NBA Trade Rumors 2016: LA Clippers Trade for Jeff Green, Send Lance Stephenson to Memphis
When the Los Angeles Clippers got Lance Stephenson last year in a trade that sent Matt Barnes and Spencer Hawes to the Charlotte Hornets, Doc Rivers and the rest of the front office thought they got someone who can fit in the system right away. But after only a season in Los Angeles, the Clippers sent the volatile guard packing once again, this time he's heading to Memphis in exchange for forward Jeff Green.
While most of the teams were surprisingly silent and passive as the NBA trade deadline passed, both the Grizzlies and Clippers couldn't allow themselves to not do anything. In the past couple of weeks, the rumored trade involving the Clippers was focused on one man alone — Blake Griffin — but the team resisted and instead opted to trade Stephenson, along with a future first-round pick.
The plan to trade Stephenson isn't as surprising though, considering that the Clippers are in a more desperate need of a small forward who can score with better consistency, and they might have acquired the best one available in Green.
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The 25-year-old shooting guard averaged a measly 4.7 points a game this season, while Green has been the more productive player, contributing 12.2 points and 4.5 rebounds. The difference in their numbers though is primarily attributed to how they fit in their respective team's system, which is also why some observers are surprised why the Grizzlies let go of Green.
But after trading another key contributor in Courtney Lee last Tuesday, it certainly looks like Memphis is trying as hard as it can to improve the roster in time for the playoffs. The Grizzlies have been in the playoffs in a consistent basis, but they haven't reached the finals.
Meanwhile, the defensive mentality and hard-nose basketball culture in Memphis may finally be the right type of system for Stephenson, and he certainly needs to redeem himself after mediocre stints with the Hornets and the Clippers.
