Well, what else is the Clipper front office going to say? “Sure, we’re desperate to move them, so send in your lowball offers now!” You always say you aren’t moving a guy until you move the guy.
That said, there seems to be some real truth to the report that the Clippers are not looking to trade Eric Bledsoe and DeAndre Jordan. Despite rumors to the contrary they were offered for Kevin Garnett. At least the Los Angeles front office isn’t looking to move them. The Los Angeles Times had the report.Gary Sacks, the Clippers’ vice president of basketball operations, didn’t mention any names, but said “every team has called me” and that “it’s my job to call them back and to listen.”
“I haven’t called anybody to say, ‘Hey, we have Eric Bledsoe and would you like him?’ Or, ‘We have DeAndre Jordan or we have anybody and would you want them?’ That’s not where I am right now with this team,” Sacks said in a phone interview from Houston on Saturday. “That’s not where we are.”
Teams are calling about Bledsoe because he is really good and buried behind Chris Paul on the depth chart. The problem is the Clippers are going to want a fair amount for him, for one. Second, the front office would like to hold on to him until Chris Paul re-signs with the team this summer — it’s expected to happen but you don’t let go of the safety net until it does.
DeAndre Jordan has taken steps forward this season, but he also is still losing minutes at the end of the game to Lamar Odom. If they can find someone who will give them value and take on the two years, $22 million left on Jordan’s contract, they need to consider it.
But the fact is the Clippers likely stand pat at the deadline, the front office isn’t that interested in a move. The coaching staff might be, but not the front office. Which puts the pressure on Vinny Del Negro to get them to the conference finals. And if you don’t thin there is pressure, check out this quote from the same story.
