1 Trade That Makes Too Much Sense for the Clippers (And It Involves Chris Paul)

The Los Angeles Clippers don't need to give up significant assets to acquire a difference-maker in the backcourt.

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The Los Angeles Clippers will almost certainly have a quiet trade deadline. The team is simply playing too well at the moment for the front office to consider changing things up. While a bigger move involving Bogdan Bogdanovic and his expiring contract remains on the table, the Clippers are more likely to stand pat and keep the core together.

That doesn't mean, however, that the Clippers won't make any moves. They want to sign Kobe Sanders and Jordan Miller to standard contracts so that they can continue to play in the final stretch of the season and the postseason. This means that they have to open up a roster spot since they currently have 14 players on the roster.

If the Clippers trade one player in the next week, that will be Chris Paul. He is no longer with the team and is searching for his next home. Kobe Brown is the other prime candidate to be moved. So, the Clippers would be wise to attach draft capital to find a difference-maker, preferably in the backcourt.

One trade construction that makes sense is with the Sacramento Kings. The Clippers can send Brown and multiple second-round picks to Sacramento to acquire Keon Ellis. Chris Paul could be rerouted to a third team, say, the Los Angeles Lakers, in this deal. The Kings get draft compensation for a player they were likely to lose in free agency anyway, and the Lakers finally acquire Chris Paul for more veteran leadership and locker room presence. If they are not interested, however, the Lakers can easily be replaced by another team in this mock trade scenario.

Clippers Receive: Keon Ellis
Kings Receive: Kobe Brown, 2026, 2031, 2032 LAC Second-Round Picks
Lakers Receive: Chris Paul

The Clippers end up with Ellis, a competent guard who provides value on both ends of the floor. He is a career 41.4% three-point shooter, albeit on low volume, and is a solid, multi-positional defender. He is a good fit next to James Harden as someone who can be a point-of-attack defender while providing spacing on offense.

Ellis will need a new contract at the end of the season, but the Clippers can evaluate where they are in the offseason. It will certainly not break the bank to sign him to a multi-year deal.

The most appealing aspect of this trade for LA is the fact that Ellis only makes $2.3 million this season. This keeps them under the first apron while opening up an additional roster spot. This allows them to sign both Miller and Sanders to standard deals. The Clippers can then bring in two more players on two-way deals to finish out the season.

This leaves the Clippers completely bereft of future second-round picks, but they can always add more by moving on from role players. This move also allows them to hold onto their first-round picks, which they can use in the offseason to further upgrade the roster.