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The Los Angeles Clippers have had a wretched 2017, to say the least. After scraping a 4th-place record in the 2016-17 regular season, they fell to a Gordon Hayward-led Utah Jazz in the first round of the playoffs.
Their year hit its lowest point as Chris Paul was traded to the Rockets in the offseason, immediately bringing down their ceiling from fringe contenders to playoff hopefuls (they have not made the playoffs without Chris Paul in the team over the last decade). Although they did well to nab Patrick Beverley and Lou Williams, the roster did not have a truly capable ball-handler to make the Staples Center another nightly Lob City highlight reel.
Patrick Beverley, Danilo Gallinari, and Milos Teodosic succumbed to the injury bug early this regular season, and now the Clippers are missing franchise player Blake Griffin for a total of 8 weeks due to an MCL strain. The roster has been stretched paper-thin after Austin Rivers' injury, and the less glamorous ball club in LA now looks ripe for a tank job.
DeAndre Jordan has been the biggest loser on the Clippers' roster and is rumored to have been placed on the trading block now as their front office looks to embark on a tank job to snap up a diamond in the rough from the loaded 2018 NBA draft.
The following is a list of the 5 teams that would objectively receive the greatest value out of any deal for DJ:
#5 Phoenix Suns
The Clippers receive: Tyson Chandler and Tyler Ulis
The Suns receive: Jordan and a second-round draft pick in 2018,19 or 20
Why the Clippers say yes to it:
Getting like-for-like in trades is a rarity, but it is exactly what the Clippers can expect in this deal: replacing their old-school 29-year-old center with an old-school 35-year-old one. Chandler and Jordan are both players who get the bulk of their points with limited post play or with finishes around the rim.
Chandler's 4-year, $52-million contract does not have a team option, but the inclusion of Tyler Ulis in the deal represents potential upside and a deeper backcourt roster in the short term for them.
Why the Suns say yes to it:
Devin Booker simply refuses to let the Suns be an out-and-out tank job, leading all scorers with 46 points as the 9-16 Phoenix beat 13-10 Philadelphia on Monday night. While Phoenix is certain to end as one of the Western Conference's lottery teams this season, they need some help in doing so. Absorbing a like-for-like offensive center in Jordan in exchange for getting rid of a youngster with limited upside and a former all-NBA center seems to be a fair exchange when you throw in the second-round draft pick.
#4 Philadelphia 76ers
The Clippers receive: Jahlil Okafor, Amir Johnson, and Jerry Bayless
The Sixers receive: DeAndre Jordan and cap-space considerations
Why the Clippers take the deal:
While Amir Johnson and Jerry Bayless are doubtless on some of the worst contracts in the league, they are players with proven pedigree on playoff teams and will bring a bunch of veteran leadership and talent to a roster that looks void of such players.
Jahlil Okafor is an intriguing player, and with only 18-odd months of his rookie contract left, the Clippers can take a calculated bet on a big man with a high NBA ceiling without the minutes under his belt necessary to make the leap.
Why the Sixers take the deal:
With Joel Embiid on the last season of his rookie-scale contract and slated to earn $25.4 million through 2018-19, it hardly makes any sense to recruit another 7-footer on a max contract, does it now?
It so happens that Jordan has a player option that he could use to test the free agency market in the summer of 2018. So as long as Philadelphia are focusing on winning now (which they finally are, this season), having DeAndre and The Process share minutes on the rotation could help immensely with Embiid's minute-management while simultaneously maintaining a high level of rim protection with their bench unit.
It also allows them to rid themselves of Jahlil Okafor (who has long languished on the trading block) in addition to a couple of low-ceiling veterans unlikely to ever be crucial role players.
#3 Cleveland Cavaliers
The Clippers receive: Tristan Thompson, Iman Shumpert/Channing Frye and the Cavs' 2018 first-round draft pick
The Cleveland Cavaliers receive: DeAndre Jordan
Why the Cavaliers agree to the deal:
Despite being one of the Eastern Conference's top teams in the regular season over the last 3 seasons, the Cleveland Cavaliers have consistently struggled to be a consistent team on the defensive end. Last season they finished in the bottom half of teams ranked in defensive efficiency per 100 possessions, and they don't look much better this season on that end of the floor.
Adding Jordan could change that status quo in the blink of an eye. A perennial Defensive Player of the Year candidate, Jordan has a rim-protecting presence that the Cavaliers simply lack when fielding Kevin Love at center. He is also one of the best rebounders around, as well as deadly on pick-and-roll sets in the offense. Losing a draft pick may affect their long-term upside, but the Cavaliers have to place winning in the short term at highest priority with LeBron James set for free agency next summer.
Why the Clippers agree to the deal:
Expecting to receive equal value on a midseason trade could be a bane for the Clippers while trying to ship Jordan, but they could do worse than the pair of Iman Shumpert and Tristan Thompson, who are a pair of defensive aces.
Though both players need to make significant strides on the offensive end, they are capable of being contributors on fringe playoff contenders/lottery teams, as both have shown earlier in their careers. Thompson's energetic play would doubtless earn him an instant following from Los Angeles basketball fans, while Shumpert's transition offense and defense could serve to allow him into similar stardom.
The biggest draw of this deal could, however, be the draft pick, depending on how loaded the NBA draft class of 2018 turns out to be.
#2 Orlando Magic
What the Magic get: DeAndre Jordan
What the Clippers get: Nikola Vucevic and Terrence Ross
Why the Magic sign the deal:
While Nikola Vucevic is a nice stretch 5 to have on an up-and-coming sleeper team, his suspect defense prevents him from being an All-Star caliber player. Terrence Ross might be the least talented player ever to drop 50 in an NBA game - he has never been able to marry efficiency to volume for extended spurts.
In trading for Jordan, Magic are able to rid themselves of salary cap concerns while acquiring a center who could change the fortunes of the franchise for the better, leading them to a trip to the NBA playoffs for the first time since Dwight Howard left Disneyland Town: a starting five comprising of Elfrid Payton, Evan Fournier, Jonathon Simmons, Aaron Gordon and DeAndre Jordan is nothing to scoff at.
Why the Clippers take the deal:
Acquiring Terrence Ross allows the Clippers to pack their bench with a scoring punch and add a spot-up shooter to their sorely tested perimeter ranks. Vucevic should be able to provide 10 points and 8 rebounds a night as a bare minimum while spacing the floor in a manner that few other NBA big men are capable of.
With neither of these players slated to turn 30 before the turn of the decade, a larger role in a rebuilding franchise might afford both of them the chance to play their way into their last big NBA contracts by the time their next renewals are due.
#1 Milwaukee Bucks
What the Clippers get: Khris Middleton, John Henson and the Bucks 2018 first-round draft pick (top-10 protected)
What the Bucks get: DeAndre Jordan and cash considerations
Why the Bucks sign the deal:
A team with the length, size and athleticism of the Bucks should not be struggling on the defensive end of the court, but that has been the trend this season with the Bucks giving up 105.8 points per 100 possessions - good for only 17th in the league.
With Jabari Parker injured, their offense needs a shot in the arm which the Bledsoe-Antetokounmpo-Jordan triumvirate can provide with a much-improved pick-and-roll set - Jordan averages north of 67% in field goal percentage largely based on his fantastic play in such sets. A starting five of Brogdon, Bledsoe, Snell, Antetokounmpo, and Jordan could be one of the best in the league, should the deal proceed.
Why the Clippers sign the deal:
Khris Middleton is one of the versatile young swingmen who has played their way into multi-million dollar contracts in the recent past. He is a Jack of all trades and should seamlessly fit into Doc Rivers' lineups.
John Henson is one of those big men with a huge amount of unrealized potential. With a mentor like Blake Griffin and a coach like Doc Rivers, an uptick in the 6'11" power forward's productivity should not be surprising.
The clincher in this deal would be the first round pick, which would give the Clippers a second shot at the loaded 2018 NBA rookie class.
