The Los Angeles Clippers are at the end of their rope.
Years of pushing the chips into the middle of the table have left them in the inenviable position of a bloated cap sheet and diminished draft capital.
At this point, Los Angeles is in too deep, and it would be worth their while to go all in on one last shot at a championship with Kawhi Leonard and James Harden.
This past offseason, the Clippers doubled down on their identity of signing former All-Stars, bringing Bradley Beal, Chris Paul, and Brook Lopez into the fold.
Los Angeles is now the oldest team in NBA history, with an average age of 33.2 across the roster.
Why not continue to go all-in on the heavy veteran presence and acquire one more journeyman to increase their championship odds?
Clippers Trade Proposal Lands DeMar DeRozan from Kings
In a trade idea first proposed by Bleacher Report’s Andy Bailey, the Los Angeles Clippers would acquire DeMar DeRozan from the Sacramento Kings.
Los Angeles Clippers receive: DeMar DeRozan
Sacramento Kings receive: Bogdan Bogdanović, Derrick Jones Jr.
The Clippers would break their own record for the oldest NBA team by landing the 36-year-old DeRozan.
“The Los Angeles Clippers already have plenty of talent. And plenty of older talent. But if they wanted to consolidate a bit, DeMar DeRozan would make for a heck of a secondary playmaker and/or heat-check scorer for the second unit,” wrote Bailey.
“His brand of mid-range-heavy offense hasn’t always positively impacted his teams, but backup defenders would have a terrible time trying to stop him. And when sharing the floor with Kawhi Leonard, James Harden and another starter or two, he’d have the opportunity to attack defenses scrambled by the superstars.”
While Los Angeles loses some flexibility in their lineups by parting with key rotational players in Bogdan Bogdanović and Derrick Jones Jr., they do have more overall talent with the addition of DeRozan.
The former Toronto Raptor can come off the bench or start in the place of Leonard, who often load manages throughout the regular season.
DeRozan’s instant offense would be useful during the marathon that is the 82-game NBA season.
A two-for-one trade also gives the Los Angeles some roster flexibility down the stretch, allowing them to add a player midseason if need be.
Would the Kings Make the Deal?
The Sacramento Kings are practically a copycat of the Chicago Bulls from 2022-24.
They’re betting on a DeRozan and Zach LaVine-led team.
It didn’t work out well for Chicago, only managing to make the postseason once and losing in the play-in tournament the rest of the way.
If they’re smart, they would do what they can to get value for one or both players, and that’s exactly what they do in this trade.
“For the Sacramento Kings, this breaks up the DeRozan-Zach LaVine pairing that never worked for the Chicago Bulls, adds a defensive playmaker in Derrick Jones Jr. and gives the second unit a playmaking and three-point shooting boost from Bogdan Bogdanović,” continued Bailey.
Bogdanović and Jones Jr. are simply better fits for this current iteration of the Kings, and can either be rotational players for a Sacramento team trying to fight their way through a loaded Western Conference, or trade chips for future draft capital.
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