Jason Burgos
A new NBA rumor opens the door for the Los Angeles Clippers to flip their fifth overall pick in this month’s NBA Draft for an MVP candidate this season.
Before this year’s NBA trade deadline, the Clippers did the right thing. With the team nowhere close to being a serious title contender, they traded some of their valuable veterans. They moved James Harden to the Cleveland Cavaliers in a deal for Darius Garland. But the most important trade was sending Ivica Zubac to the Indiana Pacers in a risky deal that landed them the fifth pick in this month’s draft.
The team seemed to be heading in the right direction by getting younger and rebuilding with a potential star from the draft. However, rumors have persisted that they might be open to moving the selection to pair current top star Kawhi Leonard with another All-Star. Well, the door may be open to getting an elite star this summer.
On Wednesday, The Athletic’s Sam Amick and Eric Nehm reported that the Boston Celtics cannot be ruled out in the upcoming Giannis Antetokounmpo trade market. Despite management’s claims, they have no intentions of pursuing the future Hall of Famer or trading Jaylen Brown. The NBA insiders suggest the team could move quietly in the shadows toward a deal.
Could the LA Clippers join a three-team trade for Giannis Antetokounmpo?
But they also add that “a multi-team deal in which Brown headed elsewhere could serve [the Milwaukee Bucks] very well in terms of other players and assets.” That is where the Clippers could come in.
A potential deal framework that would work money-wise, and give the Bucks a strong return, could see Antetokounmpo go to the Celtics, and Brown to the Clippers. The Bucks would receive Darius Garland — a star at an age Milwaukee allegedly would prefer — and Derrick Jones Jr. They would also get the Clippers pick at five, which could land Milwaukee an elite guard prospect like Darius Acuff Jr., and the Celtics selection at 27.
It means the Bucks get a 26-year-old who can score 20 points a night and would now have three picks in the first round of a draft that is viewed as one of the deepest in years. More future picks could be added on, but that is a starting point that would satisfy Milwaukee.
For the Clippers, they would emerge as a dark horse contender in the West with the combo of 2025-26 MVP candidate Brown and (hopefully a healthy) Leonard.
