Getty LA Clippers guard Eric Bledsoe defends De'Anthony Melton of the Memphis Grizzlies.
Eric Bledsoe has had a tough time in his second go-round with the LA Clippers. During his team’s December 15 bout with the Utah Jazz, though, the 12th-year guard looked more like his old self than he has at any other point throughout the campaign.
In 31 minutes of action off the bench, Bledsoe put up 21 points on 8-of-10 shooting and hit four of his five attempts from three-point range. He also added eight assists, five rebounds and a steal while committing just one turnover.
Clearly, though, this is the exception and not the rule.
For the year, Bledsoe is averaging just 9.5 points per contest and posting an effective field goal percentage of 48.1. In the 766 minutes that he has been on the court, Los Angeles has been outscored by 4.9 points per 100 possessions, the worst mark on the team.
As such, it should come as no surprise that people are prodding the Clippers to make some kind of move with him.
B/R: Bledsoe Is the Player LAC Should Be Shopping
On Thursday, Bleacher Report’s Greg Swartz put out his list of the players on every NBA team that should be getting shopped ahead of the trade deadline. Where the Clippers are concerned, he made a strong argument for Bledsoe.
Wrote Swartz:
The Clippers are 5-2 since moving Bledose to the bench, but they absolutely should not stop there. The 32-year-old has fallen off a cliff the past two years at both ends and is actively hurting Los Angeles almost any time he’s on the court.
While that assessment is spot-on, which makes it difficult to envision somebody wanting to deal for Bledsoe straight up, Swartz did note that the 32-year-old’s contract does hold some value.
Although Bledsoe’s number for 2022-23 is $19.4 million, which is a massive overpay given his current production, only $3.9 million of that is guaranteed. So there should be some appeal there for cash-strapped clubs looking to swap long-term dollars for expiring contracts.
Added Swartz, “No team will want to trade for Bledsoe outright, but the Clippers could use his salary as a baseline to try and acquire another star.”
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Serge Ibaka Is Another Option
This one may be happening already, but big man Serge Ibaka is also a prime candidate to get shopped. When he signed with the Clippers last summer, there was real hope that he could help Kawhi Leonard and Paul George lead the team to the promised land. However, his back injury put a stop to that last season.
Fast-forward to now and the Clippers have essentially replaced his production in the pivot with Ivica Zubac and Isaiah Hartenstein. The big men have combined to put up 17.4 points, 12.6 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per contest in 2021-22.
Ibaka is set to make $9.7 million in this, the final year of his current deal with the Clippers. He’ll be an unrestricted free agent in the summer. Although there is some question about what he has left in the tank, his reputation is such that there are likely some contending teams out there willing to take the flier.
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