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The Los Angeles Clippers are coming off their best offseason ever. They added two elite wings in Kawhi Leonard and Paul George to pair with Lou Williams and Montrezll Harell, who formed one of the NBA’s most dynamic pick-and-roll duo’s last season. Then they have the feisty Patrick Beverly to fill out one of the grittiest core groups in the NBA. The Clippers squeaked into the postseason by grabbing the last Western Conference slot last season, but now they’re among the favorites to win a title. Can Los Angeles do anything else to bolster its championship hopes?
Update: Are Clippers targeting Markieff Morris?
A few days ago, there was a rumor surfacing from lesser sources that the Clippers are interested in dealing for PF Markieff Morris on the Detroit Pistons. Now, a lot of these types of reports come out during this time, so I don’t know how much I’d buy into this being legit. But we do know that the Clippers are in need of some frontcourt help. Paul George is dealing with a hamstring injury that has held him back. Aside from Montrezl Harrell, the Clips don’t really have a legit backup PF on the roster. Moe Harkless is more of a swingman and he lacks upside. Morris has been dealing with injuries of his own, but brings additional toughness and can stretch the floor. It also probably wouldn’t cost the Clippers much to pry Morris from the Pistons.
— Ben Zweiman
Quality Starting Power Forward
Harrell could easily start for the Clippers at power forward, but has continued to come off the bench alongside his running mate Lou Williams. Los Angeles opts to start another undersized big in Maurice Harkless, who is averaging a mere 5.6 points and 3.9 rebounds per game. Harkless doesn’t pose nearly as much of a threat as Harrell, who is tallying nearly 20 points per game this year. He’s also not very physically imposing at 6-7. Rumors have surfaced that Los Angeles is interested the New York Knicks’ Marcus Morris. Yes, the same Marcus Morris that scored a career-high 38 points on the Clippers earlier this week. Yes, the same Marcus Morris that was ejected from a preseason game for slamming the ball into an opposing player’s head. All jokes aside, Morris is having a career year. He’s scoring 19.1 points per game while shooting 46.9% from beyond the arc. At 6-9, he’d provide the clippers with more size and shooting prowess. His toughness fits right in as well.
A True Point Guard
Beverley is Los Angeles’ starting point guard, but he’s far from the team’s primary distributor. Williams is a score-first player by trade but leads the team in assists per game (6.3). He’s followed by Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. The Clippers rank 18th as a team in points per game and made it clear they were looking for more passing when they surfaced as potential suitors of retired point guard Darren Collison, who has been linked to the Lakers recently. Nothing has panned out yet on the Collison front, but Los Angeles should continue to look for a player who can create for its many scorers on the trade market.