Los Angeles Clippers should be the team that has gained the most so far this summer. After reaching an agreement with John Wall , Clippers solved their problem of organizing point guards at the first position and further strengthened their The strength of the team, and they have also renewed the contracts of several veterans including Zubac Batum , the Clippers in the new season will soon become a galactic battleship.
According to the famous reporter Haynes, Batum renewed his contract with the Clippers for 22 million for two years. Later, Clippers team reporter Law Murray added that Batum's contract has no options and is fully guaranteed. In addition, famous reporter Woj continued to follow up the report, saying that his agent revealed that Amir Kofi has agreed to sign a three-year contract worth US$11 million with the Clippers. After this operation, the Clippers have added two more players to their roster for the new season.
Among them, Batum’s contract extension is undoubtedly a surprise. The 33-year-old Nicolas Batum always gives people the feeling that he is about to retire but suddenly comes back to life. He played 59 games for the Clippers last season. , averaging 8.3 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 24.8 minutes per game, shooting 46.3% from the field and 40.0% from three-point range. He is a very good forward-guard swingman. Amir Kofi played 69 games last season, averaging 9.0 points, 2.9 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 22.7 minutes per game, shooting 45.3% from the field and 37.8% from three-point range. With a two-way contract last season, he successfully impressed the Clippers management after a season of struggle, and now he has received a three-year, $11 million official contract.
Currently, the Clippers have 13 people on the roster. On the back line are Wall, Powell, Lightning Strike, Kennard, Coffey, and Preston; on the forward line there is Leonard. , George , Covington , Morris , Mann; Zubac is the only one at the center position. This is a bad signal for the Clippers. A weakness in a certain link can easily become an unlimited target for opponents. Therefore, the Clippers will be looking for a suitable inside player to increase the team's inside line in the next time. depth.
With the application of Kevin Durant to leave the team, the entire Nets team has been put on the shelf, and all players can be traded. It was previously reported that the Clippers were the favorite home of Irving , but a series of rhetorical questions from the Clippers general manager basically killed Irving's joining in the cradle. Now Durant 's application for a trade has triggered a series of chain reactions. Famous journalist Brian Windhorst said in a live broadcast that although the Clippers signed Wall, with Durant's application to leave the team, the cost of acquiring Irving may be very high. Low, the Clippers will consider introducing Irving.
In fact, judging from the current lineup, the Clippers are no longer inferior to any team on paper. They have two of the top strikers in the league, and the addition of Wall has solved the No. 1 position that they have been troubled by. question. The only thing that can be faulted is their inside depth. After all, compared to other championship teams, Zubac alone is really not enough, so their next recruitment direction will most likely be inside. Players, of course, it is not ruled out that they will send out several defenders to trade for Kyrie Irving , but the possibility of such a transaction happening is almost impossible.
The Clippers are a smart team. They certainly understand the current situation. The team has gone through another season of running-in, and with the addition of Wall, the Clippers are now thriving. There is no big need to destroy the team's original lineup and trade for Kyrie Irving. Even without Kyrie Irving, they will still be a championship team next season.
