Does this trade make sense for the LA Clippers?
The LA Clippers do not necessarily need a guy like Josh Jackson on the wing since Terance Mann is beginning to step into a bigger role and since Marcus Morris Sr. is going to be returning from a knee injury soon, but this trade would give them a little bit more depth than they have on the wing since Kawhi is out.
Plus, the Clippers have this $8M trade exception to use this season, so why not utilize it while they can? Los Angeles does not have much draft compensation over the next several years, as they only have a total of nine draft picks through the 2028 NBA Draft, but this is also a team that has been built to contend for a championship.
Draft picks do not do much for this team other than offering a means to acquire players and they would be leveraging two low-value picks for a key wing in Josh Jackson. Maybe the 2022 second-round pick holds more value than the one in 2025, but both are still going to end up being some of the last picks in the draft, giving the Clippers not much value if they were to hold onto them and draft a young prospect.
Seeing as they can absorb Josh Jackson’s contract with no financial repercussions and utilize him as another dynamic talent on the wing, the LA Clippers should be interested in making this trade with the Detroit Pistons, that is assuming they do not make a bigger move ahead of the trade deadline.
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Los Angeles does like the way their roster is built right now and they believe they can make it back to the Western Conference Finals, but this does not necessarily mean that they will not add another high-level talent to their roster this year.
Paul George and Kawhi Leonard are the only two All-Star-level talents on this team and with other organizations in the Western Conference having “Big 3s”, the Clippers could look to add a third high-level talent to their roster at the expense of guys like Luke Kennard, Marcus Morris and maybe even someone like Serge Ibaka.
Who they would target remains a big mystery, but guys like Dillon Brooks, Myles Turner and even Ben Simmons have been named that have popped up in regards to possible trade targets for the Clippers.
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It is unlikely Los Angeles would trade for either of these three guys given their cap situations, but if they did have interest in doing so, they would most likely not make this trade with Detroit.
Ultimately, if the LA Clippers are to trade for Josh Jackson, it would likely be an extension of a three or four-team deal, but landing Jackson is definitely not a bad move for the Clippers to make this season.
