to try and impress every star in the league: particularly with whatever direct access he gets to have from within intuit.

i mean, think about how sick intuit is gonna be JUST for the occasion alone, right? but also whatever he's allowed to do to personalize things for everybody there and make them go "hmm, that'd be pretty cool to not just be in LA, but play here for an owner who's clearly willing to spend."

will it work? shrug, who knows. but i think the team knows what it's working with and will play to its advantages.

That's a good, but every player knows Ballmer is loaded and Intuit Dome is amazing. That won't be breaking news or a startling revelation to the all stars next season. But it doesn't matter because the unrestricted superstar free agent is almost a thing of the past. A unicorn and a ghost. All real true stars immediately sign the max or supermax when it's presented to them so 90% of the time acquiring a star these days is done through a trade that takes picks and players they deem desirable. Things that we don't have.

[MartinToVaught]

That's a good, but every player knows Ballmer is loaded and Intuit Dome is amazing. That won't be breaking news or a startling revelation to the all stars next season. But it doesn't matter because the unrestricted superstar free agent is almost a thing of the past. A unicorn and a ghost. All real true stars immediately sign the max or supermax when it's presented to them so 90% of the time acquiring a star these days is done through a trade that takes picks and players they deem desirable. Things that we don't have.

Exactly. And even then, those trades usually backfire on the team getting the star anyway. The market for these trades has spiraled so far out of control, you are basically guaranteeing you'll never actually win with the star by giving up the amount of assets it takes just to acquire him. Why even bother trying?

This whole antiquated star-chasing strategy just doesn't make sense on any level anymore, and even when the league was more conducive to it, it still failed most of the time. But antiquated sums up how the Clippers do things. Kind of like Lue's "coaching" style of isoball and never playing young players, straight out of 1992.

[nickhx2]

yeah my point isn't that everyone already knows it's amazing, that's already baked in

rather, that it will be his opportunity to personalize a message that goes above and beyond, as owners don't have that kind of access outside of FA. could be a thing, could not. but i think he'll try,

[madmaxmedia]

The entire NBA has moved beyond chasing a 2-3 player superteam, the new cap rules locked that in. It's part of why it made no sense to re-sign PG. We will have cap space, our front office is reasonably savvy at finding value, Los Angeles is a top destination, and the Clipper org is highly regarded. Those are the positives we have to work with, so that's what we're going to do. Maybe we find the next Rick Brunson signing, maybe we won't. Players will take a meeting with us though.

I'm not 100% against regime change, but there's no realistic option of blowing it up until we start getting our picks back. And that we've known since 2019. Harden and Kawhi would at best net 1st round picks from contenders, which mean a couple more late 1sts. We don't have any young budding superstars to give huge minutes, though perhaps we can find the next Zubac, Mann, or Coffey out of the young guys we have or will add with our mediocre draft picks until 2030.

I'd personally rather just seen this team again FWIW, at least they do play pretty good basketball.

[Jay555]

Ty Lue needs to go...

Norm needs to be upgraded..

That's all.

[nickhx2]

The entire NBA has moved beyond chasing a 2-3 player superteam, the new cap rules locked that in. It's part of why it made no sense to re-sign PG. We will have cap space, our front office is reasonably savvy at finding value, Los Angeles is a top destination, and the Clipper org is highly regarded. Those are the positives we have to work with, so that's what we're going to do. Maybe we find the next Rick Brunson signing, maybe we won't. Players will take a meeting with us though.

I'm not 100% against regime change, but there's no realistic option of blowing it up until we start getting our picks back. And that we've known since 2019. Harden and Kawhi would at best net 1st round picks from contenders, which mean a couple more late 1sts. We don't have any young budding superstars to give huge minutes, though perhaps we can find the next Zubac, Mann, or Coffey out of the young guys we have or will add with our mediocre draft picks until 2030.

I'd personally rather just seen this team again FWIW, at least they do play pretty good basketball.

ironically i was listening to a podcast about how people cling to past attachments and value: sunk costs. he brought up steve ballmer (as CEO of microsoft) as a prime example and it struck me that he it's quite possible he hasn't changed much since then.

i'm not against a regime change, either. but my suspicion is that he's gonna ride with kawhi and the current regime for as long as kawhi's around before making any major pivots.

practically speaking, i'm fine with it (i mean we literally have no choice in changing the matter anyway). we lack the picks, so just put your best product out there and see what comes. maybe we get some unexpected help. maybe zu decides to do his best kawhi impression and evolve from really good role-player to 20/10 mvp-candidate (i mean this isn't even crazy, we ALL saw how good he is with his push/floater/hook game this year). who knows?

but i don't see a lot of big things happening.

[Captain Ballmer]

If this team preparing for 2026 FA, trade Kawhi get whatever you can for him. Harden&Zu and rest of the team carried the team anyway.

He completed the season healthy, contributed in playoffs as two way difference maker. Not superstar form but still good enough 2nd option. Sell it. I think Knicks will get embarresed in the playoffs that might bite the Kawhi cake

Star chasing is dead in my opinion. Bron, Curry, KD, etc. are almost finished and the new crop of kids either screw up (Zion, Ja) or simply don't want to become stars, or they're unable to become a star. Can't star chase when players are literally not turning into stars, unless we want to throw $50 million a year at guys like Trae Young or LaMelo Ball just to say we did something to sell tickets. I don't believe Minny is going to hand us Ant Edwards, Orlando will give us Banchero, or Detroit will hand us Cade Cunningham like Dallas handed over Luka to the Lakers for pennies on the dollar. We have to start developing players now with Kawhi and Harden playing days coming to an end.

Star chasing is a questionable strategy now with the new cap rules. But roster building skill combined with ample cap space can still help a franchise generate momentum. We'll have to see in a few years whether it's better to sign an available star, or wait further until we get some draft picks back.

I disagree with you both on neither Star chasing is dead nor questionable strategy. We gotta read what happened since 2019 carefully, let me specify what I'm reading below.

2019 summer is the last summer top FA destination teams have had cap space for star hunting. Lakers, Clippers, Heat, Brooklyn. Thats LA, NY and Miami cities. I would also include SF to the top cities as well but they lost KD in that summer and go with Curry-Klay-Dray like old times.

During the 2018-19 season every player, agents, FO know this big FA War gonna happen and as a result none of the star players signed early extension with their current teams. That's why it happened and we saw KD-Kawhi-Butler-LBJ-Kyrie FA summer. PG trade happen to seal the Kawhi signing, AD trade to seal the LBJ signing(extension).

From that moment till now none of this top FA destination had any cap space to become a player in FA.

So that brings the question for star players; Why would you look for a FA if the top markets don't have cap room, therefore your meetings will be like with teams such as Jazz, Grizzlies, Pacers?

For this reasons top stars started early extensions to secure bag and ask for trade later to "preferred" destinations. For example Miami still in it for every star lately but Pat Riley couldn't secured it in negotiations. But trade business is risky, the team you want might now have enough(like Heat-Lillard case)

Brooklyn preparing for 2025 and 2026, Lakers and Heat shaping up to be a player as well for 2027 just like us, warriors will be a FA gunner in 2027. For that reason I would have a hard time seeing majority of Jokic, SGA, Luka, Giannis, Mitchell not meeting up with FA chasing teams and rather signing early extensions with their owns this time. Their agents must be already spoken to their ears.

For Clippers, I would like to get a really relatively small amount, value signings(like DJJ-Dunn) for 2025 and 2026 summers so you can ask one of the SGA, Giannis, Jokic to team up with Zu and whoever value signing we had in 2025(Mid-level) or 2026(average to big signing)are. Just please don't extend Powell or Harden through 2028. Keep up with value contracts, must hit 2025 pick #30

[madmaxmedia]

The entire NBA has moved beyond chasing a 2-3 player superteam, the new cap rules locked that in. It's part of why it made no sense to re-sign PG. We will have cap space, our front office is reasonably savvy at finding value, Los Angeles is a top destination, and the Clipper org is highly regarded. Those are the positives we have to work with, so that's what we're going to do. Maybe we find the next Rick Brunson signing, maybe we won't. Players will take a meeting with us though.

I'm not 100% against regime change, but there's no realistic option of blowing it up until we start getting our picks back. And that we've known since 2019. Harden and Kawhi would at best net 1st round picks from contenders, which mean a couple more late 1sts. We don't have any young budding superstars to give huge minutes, though perhaps we can find the next Zubac, Mann, or Coffey out of the young guys we have or will add with our mediocre draft picks until 2030.

I'd personally rather just seen this team again FWIW, at least they do play pretty good basketball.

ironically i was listening to a podcast about how people cling to past attachments and value: sunk costs. he brought up steve ballmer (as CEO of microsoft) as a prime example and it struck me that he it's quite possible he hasn't changed much since then.

i'm not against a regime change, either. but my suspicion is that he's gonna ride with kawhi and the current regime for as long as kawhi's around before making any major pivots.

practically speaking, i'm fine with it (i mean we literally have no choice in changing the matter anyway). we lack the picks, so just put your best product out there and see what comes. maybe we get some unexpected help. maybe zu decides to do his best kawhi impression and evolve from really good role-player to 20/10 mvp-candidate (i mean this isn't even crazy, we ALL saw how good he is with his push/floater/hook game this year). who knows?

but i don't see a lot of big things happening.

I think if there was another alternative, we'd be taking it. I mean if Kawhi actually had good trade value for whatever reason, pretty sure our FO (who traded Blake Griffin and let Mr. 5 1sts + SGA + swaps walk for nothing) is not change-averse.

Like you said, we lack the picks, so just put out your best product out there and see what comes. It sure beats watching Phoenix LOL, at least our guys play hard and play together. That's also what not rotating a new coach in every year does.

[madmaxmedia]

Star chasing is dead in my opinion. Bron, Curry, KD, etc. are almost finished and the new crop of kids either screw up (Zion, Ja) or simply don't want to become stars, or they're unable to become a star. Can't star chase when players are literally not turning into stars, unless we want to throw $50 million a year at guys like Trae Young or LaMelo Ball just to say we did something to sell tickets. I don't believe Minny is going to hand us Ant Edwards, Orlando will give us Banchero, or Detroit will hand us Cade Cunningham like Dallas handed over Luka to the Lakers for pennies on the dollar. We have to start developing players now with Kawhi and Harden playing days coming to an end.

Star chasing is a questionable strategy now with the new cap rules. But roster building skill combined with ample cap space can still help a franchise generate momentum. We'll have to see in a few years whether it's better to sign an available star, or wait further until we get some draft picks back.

I disagree with you both on neither Star chasing is dead nor questionable strategy. We gotta read what happened since 2019 carefully, let me specify what I'm reading below.

2019 summer is the last summer top FA destination teams have had cap space for star hunting. Lakers, Clippers, Heat, Brooklyn. Thats LA, NY and Miami cities. I would also include SF to the top cities as well but they lost KD in that summer and go with Curry-Klay-Dray like old times.

During the 2018-19 season every player, agents, FO know this big FA War gonna happen and as a result none of the star players signed early extension with their current teams. That's why it happened and we saw KD-Kawhi-Butler-LBJ-Kyrie FA summer. PG trade happen to seal the Kawhi signing, AD trade to seal the LBJ signing(extension).

From that moment till now none of this top FA destination had any cap space to become a player in FA.

So that brings the question for star players; Why would you look for a FA if the top markets don't have cap room, therefore your meetings will be like with teams such as Jazz, Grizzlies, Pacers?

For this reasons top stars started early extensions to secure bag and ask for trade later to "preferred" destinations. For example Miami still in it for every star lately but Pat Riley couldn't secured it in negotiations. But trade business is risky, the team you want might now have enough(like Heat-Lillard case)

Brooklyn preparing for 2025 and 2026, Lakers and Heat shaping up to be a player as well for 2027 just like us, warriors will be a FA gunner in 2027. For that reason I would have a hard time seeing majority of Jokic, SGA, Luka, Giannis, Mitchell not meeting up with FA chasing teams and rather signing early extensions with their owns this time. Their agents must be already spoken to their ears.

For Clippers, I would like to get a really relatively small amount, value signings(like DJJ-Dunn) for 2025 and 2026 summers so you can ask one of the SGA, Giannis, Jokic to team up with Zu and whoever value signing we had in 2025(Mid-level) or 2026(average to big signing)are. Just please don't extend Powell or Harden through 2028. Keep up with value contracts, must hit 2025 pick #30

I don't disagree with anything you said. I guess what I mean by star-chasing, is that strategy of clearing cap space at all costs, to try to land 2 superstars in one summer thing. Because now you end up running up against the second apron, and it gets really hard to fill out your rotation with decent players.

But I agree with what you're suggesting as a possible path- good value contracts with an eye on forward cap space. We may sign a FA, or we might use our space to facilitate a trade, who knows. Going into the season I was really hoping we'd beat Houston to keep our pick, but as it turned out we both had good years so the difference in the swap isn't as large as I thought it would be.

[clipperlover]

There is one trade out there that may be beneficial for both teams to explore:

James Harden for Ja Morant

Salaries are a close match. Harden could probably do well with the two bigs in Memphis. Ja would be a name that would put people in the seats in Intuit Dome.

[Roscoe Sheed]

There is one trade out there that may be beneficial for both teams to explore:

James Harden for Ja Morant

Salaries are a close match. Harden could probably do well with the two bigs in Memphis. Ja would be a name that would put people in the seats in Intuit Dome.

problem is (if Memphis would even do the trade), Morant would probably want a max deal and I don't think that would be wise considering his injury history and poor judgment