NBA Free Agency 2017: 5 offseason targets for the Los Angeles Clippers
The Los Angeles Clippers added executive Jerry West, but lost Chris Paul. Where do they go in free agency? Here are five targets for their offseason.
Woah, what a couple of days for the Los Angeles Clippers. They were a Western Conference contender, had a franchise leader in Chris Paul and had just hired Jerry West as a top-notch executive. In a sudden turn of events, CP3 is headed to Houston in a trade, Blake Griffin might take his talents elsewhere and the Clippers’ era could be over.
So where do Steve Ballmer, Jerry West and Doc Rivers go from here? They can really push hard to keep Blake Griffin, add a star wing player in free agency and try to compete in the loaded Western Conference. Or will they choose to blow it up completely and rebuild from scratch?
Let’s look at players that the Clippers could go and compete with this year. Rivers, West and especially Ballmer, seem like guys that don’t ever lay down to a challenge. I think they’ll load the team up with some marquee free agents and try to compete again.
Look at all the key free agents that the Clippers will have this offseason: Blake Griffin, J.J. Redick, Luc Mbah a Moute, Raymond Felton and Marreese Speights. From the Chris Paul trade, they’re adding Sam Dekker, Patrick Beverley, Lou Williams and a lot of non-guaranteed contracts. There will be a lot of roster turnover for a team that won 51 games in the regular season and were a Game 7 victory away from advancing to the next round.
Los Angeles will not re-sign all of them, and will need to bring in players to improve those positions. Let’s look at five targets for West and Rivers that will keep them competitive next year.
5. Gordon Hayward, SF, Utah Jazz
What’s the one key position that the Clippers never found an answer for in the past few years? Small forward. In one of the most important positions in the NBA, dominated by the likes of LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Kawhi Leonard, the Clippers haven’t had anybody to show for it.
They’ve had Wesley Johnson, Paul Pierce and Luc Mbah a Moute share time at the small forward position, but none of those players pose any sort of threat to their opponents. That’s a position of emphasis for the Clippers and can definitely be addressed in free agency.
If Los Angeles is able to re-sign Blake Griffin, they can make a pitch to Gordon Hayward about playing in La-La land and joining two other stars. That would arguably be a strong team on paper, with Patrick Beverley and another free-agent signing to complete the starting lineup.
Hayward would also be able to leave the lights of Salt Lake City behind for a bigger, better Los Angeles. It would be a humongous upgrade over the past starting small forwards the Clippers have had. This past season with the Jazz, Hayward was an All-Star and put his team on the shoulders in times of need.
Doc Rivers and the Clippers should know Hayward very well, as they had a front-row seat during the first round of the Western Conference playoffs to observe the free agent. Hayward’s a scorer and also a strong defender. He would become the new face of the Clippers and Los Angeles can sell on a new big three moving forward, featuring Hayward, Griffin and Jordan.
If the Clippers want a quick reload to be able to compete in the Western Conference, this might be their best option on the market.