The Los Angeles Clippers are tight on salary cap space which means the best way the team can improve is via trades. Head coach Doc Rivers is very confident in his ability to build a winning roster and he is getting the ball rolling early as free agency has yet to even begin. After trading for Lance Stephenson which took away some of the team's bench depth, is Jamal Crawford the next on the chopping block?
The Clippers finalized a trade that sent both Matt Barnes and Spencer Hawes to the Charlotte Hornets in exchange for Lance Stephenson. While that should certainly help elevate the offense, Rives raised eyebrows when he told Beast 980 that he will play Stephenson off the bench instead of as a starter.
"I like that [Stephenson] can play multiple positions -- really 2, 3 and 1 -- because he's a terrific passer," Rivers said, via The Beast 980. "I don't know if I made the trade for him to be a starter, per se, I look at him really more to be a utility player that can come in and play literally three different positions for us. When you look at us, we needed toughness and more athleticism and we get that."
The raises the question of who will be the team's starting forward and what does the future hold for Crawford. According to ESPN sixth-man Crawford is available for trades now that the team has Stephenson. The forward did disappoint in the postseason while dealing with injuries, but there is a market for his scoring abilities and the Clippers want to capitalize. With Stephenson signed and Austin Rivers expected to return, Crawford is expendable and could be used to find the team's starting forward in a trade deal.
The Clippers would likely not be able to sign a marquee player at the position as Rivers stressed DeAndre Jordan will be getting a max contract. Would Paul Pierce be the likely option? ESPN.com reports that Clippers are seriously considering Pierce if he opts out of his Washington Wizards contract. He could only sign for cheap with Los Angeles, but he would be heading back home and reuniting with Rivers. However, Piece is not a starter either. He spend a lot of his time with the Wizards off the bench. Corey Brewer or Luol Deng could be options, but only if they sign for cheap. A trade for Wilson Chandler is also available.
The Clippers are going to be hard-pressed for upgrades with the max contract to Jordan. Their best bet is to make trades to help the effort which means Crawford could be gone sooner rather than later.
