3 Clippers Who Can Be Traded Between Now and the End of July

The Los Angeles Clippers took care of the top priority on their offseason agenda and resolved the Kawhi Leonard saga. Now that Leonard is a Toronto Raptor once again, the Clippers can focus on their future.

For the first time in a while, the Clippers have a young team with assets and financial flexibility. The future may be brighter than the present. Yet, LA will still have every incentive to field a competitive roster next season because they don't control its own first-round pick.

To have a competitive team in the Western Conference, the Clippers have to make a few more moves this offseason. They have to balance out the roster by thinning the crowded backcourt. They have to add more size and physicality to make up for the defensive weaknesses of the Darius Garland-Keaton Wagler backcourt.

Since the free agent market is bereft of talent, they have to make their additions on the trade market. To make these additions, they have to part ways with a few of their players with trade value. Let's take a look at a few Clippers who may be traded over the next few weeks.

Kris Dunn

The 32-year-old guard is a valuable rotation player. He is coming off an excellent defensive season for the Clippers. On paper, he is a great fit next to both Garland and Wagler as a defense-first, off-ball guard. He is also on a team-friendly deal that pays him $5.6 million for next season.

At the same time, all of these qualities make him a prime trade candidate. Plenty of playoff teams can use a player like Dunn on a cheap contract.

Dunn is entering the final year of his deal and is eligible for an extension. Where the Clippers are as an organization, there is very little need for them to pay Dunn all the way into his mid-30s. Instead, trading him for a frontcourt player makes more sense.

Gradey Dick

Even though the 22-year-old shooting guard just arrived in LA, how much the Clippers actually valued him in the Kawhi Leonard trade is unclear. Is Dick someone the Clippers would like to give a second chance to, or was he purely in the deal for salary-matching purposes?

On paper, Dick is a prototypical, modern shooting guard. He has good positional size and complementary ball skills and projects to be a good shooter. The problem is, he hasn't been making enough shots in the NBA so far. For a player whose calling card is his shooting, the 30.1% he shot on threes last year is not good enough.

If the Clippers retain Bennedict Mathurin, that would certainly mean that there is no room for Dick in the rotation. In that case, it may be better to just attach some draft capital to Dick's $7.1 million salary and trade him for a defense-first player.

Derrick Jones Jr.

Out of the Clippers' trade candidates, Jones Jr. has the most trade value. There aren't too many forwards who can guard multiple positions, hit enough threes, and only make $10.4 million. Jones Jr. is the type of two-way player every championship contender needs and would trade a first-round pick for.

The problem is, the Clippers already lack forward-sized players and good defenders. If they trade DJJ, these concerns would only exacerbate.

At this stage of their rebuild, however, the Clippers have to be in asset accumulation mode. If they get a strong enough trade offer, Jones Jr. should be made available. Unless the Clippers get a young player of intrigue or a first-round pick with some upside, however, holding onto Jones Jr. wouldn't be the worst idea.

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