Eric Bledsoe traded?

[MartinToVaught]

Moronic. We got him for nothing and the kid played his ass off.

We got him for Reggie Bullock, who might not be anything special, but is still lightyears ahead of Austin.

Bullock: -0.8 career BPM, 2.8 career VORP
Austin: -3.0 career BPM, -3.9 career VORP

Austin has never once in his career had a season of positive impact on the court, no matter what role he's playing or what team he's on, while Bullock had three positive seasons in a row on some talent-deficient Pistons teams. We would have been much better off with Bullock staying out of the way and making some occasional threes than we were with the Doc/Austin clown show.

There's also nothing "moronic" about pointing out the obvious chemistry issues in the locker room re: Austin, which were widely reported on at the time.

At some point, a team stops believing it can win. Players get tired of each other, and yearn to try new things. The culture had eroded. Insiders complained about a lack of accountability -- about practices and shootarounds starting late, and Austin Rivers carrying himself like an anointed superstar.

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/19758988/zach-lowe-chris-paul-james-harden-running-houston-rockets-nba

Because he's Austin Rivers, because he's Doc's son, it's always going to be awkward for everyone involved. Even last year, it's not so much that they re-signed him, it's that they re-signed him before Jamal [Crawford]. So, if you pay him first, what does that signal to the rest of the team? That you took care of your son first.

https://www.espn.com/espnradio/play?id=19768773

The in-house resentment toward Austin Rivers being favored as Doc's son, according to team sources, still very much exists

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2699554-after-all-their-progress-the-clippers-are-a-franchise-at-a-dangerous-crossroads

Austin's presence on the team complicated the relationship between Doc and the locker room. Among themselves, certain players wondered whether Rivers' minutes were always earned, and some felt Austin, though occasionally criticized in film sessions, wasn't subjected to the same accountability in practice or games. They bristled at the suggestion that Austin was an additive on defense, a premise that Doc presented to the media and internally.

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/23092424/nba-did-doc-rivers-make-los-angeles-clippers-break-them

Turns out that nepotism is unpopular and deeply offensive to players who worked hard for their spot in the league without having connections. Who could have guessed? Not GM Doc. And we wonder why Lob City looked like they hated basketball in their last couple seasons together.

That trade was one of the most selfish decisions in sports history. By trading for Austin, Doc put himself ahead of the team. He decided he was going to rescue his son's failing career and he didn't care what the other players thought. And the predictable result is that the team fell apart. That alone disproves your argument that none of Doc's trades ever hurt us.

He walked away clean and as one of the only black coaches to ever win a championship Doc helped attract Kawhi to the Clippers.

https://www.latimes.com/sports/clippers/story/2019-09-18/doc-rivers-hero-clippers-signed-kawhi-leonard-paul-george

Gee, I wonder who planted that story in the media.

PG's comments on Doc the offseason after the bubble are an obvious indication of how he and Kawhi really feel about him.

It was OK with me that Doc was eventually fired from both posts. Organizations have to move on. But Doc Rivers was NOT the reason Lob City didn't win a title.

He was one of the biggest reasons, between his historic meltdowns as a coach and his utter incompetence as a GM.

[Roscoe Sheed]

I noticed that the lakers didn’t keep Collison. I didn’t watch any games in which he appeared. If he has any game left, maybe the clippers should give him a shot

[Max Headrom]

I noticed that the lakers didn’t keep Collison. I didn’t watch any games in which he appeared. If he has any game left, maybe the clippers should give him a shot

Dude is washed. He fouled a 3 point shooter multiple times in the game I saw and just didn't look good at all

[TrueLAfan]

Getting back to the Clippers now--the thing I really love about this trade is that we can now put together package for just about any player at any salary.

I think we're keeping Powell--but that can mean that either Mann ($1.8M) or Kennard ($12.7M) can be moved. I'd guess Mann.
Covington ($13M, expiring) could be flipped. Or we could hold onto him and his Bird rights--he makes Batum ($3.2M) or Mook ($13.2M) movable.
Hartenstein ($1.7M, expiring) has developed well; he makes either himself, Zu ($7.5M, expiring) or Serge ($9.7M, expiring) tradable assets.

So, really, we can make a run at virtually any player with a combination of assets from 3.5M to a max player. That's great for us.

[KL2]

Coffey has earned that contract to be converted (if the roster spot stays available). But giving him the backup pg duties is a bit too much. If anything, I think he makes Mann expendable now though.

Thank goodness the deadline is Thursday because it would be brutal to wait a month or longer to see the next move.

[TheNewEra]

You can combine Covington with other clippers in a deal ?

[Roscoe Sheed]

In a playoff series, I'd probably rather have Ibaka than Zubac even though he is older and borderline washed up at times. He can at least spread the floor and is a decent finisher. We've already seen Zubac get played off the court in two playoff series (GSW in 19 and Dallas last season)

[Roscoe Sheed]

I noticed that the lakers didn’t keep Collison. I didn’t watch any games in which he appeared. If he has any game left, maybe the clippers should give him a shot

Dude is washed. He fouled a 3 point shooter multiple times in the game I saw and just didn't look good at all

Thanks for the response.

Perhaps it is a timing issue and not a sign of being totally washed up?

[nickhx2]

yeah, moving covington is something i was wondering about

fwiw i do think mann and ibaka can/should be the next movable pieces if we plan on upgrading. kennard i think is becoming more and more indispensable, but obviously if he can net a legit star you kinda have to do it. and obviously PG is the real need here, but i'm curious if the team might look to snag say turner (who should be easier to get given his injury) or say john collins, who i think was unhappy in atlanta.

[nickhx2]

i also wanted to chime in here about the FO:

the clippers have been transformative since ballmer took over, doc was removed from personnel decisions, and lawrence frank was in put into play. off the top of my head the only move that i was kinda meh about at the time was trading for morris and signing luke to such a big contract, but they've turned out to be alright moves. and pretty much everything else has been either really good or freaking awesome (lou williams for rondo being the exception).

the clippers have consistently been able to extract mega-value out of scraps and i think the front office deserves some recognition. i'll also add that the level of secrecy with which they work under seems unparalleled. most of the time you go "oh yeah that move makes sense, rumors have been going around for a week now" but this just does not happen with these guys. kinda astonishing.

[TheNewEra]

I could see one of Serge or Hart being moved to lock in a more sure thing contract for next year. Serge more likely or Covington could be flipped for something solo

[Vae Victus]

If im the Clippers id look to spin RoCo's expiring + minors assets for a PG upgrade, sending RJax to be the main backup combo guard. Ideally someone with at least 2 years left on their deal.

A dream trade would be RoCo + young prospect or two + future SRP for DeJounte Murray. SAS spins RoCo somewhere else in a 3way for an expiring plus more assets. SAS at this point should be tanking and keeping Murray is pointless, as his value goes further down as his contract ticks away and he's not worth retaining at big money in their sitaution until they get some blue chip draft prospects or somehow luck into signing superstars.

Murray has 2 more years past this season, isnt making too crazy of money, is a two way Pop system player.

Roster for next year under contract would be. while still having tax payer MLE to use
C - Zubac, Hart
PF- Morris, Batum
SF- Kawhi, Powell
SG- PG13, Kennard
PG- Murray, RJax

That bench has proven theyre basically a play-in level squad. Having healthy starters would be godlike.

While getting someone of Murray's caliber is a moon shot, i dont see the point of keeping RoCo around as he's an expiring and im

[clipsfever]

TMann moved to 2nd unit PG

Read on Twitter

[KL2]

Lawrence Frank had a wonderful interview before practice. I thought this was the most interesting note.

Read on Twitter

[esqtvd]

If im the Clippers id look to spin RoCo's expiring + minors assets for a PG upgrade, sending RJax to be the main backup combo guard. Ideally someone with at least 2 years left on their deal.

A dream trade would be RoCo + young prospect or two + future SRP for DeJounte Murray.

While getting someone of Murray's caliber is a moon shot, i dont see the point of keeping RoCo around as he's an expiring and im

notgonnahappenlol

Dejounte Murray is better than anybody on our roster except KL and PG

Watch on YouTube

[TrueLAfan]

I’m not as down on Covington. I loved Chauncey as a player and he seems to haver been a very good assistant. His lineups with Portland, however, were/are terrible. Powell is a player who can play some decent minutes at SF because of his length, allowing him to be a + defender overall. Covington can play at PF for stretches, or even small (more like tiny) ball C occasionally. But Portland is playing him at PF and C all the time. Powell is playing at SF and PF over 80% of the time. I don’t think Covington has lost a step; I think he’s mainly a SF. I think Powell is close to a 50/50 SG/SF guy; effective at both. I think they’ve been misused pretty terribly this year. The Blazers lineup is a $#/tshow, I know—other than Nurk and Zeller, nobody on the team is over 6’7” with the exception of Greg Brown III, a rookie second round pick that’s played 110 minutes this year. How does a team go so massively wrong on player selection and options?

Anyway, Covington is already being mentioned by other teams

https://hoopshype.com/lists/nba-rumors-cj-mccollum-anfernee-simons-robert-covington-dorian-finney-smith-danilo-gallinari-jakob-poeltl

which could be a great thing. Still, I’d (much) rather flip Mook and Serge and keep Batum and Covington and around $8-10 million next year. Just my .02 on that.

[Max Headrom]

I noticed that the lakers didn’t keep Collison. I didn’t watch any games in which he appeared. If he has any game left, maybe the clippers should give him a shot

Dude is washed. He fouled a 3 point shooter multiple times in the game I saw and just didn't look good at all

Thanks for the response.

Perhaps it is a timing issue and not a sign of being totally washed up?

Naw, he looked a step slow defensively and was a liability on the court honestly. Especially because he didn't offer much offensively.

I mean, look at how bad the Lakers needed another point guard and he couldn't stay on with them. They still don't have a legit back up point guard.

[Vae Victus]

If im the Clippers id look to spin RoCo's expiring + minors assets for a PG upgrade, sending RJax to be the main backup combo guard. Ideally someone with at least 2 years left on their deal.

A dream trade would be RoCo + young prospect or two + future SRP for DeJounte Murray.

While getting someone of Murray's caliber is a moon shot, i dont see the point of keeping RoCo around as he's an expiring and im

notgonnahappenlol

Dejounte Murray is better than anybody on our roster except KL and PG

A MAN CAN DREAM!

I dont follow the Spurs so i didnt realize how well he was balling out. His stats look Norm Powell esque, so i figure he's good but not great.

[illastrate]

24 hours later and I'm still in disbelief. What a fleecing.

Sent from my SM-N975U using Tapatalk

[esqtvd]

If im the Clippers id look to spin RoCo's expiring + minors assets for a PG upgrade, sending RJax to be the main backup combo guard. Ideally someone with at least 2 years left on their deal.

A dream trade would be RoCo + young prospect or two + future SRP for DeJounte Murray.

While getting someone of Murray's caliber is a moon shot, i dont see the point of keeping RoCo around as he's an expiring and im

notgonnahappenlol

Dejounte Murray is better than anybody on our roster except KL and PG

A MAN CAN DREAM!

I dont follow the Spurs so i didnt realize how well he was balling out. His stats look Norm Powell esque, so i figure he's good but not great.

stick to hating on people named Rivers