3 Elite Shooters Clippers Can Trade for Without Breaking the Bank

The Los Angeles Clippers need more shooting at the trade deadline. They don't have to give up a haul to acquire one.

Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

The Los Angeles Clippers will almost certainly not make a big splash at the trade deadline. After winning 16 of their last 19 games, the Clippers like where they are. Yet, that doesn't mean that they shouldn't try to address their weaknesses.

One of their main weaknesses is shooting. There is a clear lack of spacing around James Harden and Kawhi Leonard, putting a cap on the Clippers' ceiling against elite defenses. Harden and Leonard have more than made it work so far, but to fully optimize the two stars, the Clippers need to surround them with more shooting.

The Clippers' best lineups have Ivica Zubac, John Collins, and Kris Dunn next to Harden and Leonard. Dunn is shooting a good percentage this season, but he is not a threat and is consistently left wide open. Plus, he takes fewer than three threes per game. Collins has a similarly low three-point rate and isn't entirely comfortable taking threes at a volume. Nicolas Batum and Brook Lopez are good shooters off the bench, and Derrick Jones Jr. has improved in recent years, but there isn't an elite shooter in the rotation.

Having a dangerous off-ball threat that Ty Lue can run plays for can help elevate this Clippers' offense. Fortunately, there may be a few shooters available on the trade block who may seamlessly fit in LA.

Klay Thompson

The Mavericks aren't going anywhere and are kickstarting a rebuild. They have very little use for soon-to-be-36-year-old Klay Thompson. He is due $17.4 million next season, and Dallas is desperately trying to get cheaper. The Clippers can help them by sending them Bogdan Bogdanovic's $16 million expiring salary back in this deal.

Thompson is not the defensive force he once was, but he is still a difference-maker offensively. The Clippers can't rely on him to play over 20-25 minutes per game, but Thompson can easily contribute as a microwave scorer off the bench and be an important part of the rotation. Considering that they aren't getting anything out of Bogdanovic, this would be a no-brainer move.

Gary Trent Jr.

Another team that isn't going anywhere and trying to sell off their valuable players is the Milwaukee Bucks. The Giannis Antetokounmpo era is over, and the Bucks will try to get as many assets as they can for their veterans.

Gary Trent Jr. is one of those veterans. He only makes $3.7 million this season and has a player option for $3.8 million next year. That is a bargain deal for a career 38.8% three-point shooter who isn't a total liability defensively. Plus, he is only 27 years old and can be re-signed to a team-friendly long-term deal. If the experiment doesn't work, the Clippers can also choose to move on from him.

The Bucks will likely ask for a couple of second-round picks and a young player of interest in this deal, but the Clippers can do much worse without giving up a first-round pick than Trent Jr.

Sam Merrill

This one is a trickier trade to pull off. The Cavaliers are in the second apron, so they can't take back more in salary. The Clippers are hard-capped at the first apron and are dangerously close to it. The two teams either have to get very close to matching salaries in a trade or find a third team to facilitate a deal.

Merrill is an important member of Cleveland's rotation and is one of the best shooters in the league. The only reason the Cavs would consider moving on from Merrill is purely financial. The Cavs are a whopping $22 million above the second apron and have a massive tax bill. Considering that they haven't looked like a title contender, they may face some pressure from ownership to cut some salary at the deadline.

Merrill is in the first year of a team-friendly, four-year, $38 million deal, so he has one of the more easily movable contracts. The Clippers could get Merrill off Cleveland's books in exchange for a first-round pick or even a few second-round picks. Making an impressive 45.3% of his 7.6 threes per game this season, Merrill would immediately be the best shooter the Clippers had in years.