The Los Angeles Clippers have one of the more grim outlooks in the NBA right now.
They’re 4-10, and a bottom-10 team in terms of offensive and defensive rating.
Los Angeles’ roster is the oldest in NBA history, with an average age of 33.2 across its team.
To make matters even worse, they don’t own the rights to their 2026 first-round pick; it belongs to the reigning NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder, thanks to the Paul George trade.
It may be time for the Clippers to make some serious changes and start rebuilding, laying the foundation for a full-scale overhaul at season’s end.
Bill Simmons Proposes Zach LaVine to the Clippers
There’s no better proposer of hypothetical trades than Bill Simmons, founder of The Ringer and host of the Bill Simmons Podcast.
“The Podfather” recently posted a three-team trade on X that would see the Sacramento Kings ship Zach LaVine to the Los Angeles Clippers, Malik Monk to the Boston Celtics, and the Kings receive several expiring contracts.
Los Angeles Clippers receive: Zach LaVine, Dario Saric
Sacramento Kings receive: Anfernee Simons, John Collins, Bogdan Bogdanovic
Boston Celtics receive: Malik Monk
“This is a good ‘Who says no?’” Wrote Simmons.
“Clips desperately need more scoring, grab Lavine, Boston gets under tax for 2 extra Monk years, Sac gets 70m of expirings and summer cap space.”
For the Clippers, this deal is a no-brainer.
They start to clear some of their bloated, veteran-heavy salary cap to land a more athletic scoring guard in LaVine.
While the former NBA All-Star is 30, he definitely provides more upside than anyone else currently on Los Angeles’ roster.
They’re also able to dump John Collins and Bogdan Bogdanovic, two players who likely aren’t in the future plans of the team.
Would the Kings Make the Deal?
The Sacramento Kings are in a somewhat similar position to the Los Angeles Clippers.
They just have less recent success to show for it.
Sacramento’s roster is on the older side, with an average age of 27.3, and their led by the 30-year-old LaVine, 36-year-old DeMar DeRozan, and 29-year-old Domantas Sabonis.
They’re likely going to be in the business of selling off their assets and building around the handful of young stars they have, including Keegan Murray and Keon Ellis.
This trade gets them moving in that direction, adding two expiring contracts in Anfernee Simons and Collins.
According to a recent report from The Athletic’s Sam Amick, there is trade interest around Sabonis, but not LaVine.
“So, as it relates to Sabonis, my understanding is there are at least a few teams that have raised their hand to say, ‘Yeah, he’s somebody we’d want to talk about.’ I’ve said it on your show before — I don’t have that sort of information about Zach (LaVine).”
If this is the case, then the Kings would likely be willing to part with LaVine in any way, shape, or form, and if this trade is offered to them, they would have to at least consider.
Would the Celtics Make the Trade?
Of course, Simmons is trying to find a way to improve the outlook for his beloved Boston Celtics in any hypothetical trade he makes.
Dumping Simons, a player Boston has no future use for, to land Monk is perfect for the future of the Celtics.
While this season is essentially a wash, the hypothetical trade gives them a Sixth Man of the Year candidate for the next three years.
With Jayson Tatum back in 2026-27, Monk will be a valuable addition and give the Celtics a true scoring punch off the bench.
For all three teams, the trade makes too much sense for the direction of each franchise, and as Simmons said:
Who says no?
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