The Los Angeles Clippers won their first four games of the 2017-18 NBA season, giving some legitimacy to the argument the team actually could be better without star point guard Chris Paul.
But it’s been all downhill for the Clippers since a thrilling 104-103 win over the Portland Trail Blazers on Oct. 26. They’ve lost 11 of their last 13 games, a span that includes a 9-game skid.
L.A. is 6-11 on Thanksgiving, and while it’s still way too early to throw in the towel and give up on the playoff race, teams haven’t backed away from showing interest in veteran center DeAndre Jordan.
“DeAndre Jordan, who can become a free agent after the season, has been coming up in trade conversations, with multiple teams talking potential trades,” the Washington Post’s Tim Bontemps wrote Wednesday.
“Executive vice president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank said last month that Jordan will be a ‘Clipper for life,’ muddled matters, as does the limited number of teams who need a center and the size of Jordan’s contract ($22.6 million).”
If the Clippers think there’s even a slight possibility Jordan could leave in the summer as a free agent, then they must explore trading him at some point. He’s too good of a player to lose for nothing in free agency, and the Clippers aren’t championship contenders with or without him this campaign.
Remember, Jordan almost left the Clippers to join the Dallas Mavericks as a free agent in 2015, so it’s not inconceivable that this could be his last season in Los Angeles.
