Los Angeles Clippers should consider Tobias Harris trade with Pelicans

The Los Angeles Clippers should be trading assets this offseason; the first of which being talented forward Tobias Harris.

The Los Angeles Clippers and the team’s fans may not want to admit it, but it is time to go into rebuilding mode in LA.

Quite frankly, the Los Angeles Clippers have no long-term security with the current group of guys that can only take them so far. The only people (aside from the rookies) locked down past next season are Danilo Gallinari, Lou Williams and Jawun Evans.

Milos Teodosic and Sam Dekker will both be restricted free agents next offseason and Montrezl Harrell is a restricted free agent this summer. While the Lakers can theoretically keep these players by matching any offer sheet, the idea that they are under complete team control is far-fetched.

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And I will give it to the Clippers, the front office did a good job in the 2018 NBA Draft. While I think the Clippers could have moved down to get Jerome Robinson, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was an excellent selection for the Clippers.

The backcourt of Gilgeous-Alexander and Robinson will be good for quite some time and naturally had led to the idea that some of the team’s many guards will be traded. We think Patrick Beverley is the first apple to fall.

However, outside of guards, the Los Angeles Clippers also have other intriguing trade pieces. The best of which being Tobias Harris.

Harris is on an expiring deal and can be a huge asset to a borderline contending team, like the New Orleans Pelicans, who need to add talent to take that next step.

New Orleans is the perfect place for Harris. The team needs someone that can space the floor and add some scoring gusto alongside Anthony Davis. Throw Harris in alongside Davis and a potentially returning DeMarcus Cousins and the Pelicans would have something special cooking.

The Pelicans are no strangers to trading draft picks and will do so again for a talent like Harris. While that selection will be lower in the first round, it is a great pickup for a team like the Clippers who are just sacrificing one year of Harris’ services.

The Pelicans can package Solomon Hill and Alexis Ajinca alongside a top-five protected pick (in case anything goes haywire) in exchange for Harris.

And I get that Hill and Ajinca do not match the level of production that Harris brings. But let’s be honest, the Clippers are not going to win a title in the one season that Harris is locked down. Might as well get something for a guy that was simply thrown into a deal to get rid of Blake Griffin‘s contract.

Now the Clippers have more tools to rebuild towards the future, something that is inevitably coming. As for the Pelicans, they would have a very nice core group of guys consisting of Davis, Cousins, Harris, Nikola Mirotic and Jrue Holliday.

Mirotic or Harris would have to come off the bench with Davis and Cousins; probably Mirotic. But still, that is two potential all-stars with two All-NBA players in the starting five with a sixth-man that scored more than 15 points a game last year.

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This trade makes sense for both sides. Worst-case scenario the Los Angeles Clippers get a pick and the Pelicans get salary cap relief in Harris after this year. Win-win.

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