Just a few days ago, the Los Angeles Clippers looked like a team ready to ride out the rest of the season with the roster they had. They’d won 17 of their last 21 games-best record in the league over that stretch-and had clawed their way back into playoff relevance after a brutal 6-21 start.
Kawhi Leonard was playing at an MVP level, and the team had momentum. Head coach Tyronn Lue even told reporters, “In our situation, I don't see much movement.”
Well, fast forward to the trade deadline, and that quote aged about as well as a milkshake in the summer sun.
Instead of standing pat, the Clippers made two of the most impactful moves of the entire deadline-moves that signaled a dramatic shift in direction. They didn’t just tweak the margins.
They traded away their second- and third-best players and pivoted from a win-now approach to a future-focused reset. It was the kind of bold front office maneuvering you’d expect from a team in crisis-not one that had just found its rhythm.
And yet, somehow, it worked. On paper, these were some of the savviest deals of the week.
Let’s start with the James Harden trade. The Clippers managed to flip the veteran guard-who turns 37 this summer-for a younger, All-Star-caliber player in Darius Garland.
That’s a win by almost any metric. Garland, still just 26, is coming off a career year in which he averaged 20.6 points on 60% true shooting while helping lead one of the league’s top offenses.
He’s been sidelined since mid-January, but told reporters he’s “ready to hoop.” If that holds true, the Clippers may have just landed their point guard of the future.
The contrast between Garland and Harden is stark. After two-plus years of Harden dominating the ball and orchestrating the offense, Garland brings a different flavor-he’s active off the ball, can shoot, and doesn’t need to monopolize possessions to be effective.
There are durability questions, of course, but for a team that was aging and short on draft capital, this was a smart play. They avoid the complications of extending Harden and instead bring in a younger piece who can grow alongside whatever this next version of the Clippers becomes.
Now, the Ivica Zubac trade? That one might be even more fascinating.
Zubac has been a rock for the Clippers-an underrated rim protector, improving passer, and a guy who carved out a spot on the All-Defensive Second Team last season. He’s just 28 and should thrive as a pick-and-roll partner with Tyrese Haliburton in Indiana. But for the Clippers, the return was too good to pass up.
In exchange for Zubac (and wing Kobe Brown), the Clippers received a treasure chest: two first-round picks-including an unprotected 2029 pick from Indiana-plus Bennedict Mathurin and Isaiah Jackson. But the real wildcard is the 2024 first-rounder from Indiana, which comes with some intriguing protections.
It only conveys to the Clippers if it lands between picks No. 5 and No. 9.
If it falls outside that range, it becomes an unprotected 2031 first-rounder.
It’s a high-stakes bet for the Pacers. As of now, they have the league’s third-worst record.
If that holds, there’s a 47.9% chance the Clippers land that pick, according to Tankathon. If not, they’ll have to wait five years-but the upside is massive.
If Indiana hits on a star in this year’s draft and takes a leap, that 2031 pick could still be valuable. Or it could be a lottery ticket.
Either way, it’s a calculated gamble by the Clippers.
Then there’s Mathurin. Once a trendy Most Improved Player pick, the 23-year-old wing is averaging 17.5 points on 58.6% true shooting-both career highs.
He’s in the final year of his rookie deal, so the Clippers now have a chance to evaluate him up close before deciding how to approach his restricted free agency. He’s a dynamic scorer who’s increased his three-point volume, and he fits the mold of the kind of young, controllable talent L.A. has lacked in recent years.
Jackson, meanwhile, is more of a salary offset, with a contract that runs through 2028. But he gives the Clippers another big body in the frontcourt, which they’ll need with Zubac gone.
These trades come with plenty of variables-injuries, pick protections, player development-but the value is clear. The Clippers didn’t just get younger.
They got assets. They got flexibility.
And they got players who can help them retool without bottoming out.
For years, the Clippers have been trying to make the most of the Kawhi Leonard-Paul George era without mortgaging their future. Now, they’ve started to pivot. The Leonard-George window may not be fully closed, but the front office just cracked open a new one-one that looks a lot more sustainable.
What they did at the deadline wasn’t just smart. It was strategic. And it might just be the beginning of something new in Los Angeles.