Yesterday, 08:12 AM
(Yesterday, 07:59 AM)DanSchwartzgan Wrote: As someone who has been in the Mathur-in camp, I'm hoping Watson lands with the Clippers. Part of me wonders if getting Watson isn't a prerequisite for a willingness tosign and trade Mathurin.
One issue I've had with him here has been my view of Larry as the secondary creater who sits behind Christie on the depth chart. If I move Larry to PG behind Kyrie, and assume Klay is bought out (so we are far enough under the tax to use the TPE), then Mathurin starts to make more sense:
Flagg/Naji/Biberovic
Christie/Mathurin/Sasser
Irving/Larry/Nembhard
Clippers have huge space left under the first apron, almost 50 mil if Kawhi deal goes through. I think their plan is to bring in Watson and keep Mathurin. Since everything has been totally quiet on the Mathurin front, I would assume they already have an agreed deal, just waiting for the other dominos to fall.
They are weak at center position though, so I could also see your idea about Gafford for Mathurin as possible. Although I would expect Clippers to demand additional draft compensation in such a scenario. They do have a lot of mid range salaries though and they could very easily construct another deal for a center (Lopez, DJJ, Jackson). Or they might just go with Lopez and Niederhauser again and improve later, if needed.