Trade idea: Clarkson, Williams for Holiday

HAWAIIGUY27

First off, I love me some Jordan Clarkson. He's clearly the best player on this year's team and he's worked hard to thrust himself into the conversation of being one of the best young guard prospects in the league for at least the next few years. That being said, he could be the first domino to drop in building the next Laker dynasty for years to come.

The trade proposal? LA deals Jordan Clarkson and Lou Williams to New Orleans for Jrue Holiday

Why NO does this:
They are eager to pair Anthony Davis with another budding superstar to not only keep him happy but to bring hope to that franchise. They rid themselves of Holiday's contract a year early, perhaps avoiding an asking price upwards of $20M per in the summer of 2017 when the salary cap is projected to skyrocket to $110M. Holiday's been solid when he's played, but that's his problem. He's only played in 74 games in the previous two seasons and has already missed time this year. NO may not see very much value in him long-term past his contract anyway. This trade also enables them to sign Clarkson and re-sign Ryan Anderson long-term after this season at fair deals in the neighborhood of $30M per year, combined. Lou gives them a scoring guard off a bench that sorely lacks any kind of offensive punch or veteran leadership at a reasonable price tag. (Williams is also a Tennessee native so in some ways would be returning close to home as he nears the end of his career.) Likely locked in for a top 5 draft pick this summer, the Pelicans may be looking at this potential starting lineup next season, still remaining about $30M under the salary cap to acquire some quality role players:

Clarkson
Evans
Brandon Ingram/Jaylen Brown
Anderson
Davis

This group has the makings of being a real threat in the Eastern Conference for the next several years as teams like MIA, CHI and ATL being to age and start their descents down the ranks.

Why LA does this:
Obviously a risky move, but they free themselves of an extra $7M in cap room this summer, giving them the chance at a possible THIRD max-level player (even better if they can unload Nick Young this offseason) and compete for a championship IMMEDIATELY, while still keeping flexibility to go after Westbrook after next season. Clarkson is no question one of the bright young stars in this league, but in all fairness, he's no Russell Westbrook. Holiday would also be making a few million less than Clarkson would likely demand this offseason, not to mention he's an "LA guy". Clarkson, raised in Texas, would also be returning to his roots somewhat by playing in neighboring Louisiana.

In a perfect world, LA is looking at the possibility of this roster NEXT season, including a top 3 draft pick, and Westbrook the following year:

Holiday (expiring k --> Westbrook MAX in 2017)
Russell
Durant (or Batum)
Horford
Whiteside

Again, it's a stretch and may not be all that necessary, but if the real "big fish" is Westbrook, and seemingly he has been for the last few years, one of our guards has to make way eventually. We've recently begun to see flashes of Russell's potential as a Steve Nash-Brandon Roy type of guard and I don't think you could go wrong with a Russell/Westbrook backcourt, particularly when we've also seen that the Russell/Clarkson combo really hasn't been all that smooth. Then again, that could be attributed to having a clueless, inept coach.

If Mitch and co. are looking to make a splash this offseason and gamble away the potential of Clarkson for a max-level upgrade at a third position, this is a deal they should consider. Are they likely to do it, probably not, but it's certainly worth speculating since this season is already completely shot two months into the season.
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22 · Franchise Player Joined: 05 Apr 2013 Posts: 17063

Clarkson is restricted with a small cap hold. His salary is not an issue. And he is far better than the oft injured Jrue Holiday. Bad trade for us.

Heck no IMO

Bard207 · Star Player Joined: 08 Jan 2013 Posts: 7713

HAWAIIGUY27 · Posted: Mon Nov 30, 2015 5:48 pm Post subject:

Whoops, brain fart there. Nonetheless, I think NO positions themselves well for the next 5-6 years with a core of Clarkson, Davis, and their top lottery pick if they're considering flipping Clarkson's potential for what they've already seen with Holiday.
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22 · Franchise Player Joined: 05 Apr 2013 Posts: 17063

Bard207 · Star Player Joined: 08 Jan 2013 Posts: 7713

In Summer 2016, the Cap Hold for Clarkson + Lou's Salary will be over a $1 million less than what Holiday's salary will be against the Salary Cap.

If Mitch will need every dollar of available Cap Space in Summer 2016, then he would probably be hesitant to make that type of trade during this season unless he clearly Wins.

yinoma2001 · Retired Number Joined: 19 Jun 2010 Posts: 119487

Um no. I love holiday but he's officially injury prone.
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Wilkes52 · Posted: Sun Dec 13, 2015 10:48 am Post subject:

Jrue's a good guard, but he misses time frequently to injury. Jordan Clarkson may have upside equal to a healthy Jrue, with better chances to stay healthy and at a more reasonable rate. PASS.
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70sdude · Star Player Joined: 05 Feb 2009 Posts: 4567

Jrue is a better athlete than D'Angelo and he has good length and size, but I doubt he'd be a good complement to a Russell-led back court. Too similar. One of our guards needs a solid J.

UCLALakers · Sixth Man Joined: 02 Jul 2015 Posts: 91

Jrue was an All-Star a few years back right? That being said, he's extremely injury prone. I think that Jrue should be better than JC right now, and if he's not helping the Pelicans towards at least a .500 record then would we really do much better with him as the first/second option? JC and Jrue are different players, and I think we'd be much better off with JC in the long term as our SG of the future or even a super sixth man.

fiendishoc · Posted: Thu Dec 17, 2015 6:48 pm Post subject:

If they wanted an extra 7 mn in cap room, they could have just not signed Lou in the offseason to begin with. Basically you have LA dumping one of their core assets for no reason.

HAWAIIGUY27 · Posted: Sat Dec 26, 2015 10:48 am Post subject:

I haven't revisited this post for quite a while, but I think you're missing the point. Holiday wouldn't be the perfect complement to Russell long term, and would merely be a one-year, stopgap point guard that can help transition Russell into more of a 2-guard/combo guard in anticipation of landing Westbrook the following year. His biggest asset actually turns out to be his expiring contract, and it removes our potential "crowded backfield" of guards if the true big fish is in fact Westbrook. Westbrook + Russell + ? > Russell + Clarkson + Williams, and a move like this could give us better options long term. On the flip side, I think it's a move that NO would actually consider doing as well.
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GonzagaAlum · Star Player Joined: 09 Dec 2005 Posts: 3021

venturalakersfan · Posted: Wed Jan 06, 2016 11:56 am Post subject:

A contract ending in 2017 is worth nothing. A Clarkson with 3 solid years under his belt that offseason is worth much more. Shedding talent for cap space isn't a good move going forward. As a closet NO fan, though, that would be a sweet deal for them.
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