Clippers veteran Marcus Morris Sr. sent out a cryptic tweet Wednesday morning: “Buisness (sic) is business. Don’t learn the hard way.”
Three hours later, after the tweet garnered its fair share of fan freakout, the forward – for whom the Clippers dealt at the trade deadline last season – posted another tweet, replete with laughing emojis: “Lol dam I forgot about the trade deadline.”
’Tis the season, when the entire NBA apparatus is atwitter over speculation of potential deals ahead of Thursday’s noon PT trade deadline – a conversation in which the Clippers continue to come up.
And why wouldn’t they?
For one, with two superstars at the helm and a 28-16 record that had them tied for third in the Western Conference entering play Wednesday, the Clippers are standing in front of a window with a good look at a potential first championship this season.
For another, they’ve been active at the deadline the past two seasons, first overhauling their roster in 2018-19 in a way that put in motion the play that netted Paul George along with Kawhi Leonard that coming offseason. And last season they maneuvered their way into a three-team deal for the Morris twin they’d long coveted.
This season, they’ve been linked with a handful of point guards, including Lonzo Ball, Ricky Rubio, George Hill and Aaron Holiday, capable floor generals who might, in theory, take some of the playmaking load off of Leonard and George.
Such an addition also might help keep the Clippers’ offense – averaging 24.3 assists per game, 18th in the league – from stagnating, especially in crunch time, when they’ve so far this season, posted a negative 14.1 net rating in 50 “clutch” minutes.
And although the Clippers are shooting an NBA-best 43.8% on wide-open 3-point attempts, the Clippers are doing it on 15.8 open attempts from deep per game, fewer open looks than 19 other NBA teams are creating for themselves, according to NBA.com/stats. Furthermore, even though the Clippers have picked up their paint attacks lately, they average 20.8 shot attempts in the restricted area, which ranked as the second-fewest in the league entering Wednesday.
Could the right point guard give the Clippers a lift in those departments? Perhaps so. But what would it cost them?
Three-time Sixth Man of the Year Lou Williams’ name comes up often in trade speculation, in large part because he has one of the league’s more team-friendly contracts, an expiring $8 million deal.
Or maybe Terance Mann – whom the Clippers drafted 48th overall last season and who has had some breakout performances lately – has enticed potential suitors who would like to add a young, affordable ($1.8 million this season, with a team option for the next) talent?
On Monday, the Clippers traded Mfiondu Kabengele, Mann’s teammate at Florida State, to Sacramento, along with a future second-round draft pick and cash for a protected future second-round pick. The deal created a second roster spot for the Clippers and gave them some additional room – $2.6 million – to work with under the hard salary cap.
Mann said Monday he’ll miss his friend: “Shout out to ’Fi, he was a great teammate that I’ve been with for like the last five years. I’m going to miss him. I can’t wait to see what his future holds.”
But, Mann said, he’s doing his best to stay neutral through all the ups and downs of the job.
Clippers veteran Nicolas Batum said he counsels young players to try not to get caught up in trade rumors, difficult as that is, because it won’t do them any good.
“The first at least two years, it is weird when you have your name in there,” he said. “So you don’t really know. You call your agent, you ask questions around, ‘Am I moving or not?’
“You can say to the young guys as well, like, ‘Don’t worry. People are going to talk anyway.’ But I gotta say, my first two years, it was pretty weird actually. I was asking around if the rumor was true or not. I did that a couple times.”
Before tip-off on Wednesday, Lue said he too empathizes with any player who hears his name in trade rumors, but that he, as their coach, also has to block it out.
“I never speak about it,” Lue said. “I’m a person who played the game and been traded a few times, so just don’t speak about it, just approach the game, and whatever happens is gonna happen.”
Buisness is business. Don’t learn the hard way
— Marcus Morris (@MookMorris2) March 24, 2021
Thank you Clippers for the love and support, I’m forever grateful.
Thank you pic.twitter.com/mQKhEzAuBt— Mfiondu Kabengele (@Mfiondu) March 24, 2021
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