Jordan Farmar, a backup for Chris Paul at the point for the Clippers, has been officially waived, it was announced on Friday.
This was expected, it was part of a house cleaning for the Clippers that included Austin Rivers joining the team — he will become the first son to play for his coach father in NBA history — and likely others players down the line. Austin Rivers was not with the team at shootaround but is expected to be available Friday night when the Clippers face the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Farmar is now an unrestricted free agent, he didn’t play particularly well as a backup to CP3 — scored 4.6 points a game on 38 percent shooting, had a PER of 10 — but it is possible another team picks him up.
The thing is, Austin Rivers is not really much of an upgrade. Certainly not one that would require sending out Reggie Bullock and Chris Douglas-Roberts plus a pick to get the trade done. While a lot of nepotism questions were raised, Sam Amick of the USA Today posted another rumor.
As for Rivers move, I'm told there was a locker-room/chemistry component involved in cutting ties w/ Jordan Farmar & Chris Douglas-Roberts.
— Sam Amick (@sam_amick) January 16, 2015
That really applies more to Farmar than CDR, but in both cases this was about trying to improve the chemistry and clearing space on the roster for future moves. That said, giving up a nice trade chip in Reggie Bullock to bring in a new backup point guard playing less than 15 minutes a night really the smart move here?
The Clippers are looking to bring in other players being waived as well. Tayshaun Prince’s name has come up and he is not alone.
The Clippers are interested in signing Nate Robinson. Here he is wearing an @LAKings beanie after he was waived. pic.twitter.com/5OJZaWgYhu
— Arash Markazi (@ArashMarkazi) January 16, 2015
If you have chemistry issues, do you want to introduce the big personality and unrepentant gunner on the court to the mix in Robinson?
The Clippers are looking for something because this team is not what they hoped it would be coming into the season — a true contender.