Could Steven Adams be joining his former teammate, Paul George, in Los Angeles?
While most believe that the Clippers don’t need to make a “wholesale change”, there is the prevailing belief around the league that Los Angeles may need to make some moves on the interior to bolster their play.
And Oklahoma City once again might have just the player to fit their needs.
According to Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report, word among NBA executives is that Adams could be exactly what the Clippers are looking for in a floor-spacing center.
“That makes a lot more sense,” the second former executive agreed. “He’s everything the Clippers would need for the playoffs. If the Thunder got Harrell, they’d still be competitive.”
Pincus also notes the solid relationship between both teams’ front offices, that worked together over the summer to pull off the trade that sent George to the Clippers in exchange for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Danilo Gallinari and draft picks.
The Clippers already have a strong working relationship with the Thunder. L.A. general manager Michael Winger previously worked in Oklahoma City under top executive Sam Presti, which was a significant factor in why the talks surrounding the George trade were kept so successfully under the radar.
The Atlanta Hawks have also been mentioned as have a potential interest in Adams.
Chris Haynes of Yahoo! Sports reported that Adams was “on their radar” after the Hawks’ trade talks for Andre Drummond fell through with the Detroit Pistons.
In Saturday’s win over the Trail Blazers, Adams returned to the starting lineup in his first game since suffering a right knee contusion in the first half of Oklahoma City’s loss to the Raptors on Wednesday.
He scored five points in 24 minutes of game time.
Though his scoring is down this year compared to the past two seasons, Adams is averaging a career-high in rebounds, coming down with 10.0 per game.