After trying to trade for Bradley Beal twice in the past, the LA Clippers finally have their shooting guard after he signed with the team following a contract buyout with the Phoenix Suns this week.
“The third time is a charm,” Clippers president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank said Saturday.
Now, Frank said the Clippers are “strongly considering” a potential reunion with former franchise great Chris Paul to complete their active summer. Paul, the 20-year veteran, is a free agent. The Clippers want to add more playmaking and ballhandling, and the franchise’s former quarterback from the Lob City era and all-time assists leader is a possibility.
“What I’d say about Chris is he’s a great player,” Frank said when asked if the Clippers will sign Paul next. “He’s a great Clipper. He obviously possesses some of the qualities we [are looking for]. And, of course, we’re strongly, strongly considering him.”
The Clippers’ strong offseason also included adding power forward John Collins and center Brook Lopez and creating salary cap flexibility so they can be opportunistic in the next two summers to potentially go after stars.
Beal signed with the Clippers for two years and $11 million with a player option, his agent Mark Bartelstein told ESPN’s Shams Charania on Wednesday. Collins will make $26.5 million in the final season of his contract. James Harden agreed to a two-year, $81.5 million deal, and the second year has a player option and is partially guaranteed. Lopez signed a two-year, $18 million deal with a team option for the second year.
“We just wanted to put together the best roster we could while preserving the financial flexibility,” Frank said. “Which includes a path to max space if we choose to go that [route]. But I think everyone is super, super motivated.”
Frank noted that Harden was working out Saturday a few feet away from him in the practice facility as he was on a call with reporters. Harden played a role in helping recruit Beal to the Clippers, even spending 30 minutes on the phone with Bartelstein, according to Frank.
Beal averaged 17 points and shot 38.6% from 3 in 53 games last season for the Suns. It was the fewest points Beal has averaged in a season since 2014-15. Beal saw his status as a full-time starter change as the guard came off the bench in 15 games, the first time he was a reserve since the 2015-16 season.
But the Clippers believe they will be a better fit for Beal. They will be getting a 32-year-old guard who has averaged 21.5 points, 4.3 assists, 4.1 rebounds and 37.6% from behind the arc for his career.
Beal not only will start at shooting guard but is also expected to help fill the shooting and scoring void left by Norman Powell, who was traded to the Miami Heat in the deal that helped the Clippers land Collins.
Beal’s shooting and scoring is an ideal fit alongside Harden and Kawhi Leonard, and he can help take the ballhandling and distributing burden off the former.
“Not to take any sort of slight at Phoenix, but playing with James is a whole lot different than what their situation was,” Frank said. “Obviously, Brad had great success playing with John Wall [in Washington]. He actually had great success playing with Russ [Westbrook in Washington]. So, we can look at those situations.
“I think some of the areas that, especially in his Washington days, that he was able to explore with not the same level of talent [there], I think we’ll be able to get a little bit more out of [here]. Like with his pick-and-roll play, it’s different when you have the guys that we have spacing the floor and the centers that we have that he will be playing with. Whether it’s [Ivica Zubac], whether it’s Brook, whether it’s John Collins, and you have that nice balance of defense and offense on the floor.”
After losing in seven games to the Denver Nuggets in the the opening round of the playoffs, the Clippers believe they have strengthened their roster around a healthy Leonard to be competitive at the top of the Western Conference.
“With a healthy Kawhi to start the season, we felt like we, we’re in a better place,” Frank said. “He’s doing great. He’s healthy, which it’s not just a physical thing. It’s also a mental, emotional thing to go into an offseason without having surgery.
“So, he feels great, he’s been working extremely hard. He has some trips lined up. He’ll be going to Africa at the end of the month. He continues to work. We’ll be sending a coach with him. He’s super excited about the roster, about the season, and that he’s going to be able to begin a training camp.”
