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Report: Several NBA Draft Night Trades Expected
ESPN insider Adrian Wojnarowski made a television appearance on the network's pre-draft show on Wednesday night, breaking down the league's current stories, and those that could develop over the next 24 hours. With the NBA Draft scheduled for Thursday evening, teams will be working to improve their rosters on one of the league's biggest nights of the year. Whether that improvement comes through trades or draft selections, teams are always active on draft night, and Woj anticipates this year being no exception.
When asked what he expects to transpire over the next 24 hours, Woj said he anticipates several trades, primarily from teams without cap space. With most of the league's top teams having little to no available cap space, Woj believes teams currently see trades as the path to improvement, rather than the free agency market. With the LA Clippers in this group of teams that is without cap space, Woj's prediction applies to them at least in theory; however, other reports indicate the team's current focus is not on trades, but rather the retention their own free agents.
Even if the Clippers do not make a blockbuster move on draft night, the team has consistently shuffled picks around in recent years, which makes the possibility of a minor trade not unlikely. Last year the Clippers made a move to select Keon Johnson 21st overall, having previously entered the draft with pick 25. Moves like these are not uncommon for the Clippers, and would likely be the most probable of any on draft night, but an element of unpredictability does exist with this front office.
Currently in possession of the 43rd overall pick, the Clippers will have the option to select a second rounder, or perhaps shuffle the deck and use that pick in a trade. With recent reports indicating that the Clippers are indeed more focused on retaining their own free agents than they are on making trades, a sense of confidence in their current roster seems to be more prevalent with the Clippers than with other teams.
With the premise of Woj's report being that teams see trades as the best path to roster improvement, citing cap restrictions, the report could very well not apply to the Clippers, despite their cap situation fitting the description. Already possessing a level of confidence in their current roster construction, and widely being expected to retain their top free agents, the Clippers could have a quiet but successful offseason.
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