Getty DeMar DeRozan of the San Antonio Spurs
The NBA playoffs are far from over, and the destiny of the Los Angeles Clippers remains a mystery — but that hasn’t stopped analysts from posing ‘what if’ scenarios should the Clips have yet another early postseason exit. The Clippers have become almost synonymous with early playoff exits, and after adding Kawhi Leonard and Paul George two seasons ago, they have yet to capture that ever-elusive championship.
After coming from behind to win their first-round series against the Dallas Mavericks in seven games, the Clips are currently tied 2-2 in the semis with the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference, the Utah Jazz. A lot can happen in a week much less a month, but should the Clippers fail to get rings this year, some think they’ll be looking to add a third big name to assist Leonard and George. One name that keeps coming up? Spurs veteran DeMar DeRozan.
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‘Versatile’ DeRozan Could Be Just What Clippers Need, Analyst Says
In his June 15 column for Bleacher Report, Greg Swartz compiled a list of top dark-horse trade candidates, and he thinks the Clips would be the prefect destination for a sign-and-trade:
“One team that doesn’t have money to spare but could be home via sign-and-trade? The Clippers,” Swartz wrote. “If Los Angeles falls short of an NBA title once again, it should be exploring all avenues to add a third star to Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. The 6’6″ DeRozan is versatile enough to play anywhere from point guard to power forward and would give the Clippers three of the best wings in all of basketball.”
Swartz then laid out how the sign-and-trade scenario would work for both teams involved:
A deal would only work if the Spurs agree to a sign-and-trade since the Clippers are over the cap. After buying out LaMarcus Aldridge—and with veterans Patty Mills and Rudy Gay hitting free agency—San Antonio could be heading toward a youth movement and could agree to trade DeRozan in order to not lose him for nothing in free agency. Assuming DeRozan gets an annual salary somewhere between $20 million and $30 million per year, the Spurs could target some combination of Ivica Zubac ($7.5 million salary in 2021-22) Luke Kennard ($12.7 million), Patrick Beverley ($14.3 million) and Marcus Morris ($15.6 million). The Clippers would have to send back enough salary to get under the apron (usually around $6 million above the luxury-tax line) since they’d be getting DeRozan through a sign-and-trade, thus hard-capping the team. For DeRozan, a Southern California native, this would be an incredible opportunity to return close to home and play for a title contender once again.
Would Clippers Want to Ship Off Supporting Players for DeRozan?
If L.A. makes another early exit from the playoffs this year, or loses in embarrassing fashion, anything will be on the table this offseason. Kawhi may have rings from his days in San Antonio and Toronto, but his mission in L.A. won’t be complete without some hardware.
“I don’t care about the Western Conference Finals. We’re trying to win the Championship,” Leonard said after the team’s Game 4 win.
If they don’t win it all, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Ty Lue and company part ways with, say, Kennard and Zubac in a package for DeRozan. We’ll see how the rest of the postseason unfolds.
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