Fresh off a blockbuster day of trades that saw the hometown rival Los Angeles Lakers shuffle the deck chairs by acquiring D’Angelo Russell for Russell Westbrook, the Los Angeles Clippers made their own roster-reshaping moves during the final day of the NBA’s trade season.
Just about an hour before the door slammed on the trade deadline, the Clippers agreed to a trade to acquire second-year point guard Bones Hyland from the Denver Nuggets in exchange for a pair of second round picks in 2024 and 2025, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Hyland, 22, is avering 12.1 points and 3 assists per game off the bench for the Western Conference-leading Nuggets. Despite being only in his second year and being tasked with operating as the team’s defacto backup point guard, Hyland was rumored to be on the outs from Denver in recent weeks as the Nuggets looked to strengthen their championship-contending core.
To much surprise around the league, the Nuggets settled for two second round picks for the spark plug bench player just a year after selecting him with the 26th pick in the 2021 NBA Draft.
Hyland had been sitting out the last several games for Denver after rumors began to circulate that the team was shopping him in deals.
For the Clippers, it’s a worthwhile gamble to acquire a younger, more offensively gifted point guard to add to their lopsided roster that is heavy on wings and light on playmaking. It also allowed the Clippers to move on from two other point guards who have started for the team at various points throughout the season.
Following the acquisition of Hyland, the Clippers agreed to another deal involving the Houston Rockets and Memphis Grizzlies.
The Clippers agreed to send John Wall, whom the team acquired in the summer after he was waived by the Rockets, back to the Rockets in exchange for guard/forward Eric Gordon. Gordon, the oldest and longest tenured player on the young Houston team, has been in regular trade discussions since the team traded James Harden to the Brooklyn Nets.
As part of the deal, the Clippers also agreed to send 3-point specialist Luke Kennard to the Grizzlies. To complete the deal, Memphis sent guard Danny Green, who is coming back from a torn ACL, to Houston as well. It’s unclear if Wall or Green will remain in Houston through the remainder of the season or if they will agree to a contract buyout with their new club.
For Wall, despite a resume that features five NBA-All Star appearances, his fit on the Clippers was not as seamless as either sides had hoped. Once one of the league’s best athletes, Wall has lost much of his spring and burst following several lower body injuries and surgeries. He had functioned as both the starting and backup point guard for the Clippers at points throughout the season, but has also struggled to stay on the court while dealing with various small-scale injuries.
Kennard, meanwhile, played a vital role for the Clippers during this season, but has also struggled with injuries. The 26-year-old Duke product has shot 44% from three-point range this season and 95% from the free throw line. Kennard will provide the Grizzlies with additional spacing and playmaking and will join the team in place of Green who has played only three games after returning to NBA action following his ACL injury recovery.
The Grizzlies are second place in the Western Conference and will get an injection of offense from Kennard in exchange for a player who has yet to play any meaningful minutes in Memphis.
Gordon gives the Clippers a combo guard who can shoot, defend and make plays for others. The 34-year-old is equally comfortable playing with the ball in his hands as he is as a complimentary ball handler and catch and shoot threat. Gordon’s best years in the league came alongside Harden, a ball dominant superstar, meaning he should have no problem with a new role in Los Angeles alongside the star tandem of Paul George and Kawhi Leonard.
Memphis sent three second round picks to the Clippers in exchange for Kennard, according to Wojnarowski. For Gordon’s services, the Rockets acquired rights to swap first round picks with Los Angeles.
With two new playmakers added to the rotation, the Clippers finished NBA trade deadline day by shipping off a fan favorite.
The team agreed to send point guard Reggie Jackson to the Charlotte Hornets in exchange for center Mason Plumlee.
The deal for Plumlee shores up the team’s backup center spot behind Ivica Zubac and gives them both a lob threat and a five with some crafty playmaking talent.
Jackson was acquired by the Clippers in the middle of the 2019-20 season after he agreed to a buyout with the Detroit Pistons. Jackson, a close friend of Paul George, has started 162 games for the Clippers since signing as a free agent.
He was part of a pesky backcourt that befuddled and frustrated the top-seeded Utah Jazz in 2021 and led, alongside George, Patrick Beverley and Terrence Mann, to an upset playoff series win that propelled the Clippers to their first Conference Finals appearance in more than 50 years.
Jackson, 32, is averaging 10.9 points and 3.5 assists per game this season.
His new team, the Charlotte Hornets, are 15-41 on the season and are not believed to be in the business of winning basketball games; rather, the team is interested in improving its Draft Lottery odds in hopes of landing one of the blue-chip prospects in the upcoming draft: G-League Ignite guard Scoot Henderson or French phenom Victor Wembanyama.
For the Clippers, as well as their locker room neighbor Lakers, a slew of small and large moves appear necessary following Wednesday’s earth-shattering trade that brought Kevin Durant to the Phoenix Suns, igniting an arms race in the Western Conference.
Once thought to be made up of two contenders and several teams running on the wheel of mediocrity, the Western Conference has now seen the addition of Durant and Kyrie Irving to middle-of-the-pack teams in the past several days.
Both the Lakers and Clippers clearly believe that they are still in the hunt for the Larry O’Brien Trophy and only time will tell if either of the teams have done enough to improve their odds of overtaking Denver or playing spoiler to the new-look Suns.