NBA Trade Deadline 2019: Winners and losers

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Winner: Los Angeles Clippers

Jerry West saw he had a bubble playoff team that would have been roadkill against the Warriors and decided to Thelma-and-Louise-it into the lottery.

The Clippers pulled a massive haul for headliner Tobias Harris, a player they were unsure about re-signing at the huge contract he’d command. It appeared to be a quality move when it happened. Then Otto Porter and Nikola Mirotic got traded without a single first-round pick changing hands, making West look borderline diabolical. Harris is the best of the bunch for sure, but the price the 76ers paid was exponentially higher.

For Harris, Boban Marjanovic and Mike Scott, the Clippers received Philadelphia’s 2020 first rounder, Miami’s unprotected first rounder in 2021, Landry Shamet — who was a late first round pick in this past draft — along with the expiring deals of Wilson Chandler and Mike Muscala.

The Clippers got off Avery Bradley’s contract just before the buzzer, pulling them up behind the Knicks with the second-most cap space heading into the summer. L.A. always sends out a siren song to free agents. If the Lakers stumble as they did at the deadline, the Clippers lined themselves up to reap the benefits.

The Clippers avoided the fool’s errand of marginally upgrading a third-tier playoff team. They instead opted for the promise of a brighter tomorrow.

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