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ClipperBag: The All-Trade Mailbag

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When the news of the Eric Bledsoe trade broke, I was in the middle of looking through lineup data regarding Rajon Rondo-Avery Bradley two-man lineups. It was all for some grand piece that was going to compare the prospect of a Bledsoe-Chris Paul backcourt to the Rondo-Bradley backcourt that played under Doc Rivers. But after Bledsoe and Caron Butler were shipped off to Phoenix to bring in free agent shooting guard J.J. Redick and small forward Jared Dudley, those dreams of a Paul-Bledsoe backcourt were shipped off with it. And with that, we need a new hashtag. Why do we live in a world where I no longer can see a CP3-EBled12 backcourt? What will Han replace #PaulBledsoeBackcourtAlert with? – @rufusslim There are some spots contending to be the new, chic hashtag, but there probably isn’t anything that can eclipse #PaulBledsoeBackcourtAlert in excitement. That said, #JaredDudleyStretch4Alert could lead to some really fun, high-powered, small-ball lineups and if you pair that up with #PaulRedickCrawfordBackcourtAlert, we could see a load of threes from that group. Why??????? – @KCorch I hope that this is in response to the Clippers’ trade and not a reaction to my announcement that I’m writing another mailbag. Either way, I’m sorry, @KCorch, this was actually a pretty good deal and I’m definitely writing this mailbag. The trick to accepting the trade (and the existence of ClipperBag) is that you have to consider the premise legitimate. Trading Bledsoe was tough for all Clipper fans. There were plenty of advocates out there – myself proudly included – that thought Bledsoe didn’t need to be traded at all. If he could play shooting guard, that’s someone who the Clippers could have re-signed. But if you accept that trading Bledsoe was an inevitability, then this trade actually looks pretty good from the Clippers’ side. The interesting part about this swap is that it’s a three-team deal that is actually pretty good for all three teams. Milwaukee essentially gets two second-round picks for free, considering it was never going to re-sign Redick. Phoenix gets someone that could be a franchise point guard along with an $8 million expiring contract and the Clippers get two elite three-point shooters that are smart, system defenders. Add in the fact that the Clippers now have the best-looking backcourt in the NBA (seriously, who is more handsome than a pairing of Chris Paul and the immaculate J.J. Redick?) and it seems like a win for everyone. The critique of the deal is that the Clippers may have been able to milk the Suns for more than Phoenix actually gave up. The Suns parted with only Jared Dudley and a second-round pick to get their piece of the deal. If the Clippers demanded a second-round pick from Phoenix (after L.A. and Phoenix each gave up a second-round pick to Milwaukee for Redick), would that really hold up the deal for the Suns? If the Clippers wanted Phoenix to throw in a player like Luis Scola (who is owed a team-friendly $9.4 million over the next two seasons and who isn’t at all a part of Phoenix’s future), would that make the Suns pull the plug? The Clips might have been able to make the Suns bleed just a little bit more. Which backup big would the Clippers rather have? Carl Landry or Jermaine O’Neal? – @sizworth After this trade, what’s the biggest need? Rim protection or pick-and-pop big? – @12MG12 This one’s easy. I’d rather have Carl Landry for the mid-level exception than Jermaine O’Neal for the veteran’s minimum any day of the week. The Clippers have needed a stretch 4 for a couple of years now and Landry would be the perfect guy for that. He’s a consistent midrange shooter that nailed 43.4 percent of his shots from 16 feet out to the three-point line last season and he’s played (albeit quite briefly) with Chris Paul in the past. O’Neal, meanwhile, has a history of injuries and one year in Phoenix in which he played 55 games with arguably the best training staff in all of sports shouldn’t change that perception. But really, the Clips need that floor spacer. They need a forward to stay out of the paint for 20 to 25 minutes a night with DeAndre Jordan or Blake Griffin. There have been too many times over the past few seasons that we’ve seen DeAndre sprint into the paint right as Griffin is about to make his move on the block. It’s been one of the more frustrating aspects of the Clipper offense. With Landry on the floor, that doesn’t happen. Blake would be free to post up, get set and go into his hook shot or up-and-under or whatever else he decides to go to. DeAndre can worry about taking a righty hook without knowing Blake Griffin’s defender is right there with him. Floor spacing has to continue to be a priority with the bigs and that means bringing in Landry has to be a priority. Do you think both Dudley and Redick start or does Jamal move up? Jamal now primary backup at PG and SG? – @dukenilnil Who is the primary backup for Paul? Will trading Bledsoe cause Paul to play more minutes? – @PerryMissner Total guess: Crawford stays on the bench because that’s where he’s been so successful the past few seasons, but it’s doubtful Crawford will be the backup point guard. Sure, there might be times when he comes in and runs the point on occasion, but that can’t be something the Clippers want in the long term. When Crawford had his severe down season in Portland a couple of years ago, plenty of that had to do with the fact that he played the 1 too much. That wasn’t the initial plan, but Raymond Felton was such a disappointment that the Blazers didn’t have much choice but to make a move. The Clippers are in a much more amenable situation right now than Portland was with Crawford and Felton. They [...]

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