After the successful acquisition of Kawhi Leonard and Paul George in the summer of 2019, the Los Angeles Clippers immediately became the heavy favorite to fully dominate the Western Conference and win the NBA championship title in the 2019-20 NBA season. However, though they are finally starting to live up to expectations from a legitimate title contender, there are still some issues that the Clippers need to address in order to strengthen their chance of bringing home their first Larry O’Brien Trophy. One of the NBA players who is currently being linked to the Clippers is Thaddeus Young of the Chicago Bulls .
According to Dan Woike of the Los Angeles Times , the Clippers are currently active on the trade market, searching for players that could help them become a more competitive team in the 2019-20 NBA season. The Clippers are reportedly “looking at” several players who are or will be available before the 2020 February NBA trade deadline, including Young.
“While the Clippers’ trade intentions are still too soon to be known, they are sniffing around,” Woike wrote, as quoted by Tristan Elliott of Sportskeeda . “NBA sources not authorized to speak publicly believe the Clippers are looking at players like Chicago power forward Thaddeus Young.”
Young would be a great addition to the Clippers, giving them a veteran forward who is capable of knocking down shots from beyond the arc. Though his numbers have gone down compared to the previous seasons, the 31-year-old power forward is still establishing a decent performance on both ends of the floor. In 32 games he played with the Bulls, Young is averaging 8.8 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 1.1 steals while shooting 39.7 percent from the field and 32.4 percent from beyond the arc.
Sportkeeda ‘s Elliott thinks that the potential arrival of Young would give the Clippers a frontcourt boost. However, to acquire him from the Bulls, Elliott believes that the Clippers should be willing to sacrifice the likes of Maurice Harkless for salary-matching purposes.
“Young would provide the Clippers with additional quality at the forward position, although it is worth noting that LA would likely have to send the impressive Maurice Harkless in the opposite direction in order to complete a trade.”
As of now, it remains unknown if the Clippers will push through with their plan to bring Young to Los Angeles before the 2020 February NBA trade deadline or not. With how the Clippers value Harkless’ service, they could look at other trade targets who have small contracts or just seek upgrades on the buyout market.