Clippers May Regret Holding Onto Valuable Veterans After Kawhi Leonard Trade

The Los Angeles Clippers are still waiting for the conclusion of the league's investigation into the cap circumvention allegations. The trade that would send Kawhi Leonard to the Toronto Raptors is, therefore, on hold. However, both sides seem adamant about making sure the trade goes through. It would be a major surprise if Leonard wasn't a Raptor before next season.

So, the Clippers have to act like they are in the post-Kawhi era. However, they have not done that so far, and they may regret this.

Clippers Have to Face Reality and Turn Veterans into Future Assets

Without Leonard, the Clippers are not a playoff team. If all goes well and they have a healthy season, they could perhaps make the Play-In. Regardless, it's clear that the team is now focused more on the future rather than the present. The Clippers are hoping that they are much better in three years than they are now.

This means that they should have done a fire sale after the Leonard trade. Any veteran with any trade value should have been turned into future assets.

The most obvious candidates here are Derrick Jones Jr. and Kris Dunn. Both veterans are solid rotation players who can help any playoff team. They are also on team-friendly expiring contracts. Jones Jr. will make $10.4 million and Dunn $5.6 million. Any team could acquire either player without having much trouble matching salary.

There will not be a better time to trade these players. Dunn turns 33, and Jones Jr. turns 30 during next season. Their trade value is higher now than it will be at the trade deadline, when they are only a couple of months away from unrestricted free agency.

The Clippers could obviously sign them to a contract extension now and trade them next summer or at a later date. Due to their age, this carries a risk of becoming an unfavorable contract for the team, thus lowering their trade value.

The same could be argued for Brook Lopez, who is entering his age-38 season. He will be on an expiring $9.1 million salary, but it's difficult to imagine there will be much market for him. Plus, the Clippers already lack center depth, so holding onto him until the deadline is not the worst idea.

It's not obvious that any of these players would bring back an unprotected first-round pick in a trade. But a protected first-round pick or an intriguing young player would be better for the Clippers in the long run.

Jones Jr. and Dunn are good players, but given where the Clippers are as a franchise, they make little sense to keep around. LA has to continue to get younger and bring in players with some upside, and that requires making the difficult decision to part ways with valuable contributors.

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