2017 NBA free agency grades: Los Angeles Clippers will sign Willie Reed

By Nicholas Agar-Johnson | Jul 20, 2017

MIAMI, FL - MARCH 23: Willie Reed /

The Los Angeles Clippers shored up their backup big man rotation by agreeing to a one-year, $1.5 million deal with Willie Reed.

The Los Angeles Clippers are in the midst of a team-altering offseason. They lost Chris Paul to the Houston Rockets, but managed to recoup some assets in a sign-and-trade. The Clippers then acquired Danilo Gallinari in another sign-and-trade to fill out their frontcourt rotation.

While Gallinari does clearly help in the frontcourt, the Clippers were somewhat thin at center. With Marreese Speights still unsigned, DeAndre Jordan was the only true center on the roster. Furthermore, the Clippers were desperately thin up front after Blake Griffin‘s injury in the playoffs. That lack of depth arguably led to their series loss to the Utah Jazz.

The Clippers shored up their depth chart at center by agreeing to terms with free agent Willie Reed. The deal is for one year and $1.5 million, per ESPN‘s Chris Haynes.

Reed will fit in as the Clippers’ backup center in a similar role to the one occupied by DeAndre Jordan. He is a low usage, rim-running center with fantastic defensive instincts. While Reed is nowhere near the same kind of rebounding presence as Jordan, he is nonetheless quite solid on the glass.

Reed does not often stray outside of the restricted area on offense. Per NBA.com, 64.2 percent of Reed’s shot attempts came from that region. Willie converted on 69.4 percent of those looks, a stellar mark for any player.

More from LA Clippers

When he is not running to the rim in search of his own shot, Reed is purely a screen-setter and complementary piece. His low usage rate is commensurate with his lack of offensive polish away from the rim.

Reed is a complete non-factor as a playmaker; he has played nearly 1,500 minutes in the NBA and has just 36 assists to show for it. Luckily, he does not try to do too much on the offensive end. He may still be shy of 50 assists for his career, but he also has yet to commit his 50th turnover.

Willie Reed’s main value is as a defensive presence. A two-time All D-League defender, Reed is a major deterrent near the rim. He usually makes the right choices on defensive switches and can get up for major blocks when the opportunity presents itself:

Willie Reed can sky for highlight reel rejections, but he does far more on defense than just hunting shot blocks. Opponents shot just 53.4 percent on shots contested by Reed within six feet of the rim, per NBA.com. That mark was 7.8 percent better than league average.

In addition to his great defense and complementary offense, Reed is a solid rebounding presence. While he is not quite as adept as DeAndre Jordan, he can certainly hold his own on the glass. Jordan ranked second in the league last season in Rebounding Percentage among players who played 10 or more minutes per game, grabbing an astounding 24.3 percent of available rebounds while on the floor.

On that same list, Willie Reed ranked 31st, grabbing 17.8 percent of available rebounds.

The biggest knock on Reed is his age. While he has only played in parts of two NBA seasons, he is already 27 years old. Thus, he does not have the same upside as some younger big men.

Next: 2017 NBA free agency tracker - Grades for every deal so far

However, Willie Reed is exactly what the Clippers need at backup center. He can sub in for DeAndre Jordan and fill Jordan’s role in the Clippers’ schemes on both ends of the floor. Furthermore, Reed comes at an exceptionally low price for his production. Reed is exactly what the Clippers needed in a backup big, and his price tag is well worth his production.

Grade: A

Home/LA Clippers