Clippers Now Have to Make More Trades to Balance Out the Roster

The Los Angeles Clippers have been one of the most active teams this summer. Assuming that the Kawhi Leonard trade goes through without a problem after the conclusion of the league investigation, the Clippers will have revamped the roster in a significant way. Between Brandon Ingram, Max Strus, and Rui Hachimura, the Clippers may have three new starters in their season opener.

However, the Clippers are still not done. In fact, they may have more work to do now than they did when the offseason began. They have 17 players under contract right now, and they have to bring that down to 15 before the start of the season.

More importantly, they have to balance out their roster. The Clippers are very backcourt-heavy. A couple of their guards will almost certainly get squeezed out of the rotation. Making another trade or two to add more frontcourt depth would make this Clippers roster make a little more sense.

Clippers Have to Make At Least One More Trade Before the Season

The Clippers are in good hands at the point guard position. Darius Garland, Keaton Wagler, and Kris Dunn can all handle ball-handling duties. They also have Jalen Pickett on a two-way deal in case of an emergency.

The shooting guard spot is even deeper and more talented. They have Max Strus, Bradley Beal, Kobe Sanders, Gradey Dick, and Cam Christie. Wagler and Dunn will also play significant minutes at shooting guard. Even if we assume that Christie will almost certainly be gone since he is on a non-guaranteed contract, that is too many players at one position.

There is even the possibility that Bennedict Mathurin will return to LA, perhaps on his qualifying offer. That would be yet another player who can only guard shooting guards and can't move up or down the position spectrum.

On the other hand, the Clippers are bereft of capable power forward and center depth. Brook Lopez, Yanic Konan Niederhauser, Isaiah Jackson, and Johni Broome are the big men on the roster. Konan Niederhauser will miss the start of the season as he is recovering from foot surgery. Lopez is 38. Broome is inexperienced and unproven. Jackson is undersized to play center and can be a defensive liability.

It's not like the Clippers have forwards who can play bigger than their size or defend big men. In fact, Hachimura is the only player on the roster who can defend power forwards. This means that the Clippers will have real physical and defensive shortcomings.

This type of roster imbalance is rare in the NBA. Between Garland, Wagler, Dunn, Strus, Beal, and Sanders, that's six guards who will be in the rotation to start the season. Add Brandon Ingram, Derrick Jones Jr., and Jordan Miller as small forwards, and you already have nine rotation players before you get to power forwards and centers.

It would be wise if the Clippers traded one of these players, potentially Dunn, as he is the oldest and should have plenty of trade value, for frontcourt help. Perhaps a package consisting of Dunn and Jackson, which combine for $12.7 million in salary for next season, along with a first-round pick, could get the Clippers a quality frontcourt option.

This would not be a big deal if the Clippers hadn't been signaling their desire to be as competitive as possible next season. Steve Ballmer, Lawrence Frank, and Ty Lue all want to win. To have a realistic shot at doing so, the Clippers have to add to their frontcourt.

Add us as a preferred source on Google