The Los Angeles Clippers are heading into a new era this season after Paul George left the franchise for the Philadelphia 76ers. This led the team to hand James Harden a contract extension while signing hard-nosed defenders such as Kris Dunn and Derrick Jones Jr. The team looks bleak on top-end talent, relying on a past-his-prime Harden and an injury-prone Kawhi Leonard, but has enough rotational players to make a Playoff push.
The Clippers aren’t contenders in their current form. They’ll need to find a way to shake their roster up and add more win-now pieces for some of the pieces on their roster. They’ll have to make hard decisions such as trading Norman Powell and Terance Mann to make the contracts match, but they have an easy route to upgrade if they speak with the Washington Wizards.
Trade details
Los Angeles Clippers Receive: Kyle Kuzma, Malcolm Brogdon
Washington Wizards Receive: Norman Powell, Terance Mann, P.J. Tucker, Bones Hyland, 2030 First-Round Pick Swap (LAC)
Not only does this ruin the Lakers’ reported pursuit of Kuzma, but it also allows the Clippers to look more contender-ready at the start of the season. Malcolm Brogdon cannot be traded until September 4 after being moved to the Wizards for Deni Avdija from the Blazers but would relish the opportunity of playing winning basketball.
The Clippers Become A Contender For A Top-Four Seed
The Clippers have the ingredients of a contending roster if they can put the correct surrounding pieces around Harden and Leonard. On their day, they’re still two elite players in their position but have built-in inconsistencies with their age and availability. Harden can be available but his production can swing drastically while Leonard can have a mysterious knee injury rule him out for over a month suddenly.
Acquiring Brogodn and Kuzma is not only a built-in fail-safe for their health and production but also complementary pieces that can play alongside them. Brogdon averaged 15.7 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 5.5 assists with the Blazers last season. He can be used as either a sixth man or a starter alongside Harden in the backcourt, giving the Clippers versatility with their ball-handling.
Kuzma averaged 22.2 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 4.2 assists last season. He is a proven supporting option on a winning team with all the qualities to further enhance the Clippers. He’s a rebounding presence, a multi-positional defender, and has added a lot of offensive flair to his game in his years with the Wizards. He refused to be traded last winter to the Mavericks, but a return to Los Angeles might be a lot more tempting for Kuzma.
Powell and Mann are big losses for the Clippers, but Brogdon and Kuzma both upgrade their roster while giving them more top-end flexibility to conserve the energies of their two aging stars for the Playoffs.
The Wizards Tank For A Stacked Class
The 2025 NBA Draft might be comparable to the 2023 NBA Draft, if not better, with the top-end talent available for selection. The prize is expected to be Cooper Flagg, but more phenomenal players such as V.J. Edgecombe, Nolan Traore, Dylan Harper, and others are expected to be among the top picks of the Draft. The Wizards need to put all their eggs in that basket while developing current young stars such as Bub Carrington and Bilal Coulibaly.
Powell averaged 13.9 points on 43.5% from three last season, proving to be a talented sixth man or starter for a contending team. He could generate trade interest for the Wizards to gain more assets or could be a veteran on the roster for the two remaining years of his contract.
Terance Mann averaged 8.8 points and 3.4 rebounds last season and could have a future here, but his expiring contract will allow the Wizards to decide his future based on his play. P.J. Tucker and Bones Hyland have both wanted out, with their expiring contracts being moved in this deal.
Removing Kuzma and Brogodn will open up opportunities for young stars such as Bub and Bilal, allowing them to develop in a no-pressure situation as the Wizards are incentivized to tank for a potential franchise-changing Draft pick in 2025.
What Grade Should This Trade Be?
There’s a clear winner and loser in this deal, as one team gets much better while the other fails to maximize a return for their best-remaining assets.
Los Angeles Clippers: B+
The Clippers become considerably better in the short term while heavily weakened over the long term. The team has two future picks under their control in 2030 and 2031, with this deal sacrificing one in a swap with the Wizards. If Washington actually successfully tanks for a franchise-changing piece, that player would be in Years 5 and 6 by then, which would likely mean Playoff contention.
The Clippers don’t have any assets to protect their future, with no standout young players or future picks. Are Brogdon and Kuzma the two players the Clippers will be willing to spend the last bit of capital they have? I don’t think so. But this deal makes the Clippers so much better for next season as they try to make an impact in their first season at the Intuit Dome.
Washington Wizards: C-
Outside tanking for the 2025 Draft, the Wizards don’t really get anything in this deal. None of the players in this deal will figure into their future plans unless Terance Mann really shows them something. The Bones Hyland archetype of an undersized guard scorer is all around the NBA while P.J. Tucker isn’t good for much anymore outside being a locker room veteran. The player return is laughably mediocre for both Kuzma and Brogdon.
The main piece of value is the 2030 Draft swap, but that’s conditional on the Clippers being bad enough to be in the lottery for it to pay out. It’s not an outright pick anyway, so they’re entirely dependent on the Clippers being worse than them for the pick to even convey. It’s a solid bet given their lack of future assets, but enough for both Kuzma and Brogdon? That’s hard to see.
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