There weren’t too many high expectations for the Los Angeles Clippers heading into the 2024-25 season. They lost Paul George, a man who averaged 23-5-4, in free agency after reaching an impasse in contract talks. But even with George out and Kawhi Leonard dealing with injury management yet again, the Clippers are currently sitting in sixth in the Western Conference standings with a 32-26 record, hanging tough among teams with contending aspirations.
Now, the Clippers’ blueprint for title contention has always revolved around the health of Leonard. If Leonard is healthy, then anything is possible for the Clippers in the postseason. But a healthy Leonard at this point is a walking contradiction. Nevertheless, they only need for things to break right for two months, and their handling of Leonard’s injuries suggest that they are hopeful that he can go full-tilt when April comes around.
To that end, the Clippers fancied themselves as a contender heading into the trade deadline. With James Harden and Leonard leading the way, as well as Norman Powell proving that his “addition by subtraction” comments in the offseason were justified, all LA needs is the right matchup to shine and perhaps make a deep playoff run.
But as good of a trade deadline as they had, they made one questionable move that, while not particularly relevant to their title hopes, they might be better off not making. Here is the Clippers’ biggest mistake at the 2025 NBA trade deadline.
Clippers trade Kevin Porter Jr. away for MarJon Beauchamp
When the Clippers signed Kevin Porter Jr. in the offseason, many eyebrows were raised. Porter was at the center of some off-court controversy that prevented him from suiting up during the 2023-24 season, and yet the Clippers still decided to give him a shot, a second chance, if you will.
Porter has been hit or miss for the Clippers; in 45 games for the team, he was averaging 9.3 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 3.2 assists per contest. He was struggling with the three-ball as well, shooting just 24.5 percent from deep on the year.
In a vacuum, it’s not as if the Clippers lost a ton of value when they traded Porter away to the Milwaukee Bucks. But for a Clippers team whose Achilles heel is their offense, having Porter on the roster could have been a good option for them to have in case James Harden needs to take a day off or if they need additional shot-creation from the perimeter.
MarJon Beauchamp hasn’t been doing much in his career; the Bucks even decided that it wasn’t worth it to pick up his fourth-year team option. Beauchamp has the size of a prototypical NBA wing, but it’s difficult to pinpoint exactly where his strengths on the hardwood lie.
The Clippers organization has long had an obsession over NBA-sized wings who can theoretically fill a role on the wing. Perhaps Beauchamp still could. He’s only 24 years old after all, and having him in the organization should at least give them some flexibility regarding his development moving forward.
But considering their current roster makeup, perhaps keeping Porter, at least until the end of the season, would have been the better move. Beauchamp likely would have been available during the offseason anyway; acquiring him now was irrelevant, since he’s not likely to play any meaningful minutes for the Clippers for the rest of the season.
KPJ deal being their biggest mistake shows Clips’ trade deadline excellence
Terance Mann may forever be beloved among Clippers fans for his 39-point explosion during the 2021 NBA playoffs, but his time with the team has run its course. And as luck would have it, LA came out on top in the trade that sent Mann away to the Atlanta Hawks in exchange for Bogdan Bogdanovic.
Not only did the Clippers receive the better player, they also received three second-round picks in return. Yes, it was the Clips that got draft compensation in the Mann-Bogdanovic swap even though Bogdanovic is a better marksman who fits this current LA team much better.
Perhaps it was the Bogdanovic trade that gave the Clippers more confidence that they can make do without Porter; Bogdanovic can run screen and rolls in a pinch, and he has some secondary shot-creation that should allow him to flourish alongside James Harden.
And then to top it all off, it was the Clippers that won Ben Simmons’ services off the buyout market. Simmons can fit in lineups where he is the lead ballhandler, and he can also function as a short-roll operator, making him an ideal fill-in-the-gaps player for the team.
The Clippers came out of these dealings as a better team, which is just about everything a team with contending aspirations can ask for.
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