Clippers - Memphis trade Bev/Rondo/Oturu for Bledsoe

[KL2]

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[TheNewEra]

Welp this is the roster now. Wouldn’t be shocked if Bledsoe is dealt at some point

[ejftw]

We better get some draft comp, even if its a FSRP for takingon Bleds guaranteee next year

[KL2]

So who gets the final roster spot?

I’m stunned they couldn’t do better with those expiring contracts?

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[TheNewEra]

No picks is nuts

[MartinToVaught]

Well, this is a weird trade. Not super outraged since I've been sick of Beverley since last season and Rondo is washed. Happy to have Bledsoe back, hopefully he's better here than he's been since he left. It would have been nice to get some picks, though.

[TheNewEra]

Beverly knew it was coming

[ejftw]

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It'll be interesting to see if that TPE is even utilized.

[MartinToVaught]

I don't think they would have made this trade if they didn't have something in mind with the TPE.

[KL2]

The TPE is interesting. I can see them using that.

[TucsonClip]

Clippers had a roster crunch with the 3 rookies signing guaranteed deals.

Not sure Bledsoe works out, but we need more shot creation and scoring this season sans Kawhi. Bledsoe leading the 2nd unit with plenty of floor spacing should be interesting.

Save a ton on the tax bill and also get a trade exception to make another add, if needed.

However, Clippers now have salary matching possibilities next summer to make a run at a 3rd star-ish type player via trade. Bledsoe is partially guaranteed, and he and Kennard can salary match for virtually any contract in the league. If one of the rookies hit, theres your package.

[donemilio21]

Clippers had a roster crunch with the 3 rookies signing guaranteed deals.

Not sure Bledsoe works out, but we need more shot creation and scoring this season sans Kawhi. Bledsoe leading the 2nd unit with plenty of floor spacing should be interesting.

Save a ton on the tax bill and also get a trade exception to make another add, if needed.

However, Clippers now have salary matching possibilities next summer to make a run at a 3rd star-ish type player via trade. Bledsoe is partially guaranteed, and he and Kennard can salary match for virtually any contract in the league. If one of the rookies hit, theres your package.

That is not so far fetched scenario. Bledsoe + Kennard + Mann + our best rookies from this draft could land someone like Beal or Simmons at the deadline.

[wco81]

Clippers had a roster crunch with the 3 rookies signing guaranteed deals.

Not sure Bledsoe works out, but we need more shot creation and scoring this season sans Kawhi. Bledsoe leading the 2nd unit with plenty of floor spacing should be interesting.

Save a ton on the tax bill and also get a trade exception to make another add, if needed.

However, Clippers now have salary matching possibilities next summer to make a run at a 3rd star-ish type player via trade. Bledsoe is partially guaranteed, and he and Kennard can salary match for virtually any contract in the league. If one of the rookies hit, theres your package.

That is not so far fetched scenario. Bledsoe + Kennard + Mann + our best rookies from this draft could land someone like Beal or Simmons at the deadline.

That's very optimistic.

[KL2]

You can only use the TPE on one player right?

[ejftw]

Clippers had a roster crunch with the 3 rookies signing guaranteed deals.

Not sure Bledsoe works out, but we need more shot creation and scoring this season sans Kawhi. Bledsoe leading the 2nd unit with plenty of floor spacing should be interesting.

Save a ton on the tax bill and also get a trade exception to make another add, if needed.

However, Clippers now have salary matching possibilities next summer to make a run at a 3rd star-ish type player via trade. Bledsoe is partially guaranteed, and he and Kennard can salary match for virtually any contract in the league. If one of the rookies hit, theres your package.

That is not so far fetched scenario. Bledsoe + Kennard + Mann + our best rookies from this draft could land someone like Beal or Simmons at the deadline.

So many ways it can go...the TPE as well could bring in someone useful in the meantime

[ejftw]

You can only use the TPE on one player right?

No, it can be spread apart as needed. Can't aggregate it with a salary though

[madmaxmedia]

He seemed to fall off a cliff after getting traded from Milwaukee. If he can somewhat recover here he can contribute some. He made a couple of All-Defense teams previously, for what it’s worth.

The last year of the contract is only guaranteed for $3.9M, that’s why we didn’t get any other assets. He’s practically an expiring himself. If we cut bait for the $3.9M after this season, not sure if that money counts against our cap at all?

Rondo ended up a zero for us, Pat was a zero during the season before recovering in the playoffs. But they don’t have much trade value beyond their expiring contracts, so we traded those 2 for an almost expiring.

[og15]

I like it. Rondo is too old and didn't do much. Beverley has averaged 44 games per year as a Clipper. The last two seasons, also come out to exactly 44 games per season out of the possible 72 games. Bledsoe on the other hand has averaged 70 games/season.

That alone is a huge difference. Bledsoe's shooting doesn't scare anyone, but he can defend better than both Bev and Rondo and while his shooting is meh, he can attack while Beverley isn't so good at that. Last season was a down year for him compared to previous seasons, so hopefully that's more of an outlier than his new normal.

[Wammy Giveaway]

Bledsoe was originally one of the pieces going to the Pelicans for Chris Paul following the vetoed Lakers trade, but was replaced by Eric Gordon in the last minute. Bledsoe would spend two more years with the Clippers as part of Lob City, and was an integral feature of the Tribe Called Bench. Upon Doc River's arrival, he would be traded to the Suns in a three-team deal for Jared Dudley and J.J. Redick.

Coach Nick of BBall Breakdown hinted that Bledsoe's best years were when he played with Chris Paul as a role player coming off the bench. Since going on his own, his impact took something of a hit, even as his production increased. The days of him as a mini-LeBron were over when he left the Clippers, now with more responsibilities as a facilitator and floor general. When his duties are limited to just one or two jobs, such as being a defensive specialist or knocking down 3's at an efficient clip, that's where Bledsoe excels as his best. His best 3P% (0.397) and blocks per game (0.7) occurred in the 2012-13 season, Bledsoe's final year with Clippers before being shipped out. His career high in points per game, 21.1, happened in the 2016-17 season, playing for the Suns on another lottery year.

Bledsoe is the first player of the Lob City era to return to the Clippers since the Paul-Griffin breakup of 2017. Without a CP3 to play behind, Bledsoe's comeback season will have a ton of setbacks, but given the uncertainty of Leonard's health, this may be his last and only chance to resurrect his career. Being back home with the franchise who believed in him could help in his journey back.

On the Clippers side of things, this is their chance to build up their trade value: with no picks to sweeten deals, they will have to develop the players they drafted and hope that Johnson, Preston or Boston - or all three of them - meet or exceed expectations to the point other teams will want them. Player development may be the M.O. this year, with some media outlets predicting that Clippers will miss the playoffs this year, or the very least get a one-and-done appearance in the play-in tournament. They've proven to do well with reclamation projects; who knows - maybe saving Bledsoe's career nets them Lillard, Simmons, or Irving?

Last year, the Clipper's missing piece has been a point guard, and while they got by to make the conference finals, they saw what a point guard can do in the most ironic of ways. What if that missing point guard was the one they should have never traded in the first place? (I'm referring to the Bledsoe for Dudley-Redick trade here, not the Chris Paul reverse farm trade).

[TucsonClip]

I mentioned at the time that Rondo's value, when we acquired him, was extending our trade window of Lou Williams expiring salary slot into this season. We've now rolled that over into next August with the trade exception generated in this deal.