Los Angeles Clippers: The team needs to trade a guard
By Jason Reed
The Los Angeles Clippers may not have a superstar on the roster but the team has a deep roster, including a very deep group of guys at guard.
The Los Angeles Clippers struck out on any potential Kawhi Leonard trade this summer and were unable to bring in any superstar free agents such as Paul George or LeBron James.
In fact, the Los Angeles Clippers did not add any new significant pieces aside from those added in the NBA Draft. Instead, the front office decided to keep the current group of guys, re-sign some players, let some players walk and create a deep roster for next season.
Personally, while there is a bunch of talent on the roster, the Los Angeles Clippers seem to be missing that x-factor to be a postseason team, especially in the Western Conference. However, that is a topic for another day.
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The deepest area of the team is at guard, where the Clippers have a slew of guys that can all fit a certain role in certain circumstances. That kind of talent diversity is certainly great, however, the Clippers a tad too deep at the position.
The team re-signed free agent guard Avery Bradley while also drafting two guards in the NBA Draft this summer.
Now, the Clippers have three men at point guard in Patrick Beverley, Milos Teodosic and rookie Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and three shooting guards in Avery Bradley, Lou Williams and rookie Jerome Robinson.
Right now, I would say that Gilgeous-Alexander and Bradley are the favorites to start. However, Beverley offers great defense while Teodosic proved to be a passing wizard off the bench last season.
Williams is easily the most talented shooting guard but has played the role of a sixth man to a tee. However, to be a good sixth man, Williams needs minutes, which takes away from Robinson.
And while Robinson could play small forward, that may only hurt his growth and not give him a chance to succeed in his first professional season.
Quite frankly, six is too much, one needs to go. This becomes easier with both Beverley and Teodosic set to hit the open market next summer and the rookies needing minutes to progress their craft.
The NBA is forgiving. It is no longer a league where a rookie can take multiple years to develop. Young players are coming out in their rookie seasons and becoming true superstars. For a team with no superstar, this is a huge risk to take in not giving them the proper minutes.
Either way, someone is going to get left out of the loop and could be better utilized in a trade return for usable assets. It is not like Beverley is going to be the difference maker of an NBA Finals appearance for the Clippers.
However, he could be that difference for a team that needs a good defensive point guard, like the Philadelphia 76ers, to come off the bench in big games. With no realistic chance of making it out of the first round of the playoffs, there is no point in keeping one of these guards for the rest of the season.
Next. Clippers will underwhelm after two months. dark
That may be tough to hear but it is what is right for the Los Angeles Clippers. Just trade a guard already, things will be much easier.