DeAndre Departs After Blake

[HiGrade]

DeAndre Departs After Blake

"DeAndre & Klay will face similar battles, but swap uniforms."

Los Angeles, CA - BREAKING NEWS out of LA today as the Clippers have struck a deal with another California team, the Golden State Warriors. The trade in full will have the Clippers ship out DeAndre Jordan, Jamal Crawford, & Matt Barnes in exchange for Klay Thompson, David Lee, & Jermaine O'Neal. In an alternate universe, the current Clippers GM was actually in Golden State and was well known for his infatuation with Klay, as he chose to ship out the other member of the Splash Brothers, Stephen Curry instead. This world is different, but Klay will still be lighting up the scoreboard for GM HiGrade.

After we saw Blake depart with Kobe for Denver, all duties fell on DeAndre to come up big in the paint. Now with the only true center on the roster being veteran Jermaine O'Neal, things might get a bit rough. While both forwards on the roster are a bit undersized, management seems confident either 6'7 Kenneth Faried or 6'9 David Lee can fill the void, if need be. If this squad plans on running up the pace and sprinting down the floor, they could be quite fun to watch with Faried at center. The franchise known as "lob city" might not be so dead after all. Regardless of what the lineup becomes, don't expect the trades to stop anytime soon. We fully expect the next players to be shipped out to be either Danny Granger or Darren Collison. It's obvious this roster is not yet finalized and to think they could only improve is fascinating. Be on the lookout for the first lineup test in Houston tomorrow.

[orangeparka]

I liked the move value-wise, and Klay, while not a good defender, is one of the best shooters in the game and should add a scoring punch along with Lee. It'll be interesting to see how the team does without a real center, but the team still has some pieces and there are some moves you can make.

I would've tried to flip Lee somewhere for a center but that's definitely easier said than done.

[HiGrade]

Definitely wish I could have but it was hectic just trying to pry away Klay so I settled. Really wanted to get Bogut, would have made things a lot easier but that wasn't happening. In my mind, Lee will eventually become the 6th man. We just have to make a few more moves to get there first. Still debating on if I should play Lawson off the bench or not so Klay can be in the backcourt. I just don't like my 2 guards to have low defense & steals, I consider PG/SG to be crucial defensively. For now we'll probably have to settle with Klay at SF.

[WillyJakkz]

Klay at SF isn't a bad option to "settle for" lol.

I think he's definitely adequate enough defensively to get the job done while his offense can actually be a defense as well considering he'll likely keep other teams SF's in foul trouble as they'll have a hard time guarding him as well.

I can see this team moving Paul or Lawson for a C before it's all said and done but by the trade deadline I see a Paul or Lawson Klay backcourt, one or the other.

[Marcos_Beck]

Man I loved that "alternate universe" part hahaha

Nice move going forward. Klay is special.

[bt]

Definitely an interesting set of moves you've made. Most probably keep the original Clipper core in tact but makes it interesting to see how this turns out.

[Jake0890]

I still would have kept Blake because a trio of Griffin, CP3, and Klay would have been dominant, but I guess we'll see how it turns out for you.