The Los Angeles Clippers officially won free agency. After reports surfaced DeAndre Jordan was having doubts regarding his decision to sign with the Dallas Mavericks, the Clippers swooped in, holding the center hostage until he signed a contract to return back to Los Angeles. According to ESPN's Marc Stein, the Clippers inked the center to a four-year, $88 million contract at 12:01 a.m. on Thursday. So what is the next move in Los Angeles?
According to the Los Angeles Times, the Clippers will still seek to trade Jamal Crawford after signing Jordan to the max deal. Crawford has gained the attention of several teams in the league since reportedly becoming available in recent weeks. The Cleveland Cavaliers are offering up Brendan Haywood, who at the time was viewed as a replacement to Jordan, but now would be quality depth on the roster.
When Jordan was out, the Clippers did not have a true center on the roster. Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports reported that everyone from Carlos Boozer and Amar'e Stoudemire to JaVale McGee were options for Los Angeles as most of the talent had already been swept off the market. Any of those players could still be looked at in a deal in order to put depth alongside Jordan and Glen Davis.
The Miami Heat have been eyed as a suitor for Crawford. According to the Miami Herald, they are making Shabazz Napier, Mario Chalmers and Chris Andersen available in a deal. Would the Clippers be interested in the depth that the Heat could provide them? Napier is a former first-round pick while Andersen can provide strong minutes off the bench.
One thing that the Jordan contract likely eliminates is interest in Josh Smith. The Clippers might be hard-pressed to afford the forward unless Smith is willing to accept a much smaller contract. Cap space is of course an issue. If the Clippers were to pull off the Crawford, Haywood trade, they could simply release the center and then sign Smith for offensive help. Team president and head coach Doc Rivers now has plenty of options to work with.
Getting Jordan on the roster means the Clippers are now one of the biggest threats in the Western Conference. He comes with Paul Pierce, Lance Stephenson, Branden Dawson and Wesley Johnson who all arrived in free agency. This is one of the best teams the Clippers have ever had, but can they make it work in the long run?
