The Los Angeles Clippers continue in their quest to find a shooting guard who can stretch the floor for them, hoping to use Eric Bledsoe in a sign & trade with either the Milwaukee Bucks for J.J. Redick or with the Dallas Mavericks for O.J. Mayo.
According to ESPN Los Angeles, the Clippers are very interested in Redick, who hit a career low 36.6% shots from beyond the arc last season, but is much closer to 40% for his career. The move to the Bucks didn’t do him much good, as he wasn’t very happy there and couldn’t wait for his contract to expire.
Redick doesn’t bring the wing defense the Clippers would love to get like in their potential deal with the Orlando Magic for Arron Afflalo, but his shooting might more than make up for it.
Another option is with a team really interested in acquiring a point guard. The Dallas Mavericks have been trying to get one, and after the names of Chris Paul (already re-signed with the Clippers) and Rajon Rondo (Boston won’t trade him) have been thrown around, Bledsoe might sound like somewhat of a downgrade, although it will be interesting to see what he can do with more minutes.
O.J. Mayo, who shot 40.7% from downtown last season while averaging 15.3 points per game is what the Clippers are asking for in return. Mayo is an excellent shooter, but again, not so much of a good defender. The difference between him and Redick is Mayo needing the ball in his hand a bit more, with a bit more offensive weapons to his name, but also doesn’t move off the ball as well as Redick does.
The big variable in all of this might be Doc Rivers, arriving in the midst of all this talk for moving Bledsoe, who brings a lot of energy off the bench and is an exceptional defender. If Rivers thinks Bledsoe, who will become a restricted free agent in 2014 if he stays on for another season, is that important to the team, it’s going to take one big offer from Dallas, Milwaukee or the Magic to convince him to part ways with the player.
Redick is probably the more suitable option among the two in terms of a player who fits in a mold and answers a specific need, but are any of these options enough to take the Clippers a step beyond what they’ve done so far with Chris Paul? Not quite sure.
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