Leonard asked his team, the Clippers, to recruit a point guard.
Local media ‘HP Basketball’ reported that Kawhi Leonard requested a point guard from the Los Angeles Clippers. And the target is Leonard’s old teammates, Kyle Lowry (Miami Heat) and Fred VanVleet (Toronto Raptors). 안전놀이터 Lowry and VanVleet are the players who won the championship with Leonard and Toronto.
Rated as one of the strongest contenders before the start of the season, the Clippers are currently 28-25 in fourth place in the Western Conference. They are 4th in the conference, but are only 3.5 games away from the 13th in the conference, the Los Angeles Lakers. Contrary to the forecast at the beginning of the season when overwhelming results were expected, this is a clearly disappointing result.
The Clippers are a team that spends a huge luxury tax with full support from owner Steve Ballmer. The Clippers’ luxury tax last season amounted to $83 million (KRW 101.8 billion). The Clippers’ luxury tax this season is higher. The Clippers are expected to pay a luxury tax of $145 million (KRW 177.9 billion) at the end of the season as it is. That’s the total salary of an NBA team.
With Ballmer’s investment, the Clippers have built a thick roster, but there are weaknesses. It is the point guard position and the center position. Point guards are sufficient in quantity. We have Reggie Jackson and we got John Wall in the offseason. The problem is quality. Jackson played great as the Clippers’ starting point guard last season, but this season isn’t as good as last season. His scoring average dropped significantly from 16.8 to 11.3 and his playing time also decreased by about 5 minutes. Wol, who was ambitiously recruited, is also disappointing. Wall is averaging 11.3 points and 5.2 assists this season, but has been left out of the rotation as he has not melted into Clippers basketball at all. The Clippers recently appointed Terrence Man as their point guard and did not hide their distrust of the two players.
There’s another reason the Clippers want a good point guard. That is the existence of director Tyrone Lu. Manager Lu, who was a point guard during his active career, is a person who values point guards. Even though Wall and Jackson are not in good condition, the reason why they are consistently appointed is because of Lou’s influence.
Even Ace Leonard’s will was reflected here. Leonard is a forward who excels at scoring, but he is not a point forward style player who directs the offense. When Leonard won, he had great point guards like Tony Parker and Lowry. Both Lowry and VanVleet, who were mentioned as recruiting targets for the Clippers, were players who won the championship with Leonard in Toronto. You can think of it as a target that reflects Leonard’s will.
The problem is the price. VanVleet’s team, Toronto, wants to rebuild, and it’s questionable what price the Clippers can offer after nearly exhausting their draft picks. On the other hand, Lowry’s team, Miami, is a winning team and will want a player with a sense of power right away. Either way, it doesn’t look easy for the Clippers to make the deal.
Can the Clippers bring back Leonard’s former Toronto teammates as he intended? The trade deadline is only 11 days away.