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Los Angeles Clippers Could Provide Trade Partner for Miami Heat
A lot of movement is happening on the NBA free agent market, and a lot of it seems to be centered around Los Angeles. No, not the LA team that ended up in the Finals this year, the other LA team. (How the heck can a city have two baseball teams and two NBA franchises yet have no NFL team? Baaaah, the NFL is overrated anyway…)
It all started with Elton Brand. He opted out of the final year of his deal and became a free agent, yet word is in LA that he has reached a verbal agreement to re-sign with the Clippers. The details of that deal won’t be made official until July 9th when the NBA moratorium on free agent signings will end.
Indications are strong that Brand is returning because Baron Davis, who shocked the NBA world by opting out of his contract on Monday as well – leaving $17.8 million on the table in Golden State, has shocked everyone again by reaching a verbal agreement with the LA Clippers. The deal is expected to be for 5 years and worth about $65M.
If the Clippers do sign both Brand and Davis, this creates an interesting situation in LA they haven’t seen since, well, 2003. Then, the Clippers were faced with two restricted free agents, Brand and Lamar Odom. The Miami Heat extended an offer first towards Brand, but the Clippers matched which enabled the Heat to extend an offer to Odom and the Clippers could not match. In this situation, if the Clippers commit to both Brand and Davis, it could mean Corey Maggette is the odd man out. Corey Maggette is a free agent and is seeking a new deal which may not materialize in LA. He could be used in a sign-and-trade deal, however.
Regardless, this could prove to be a fertile trade situation for the Miami Heat, who are looking to add a power forward, add depth at center or possibly find another option for a starting point guard. It seems like the possibility of trading for Elton Brand has vanished, since it seems likely the Baron Davis agreement is tide to the fact that Brand is coming back. Yet, this is not an official announcement yet and the Davis signing could be used as leverage by the Clippers to try and re-sign Brand to a more inexpensive deal. With only 5 players currently under contract, and both Chris Kaman and Cuttino Mobley pulling in over $9M a piece, the Clippers are going to be hard-pressed to sign all three free agents, let alone Davis and Brand.
If LA is making a play for Davis and has reached an agreement, it seems that Maggette is the most likely to be sent packing. Miami has inquired about Corey Maggette in the past, and has done so this offseason as well. Could Miami be making a play for Maggette? The only problem is, where would they put him? Who would they trade? Trading for Maggette would only make sense for Miami if they move Shawn Marion or possibly dealing Ricky Davis and another Heat player.
Another key figure that could be factored in any possible deal is Shaun Livingston, who the Clippers have not extended a qualifying offer to making him a free agent. Indications are the Clippers still want to find a way to get him signed to a deal, but to what end is unsure.
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