On the second day of the opening of the free market, after the Clippers lost Paul George, they successively won Batum, Bamba and Dunn in the free market.
For a long time, NBA teams have packaged several players plus draft picks and replaced star players to strengthen the lineup, which is the fastest way to strengthen, which is equivalent to using the team's fringe players and future draft picks in exchange for an All-Star level star, which is what many bloggers now say about raising the team's ceiling.
The Clippers have been different this summer, and after Paul George left as a free agent, the Clippers didn't even get a draft pick, and they chose to buy in a frenzy to fill the void left by George's departure.
It's only been two days since the free agency market opened, and they have signed five player role players in succession, including Porter Jr., Derrick Jones Jr., Batum, Bamba and Dunn, and the Clippers have also gotten rid of Plumlee's garbage contract, and the Clippers do not plan to keep Wei Shao and Tucker now, even if Wei Shao chooses to exercise the player option to stay with the team, his last game with the Clippers may have been played.
It can be seen that Ballmer did not choose to let the team rot because of Paul George's departure, and they are using a positive attitude to improve the depth of the squad and try to make up for the impact of George's departure on the team's strength. And judging from the few players signed by the Clippers now, their reinforcement positions are all centered around forwards.
The first is Jones Jr., who signed on the first day, is a good player on the front line, although the offensive ability is not comparable to George, but he is also a very good player on the defensive end, and his addition will make the defense of the Clippers' small forward position not to be taken by the opponent.
And Jones Jr., who has proven himself in the Mavericks, is now strong enough to be the main small forward position of a championship-contending team, he has excellent athleticism, and he also has a strong sense of cutting without the ball, and being a three-and-D is also seamless, playing with Harden, a playmaker who averages nearly ten assists per game, may be able to feed a top three-D.
Porter Jr., who was once pinned on by the Rockets, might have grown into a core player of the team if it weren't for off-court factors that hindered his development. In his last season with the Rockets, he averaged 19.2 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 5.7 assists per game.
As long as he can concentrate on playing and is no longer bothered by off-court factors, in the Clippers' current lineup, as the first scoring point of the rotation players, similar to the role of Lu Wei in the Clippers before, he can be used as a master of chaos, which is still a relatively big addition to the team's bench lineup.
Another signed player, Dunn, was also the Timberwolves when he first entered the league, and later after being traded, he gradually lost his heart, and he was more than 1.9 meters tall and played as a playmaker.
He was also reused in the Jazz last season, starting 32 games, although he didn't have much ball possession on the offensive end, but his defensive ability has been neglected, he can stick to the opponent like a plaster all over the court, the Clippers signed him, and the overall defensive quality of the guard line has improved a lot.
You must know that Dunn was in the Jazz last season, and he could still get almost 20 minutes of playing time, and his average of 3.8 assists per game proves that his playmaking ability is still online, although he has 1.2 turnovers, and the assist-to-turnover ratio is also at the upper level in the league.
When Dunn and Harden are partnered, they can also defend the opponent's offensive elites, reduce the pressure on Harden's defense, and also relieve the pressure on the team to organize offense on the offensive end when Harden is at rest.
The Clippers signed back Batum, many times because of the practicality of this player, from the Trail Blazers, Hornets to the current Clippers, he is a jack-of-all-trades player, who can fill every data column after a game.
Although he is 35 years old this year and is an elderly player, he can still play 5 points and 4 rebounds per game in the 76ers last season, rejected the 76ers' retention, and is bent on returning to the Clippers, or he can't sign him at all with the Clippers' contract.
Batum's strength is still recognized by the Clippers and 76ers management, or he will not become a bargaining chip in trading Harden, his departure has made many Clippers fans feel very sorry, and now that he is back, fans can be regarded as having some comfort after losing George, his return not only increases the depth of the team's bench, but also improves the quality of the offensive and defensive ends of the forward position.
The last one is Bamba, who has been traded to the Clippers almost every time since he left the Magic, and many Clippers fans also hope that the team can sign such a talented player, and now it is finally signed.
To be honest, no one knows what level Bamba can play in the Clippers, he is tall and has long arms, his talent must be no problem, two meters and three meters tall, 2.39 meters of arm span, his pace is not slow, and the defensive coverage is also quite large, he is good at cultivating the magic of the center, and he has not played it for so many years, he is a mysterious player, it is worth looking forward to, but there is no need to have high hopes.
Last season, he served as Embiid's backup in the 76ers, averaging 4 points and 4 rebounds per game, and it can be said that he has been gradually marginalized by the 76ers.
It's only been two days since the free market opened, and the Clippers have signed several players, and the lineup has completed a major change, so after such a wave of operations, a statistic that the Clippers now have 8 guard players in the lineup, such a lineup configuration is very unreasonable, it can be expected that the Clippers will definitely have a trade in the back, and Ballmer will definitely not be satisfied with using the current lineup to start the new season.
Now there are some star players in the free market, DeRozan is one of them, the Clippers will not be satisfied with the core lineup of small cards and Harden, and they can also use the brotherhood of Harden and DeRozan to try to invite him, after all, it is popular to play brother basketball now, if DeRozan has no intention of joining the Clippers, the team can also use Tucker and Westbrook's expiring contracts, plus players and other teams to operate.
It can be predicted that Tyronn Lue will definitely not use the three-guard strategy, so the Clippers' guard line of as many as 8 players must give up a few players, and Mann, who has trade value, may become the main bargaining chip for the team.
Use him and other players in exchange for some high-quality forward players to increase the thickness of the forward lineup, then the Clippers will not talk about the championship next season, at least the competitiveness of this lineup, no team will dare to ignore his existence.
What do you think if you were the general manager of the Clippers, how would you use players other than Leonard and Harden to get the Clippers back into the championship contenders? Brothers who know the ball are welcome to leave a message in the comment area to discuss.