Grades: Clippers dump Dudley deal
Clippers get: Guard Carlos Delfino, center Miroslav Raduljica, their own 2015 second-round pick
Bucks get: Forward Jared Dudley, 2017 protected first-round pick
Los Angeles Clippers: D
With the Clippers battling the luxury-tax apron, a space-clearing move was understandable. But this wasn't it.
Delfino and Raduljica actually make more combined this season ($4.75 million) than Dudley ($4.25 million). (The Clippers are hard-capped and cannot spend more than the tax apron of $80.8 million -- no matter how much new owner Steve Ballmer might like to -- after using the non-taxpayer mid-level exception to sign Spencer Hawes as a free agent. Because of this, a $250,000 bonus listed as unlikely in Dudley's contract, per Mark Deeks, is counted in case it was paid out, but even without it, this deal slightly increases the Clippers' payroll.)
So why make it? In the short term, swapping one player for two gets the Clippers to the league minimum roster of 13 players. And at some point, they should be able to add a 14th. We're getting deep into the minutiae of the CBA here, but the Clippers have less than $915,243 under the apron ($649,228, to be exact, according to ESPN's Brian Windhorst), which is the minimum amount any free agent counts for tax purposes, even if they're actually making less money. (This prevents tax-paying teams from favoring younger players over veterans.) But that amount goes down over the course time, prorated for the percentage of days remaining in the regular season. If they manage things correctly, the Clippers should be able to add a buyout candidate as they did last season with Glen Davis and Danny Granger.
But the real incentive here is 2015-16, when the contracts of Delfino and Raduljica are both non-guaranteed. Shedding their salaries could give the Clippers the ability to use the full mid-level again next summer and stay under the apron. Or they could trade the two former Bucks before their contracts become guaranteed (Delfino on June 30, per Deeks, and Raduljica on July 15), giving another team immediate cap relief.
So the Clippers had their reasons. The challenge is justifying giving up a precious first-round pick. (Although I haven't seen anything on the protection, presumably the Clippers only keep the pick if it lands in the lottery, which is unlikely to happen by 2017.) Since the Clippers already traded their 2015 first-round pick to the Boston Celtics for Doc Rivers, dealing this one in 2017 means they can now no longer trade any first-rounder before 2019.
Delfino's iffy health makes matters worse. He missed all of last season after a pair of surgeries on the foot he initially injured in the 2013 playoffs, and reports suggest he will miss at least part of next season. After a year and a half off the court, it's unclear whether Delfino will be any better than Dudley, and he adds to a position on which the Clippers have used their last two first-round picks (Reggie Bullock and C.J. Wilcox). Raduljica had some moments last season, and you could do a lot worse for a fifth big man. But that's hardly an explanation for trading a first-round pick.
Milwaukee Bucks: A-
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