NBA Trade Rumors 2015: Clippers Looking to Trade Lance Stephenson and Josh Smith
The Los Angeles Clippers didn't have an ideal start to the season, although they're slowly making it up at this point. The team, though, almost pushed the panic button about a month ago, or barely 10 games into the season when they decided to test the trade market for Lance Stephenson and Josh Smith.
While Stephenson is eligible to be traded anytime, Smith can only be dealt after Dec.15.
Both players were deemed by head coach Doc Rivers as potential major contributors for a team that fell short in the playoffs last year. However, by the looks of it, they haven't really lived up to the hype of transforming the team into a legitimate title contender.
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Another source revealed that the Clippers kind of backed down from being so active in the trade after recent injuries, which meant they needed all the able bodies they could get to fill in for the minutes in court.
As for a couple of front office executives, the two aren't really that enticing as trade prospects. They are actually more of buyout candidates and the market isn't really looking for veterans who in some way have some bit of attitude on the court.
Stephen was once thought to become a regular franchise contributor for the Charlotte Hornets when they gave him a three-year contract worth $27 million. However, that didn't turn out to be a good decision for them as they eventually traded him to the Clippers last June. Smith, on the other hand, is someone who definitely has talent and remarkable athletic ability. He signed the veteran's minimum for the Clippers this summer, though many teams still believe that he's worth more than that. The problem, though, is that Los Angeles is getting outscored by opponents by almost six points whenever he's on the court.
At this point, both players deserve a decent amount of playing time to get their respective games going. But because the Clippers have championship aspirations this season, they're looking to win now instead of experimenting on a couple of new players and waiting for them to click.
