Cost-cutting Blazers help Clippers upgrade now and later
When you're an all-in team, it's easy to make bad trades. That comes with the territory; short-sightedness is part of the design. So, you can talk yourself into just about any marginal present-day upgrade and wave away the long-term cost, no matter how disproportionate, as a necessary sacrifice.
That's not the type of deal the Los Angeles Clippers made with the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday. L.A. acquired Norman Powell and Robert Covington in exchange for Eric Bledsoe, Justise Winslow, Keon Johnson, and a 2025 second-round pick courtesy of the Detroit Pistons. That's a shockingly low acquisition cost for two players who can help now, and who, more importantly, perfectly fit the healthy version of the Clippers.
Johnson, an intriguing prospect with elite athletic tools whom L.A. picked 21st overall in last year's draft, is the only piece it might hurt to lose. But he's 19, extremely raw, and stood very little chance of contributing to the same extent that Powell will during the Clippers' current competitive window.
For a team that had minimal avenues for meaningful improvement given its bloated cap sheet and all the long-term assets it shelled out to get Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, this is some rabbit-out-of-a-hat stuff. It positions the Clippers very well for when Leonard and George eventually return from their respective injuries. Coach Tyronn Lue recently indicated that it's unlikely Leonard will be back this season, while George's timetable is unclear. Under different circumstances, this trade might register as a win-now move. In this case, it makes it clear that L.A. has its sights set on 2022-23 and beyond.
Powell is in his prime at 28 and under contract for four years after this one. Covington is past his, but he can still be an impact role player in the right situation. And while he's an impending free agent, the Clippers put themselves in a good position to retain him by attaining his Bird rights. They were otherwise looking at having only the taxpayer mid-level exception with which to upgrade on the free-agent market, and they'd have been hard-pressed to sign a player as good as Covington with that sub-$6-million offer.
The two of them together will fit into the Clippers' ethos of multi-positionality and lineup flexibility, as they join a laundry list of hybrid wings and forwards that includes Leonard, George, Nicolas Batum, Marcus Morris, Terrence Mann, and Amir Coffey. There are innumerable combinations you can build out with that group, most of which will be stout at both ends of the floor.
What makes Powell such an appealing fit alongside L.A.'s two high-usage stars is his ability to play off of the ball, drill spot-up and movement threes, and put pressure on the rim with his explosive off-the-catch attacking. That last skill might be the most crucial. The Clippers have been one of the league's most jumper-reliant teams ever since Leonard and George arrived. They currently rank 28th in rim frequency after finishing 26th last season, per Cleaning the Glass.
Powell takes 34% of his shots within four feet of the basket, a 73rd-percentile mark for a wing. And while he's been uncharacteristically poor at finishing in close this season (52%), the spacing in L.A. - where he'll regularly play in five-out lineups - should provide wider driving seams that help bump him back up to his career (ahem) norm. Powell will also contribute to that spacing as a 38% career 3-point shooter who's currently hitting over 40% from deep for the fourth straight season. Narrow that down to catch-and-shoots, which is what he'll primarily be getting when Leonard and George play, and he's been over 43% in each of those four campaigns.
Powell isn't a great defender, but he's better than what he showed in Portland, where the Blazers' small backcourt frequently forced him to guard opposing small forwards. Their aggressive scheme also forced him to play in rotation and execute back-side help a lot, which has never been his strength. He'll be better insulated with the Clippers and should nudge back down to guarding mostly twos in a more conservative system.
Covington also struggled in a suboptimal defensive role with the Blazers, who asked him to be their go-to individual stopper most nights. That's just not Covington's forte, especially when it comes to staying in front of guards. Covington isn't the monstrous help defender he used to be, either, but he still excels as a swiper at the nail, a low man, and a secondary rim-protector. He has great help instincts and tremendous hands, and despite some declining lateral mobility, he's averaging 1.9 steals and 1.6 blocks per 36 minutes while ranking sixth in the league in deflections this season.
All of which is to say, when Leonard and George are back to take the toughest perimeter assignments and Covington can focus on doing what he does best away from the ball, he'll be a major boon to an already formidable defense. His 7-foot-2 wingspan also makes him yet another small-ball center option for a team that's had a ton of success downsizing. And, while he's an agonizingly streaky 3-point shooter, he's enough of a threat (36% for his career) to keep defenses honest and provide legitimate five-out spacing.
All of that may make one wonder why Portland would give up those two players for such a paltry return. That's simultaneously hard and easy to explain. To put it simply, the scuffling Blazers wanted to get out of the luxury tax this season and get off of the last four years of Powell's contract in anticipation of paying breakout guard Anfernee Simons in restricted free agency this summer. Bledsoe has a small guarantee for next season that essentially makes him function like an expiring contract. This was primarily, if not entirely, about savings.
It's still hard to believe they couldn't have done better than this return. Maybe they're just really enamored with Johnson's upside. That second-rounder from Detroit could also turn out to be pretty good. Betting against the Pistons is never a bad idea. On top of that, since Portland's season appears to be lost with a 21-31 record and Damian Lillard sidelined indefinitely, it behooves the Blazers to be as bad as possible since they'll have to fork over this year's first-round pick to the Bulls unless they land in the lottery.
The Clippers, conversely, are out their first-rounder this year no matter what, so they have no incentive to tank. They currently occupy the West's 8-seed, and Powell and Covington will help them in their push to hold onto a playoff spot. The real fruits of this deal, though, will bear out in the future.
The Clippers didn't have many options, but by seeking out a team desperate to duck the tax, and being willing to add to their own luxury-tax bill, they significantly upgraded their roster at minimal detriment to their future. All it'll cost them is money.