With a whole lot of assets and more than enough motive, the Los Angeles Clippers have been squarely in the middle of the NBA’s most recent trade rumors.
The latest of these involves a certain Detroit Center who could make the Clips bonafide Championship favorites.
(via Andy Bailey of Bleacher Report)
The Deal: Ivica Zubac, Maurice Harkless, Jerome Robinson, Mfiondu Kabengele and a second-round pick for Drummond
Ivica Zubac is just 22 years old and posting stellar pace- and playing time-adjusted numbers. Jerome Robinson and Mfiondu Kabengele are essentially still question marks. Maurice Harkless would be mostly salary-matching fodder.
It’d be tough to draw a first-round pick out of L.A. because of the haul it already sent to OKC for George, but this package includes a lot of young talent. Three of the four players heading to Detroit are 22. The other, Harkless, is 26.
For the Clippers, this move would hurt their depth, but they’d still hang on to the most important pieces of this season’s title chase.
With a lineup of Beverley, Shamet, George, Kawhi, and Drummond, the Clippers would have a devastatingly star-studded lineup. Not to mention Lou Williams and Montrezl Harrell, coming off the bench.
It’d be an ideal situation for them, but one hard to pull off. The Clippers are not the only team pursuing Drummond and other teams like the Hawks, Mavs, and Celtics are expected to join the chase.
L.A. will have to beat out those teams if they want their chance at the All-NBA center.
