Los Angeles Clippers: Joe Johnson Is Available–Time For A Big Move?
The Brooklyn Nets, according to reports, are letting teams around the NBA know that their big three, Brook Lopez, Joe Johnson, and Deron Williams are available.
The Los Angeles Clippers have a gaping hole at the three, on an otherwise championship worthy roster. So while Brook Lopez and Deron Williams would make little sense for this team, an acquisition of an All-Star caliber wing player like Johnson is an obvious fit.
However, Johnson is not cheap. His salary for this year alone is more than $23 million, and he will be on the books for next year as well.
Assuming that all-world point guard Chris Paul and rim-rattling fan favorite Blake Griffin are untouchable, what would the Clippers need to give up to acquire such a talented, if costly, player? Constructing a trade would undoubtedly start with Clipper center DeAndre Jordan, as well as shooting guard J.J. Redick.
After that, it becomes more flexible. Adding Jamal Crawford makes an almost perfect salary match, but I am sure that the Clippers would cringe when thinking about trading both of their sharpshooting guards with no reliable backup in place.
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They do have first-round pick C.J. Wilcox and HoopsHabit favorite Reggie Bullock, two promising but unproven players. However, I am sure that Los Angeles would love to somehow unload the volatile Matt Barnes instead of Crawford.
Barnes makes less than Crawford, though, and given that the Clippers are up against the hard cap, trading Barnes is much harder, although possible. You could include a package of Barnes and Bullock, for example, but that would leave the Clippers with barely enough room to sign a minimum salaried player.
If you add another player on top of that, say like Hedo Turkoglu, then the deal could get done, but that would make six players leaving the Clippers for just one Net, and the Clippers would be signing guys off the street for the minimum to fill those roster spots.
So any realistic trade will include both Crawford and Redick. One example that seems to work would be the Clippers receiving Johnson and minimum salaried Markel Brown, a shooting guard, for Jordan, Crawford, and Redick.
That would work under the salary cap, and would put a projected starting lineup of Paul, Griffin, Johnson, Hawes, and Wilcox/Bullock/Markel Brown.
For a team that is already an offensive juggernaut, that is a scary starting five. Every coach in the Western Conference would have indigestion just thinking about stopping that fearsome fivesome.
The bench unit, currently anchored by Spencer Hawes and Crawford, would suffer. Guys who currently ride the pine most games would see more action. Ekpe Udoh, if healthy, Glen Davis, and whomever does not start out of the Markel Brown/Wilcox/Bullock trio would be the main bench contributors, along with Matt Barnes.
Playing Farmar, Bullock, Davis, Barnes, and Udoh for extended time does not sound appetizing, but nevertheless, Johnson would give the Clippers a legitimate two-way threat, as well as opening up playing time for some promising young players who cannot crack coach Doc Rivers‘ current rotation.
Jordan is going to walk at the end of the year, so there is reason to look into all options in order to get back some value before he leaves, but there are also serious questions about messing with the chemistry of a team rolling along. After a slow start, Los Angeles has been steamrolling opponents the last month, and big changes midseason have been known to throw good teams off balance.
The Phoenix Suns shake-up, trading All-Star forward Shawn Marion to the Miami Heat for Shaquille O’Neal, turned a team leading the conference into a team losing in the first round of the playoffs.
However, there have also been times when the mythical missing piece has suddenly ignited a playoff run. The same year as that infamous Shaq trade, the Los Angeles Lakers’ acquisition of Pau Gasol midseason led them to the championship.
So there is risk, but there is also the possible reward. Players like Johnson do not become available very often, but given what will likely be given up, the Clippers better think long and hard that this is indeed the direction they want to go.
Personally, I think Rivers and owner Steve Ballmer should go for it. The Clippers are not good enough to win a championship right now, and giving up three middling players for an All-Star has never gone wrong.