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Kawhi Leonard is guarding Bradley Beale.
After a disastrous end to the season, the Los Angeles Clippers started the new season with flying colors. They defeated the Lakers in the first game and are just one game behind Utah Jazz for first place in the Western Conference. Whatever new head coach Tai Liu is doing seems to be working well.
However, it’s hard to forget last year’s collapse in the playoffs. The list is essentially the same, except for minor additions from Serge Ibaka and Luke Kennard. Although the Clippers finished the season with a better record than the Lakers, it’s hard to imagine that they would beat their rivals in Los Angeles in a seven-game playoff series.
If the team also thinks they can’t beat the Lakers, maybe they should think about improving their team. Stephen A. Smith of ESPN thinks a deal with Washington Wizards star Bradley Beal could save the Clippers.
They (the Clippers) are not going to beat the damn Los Angeles Lakers, Smith said in ESPN’s first take. They brought in Bradley Beal to work with Kawhi [Leonard] and Paul George. …Oh, we have another story.
Bradley Beal deserves better than what he’s getting on Capitol Hill pic.twitter.com/xBf79AbBXH
– Stephen A Smith (@stephenasmith) January 27, 2021
Beal would be perfect for the Clippers. He’s not a very good defender, but Kawhi Leonard and Paul George can take over that side of the court as long as Beal can maintain an average of over 35 points per game.
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The Clippers have nothing to offer the champions
If Beal is a good fit for the Clippers, that’s not going to happen. Los Angeles has nothing to offer in terms of commerce. The team won’t have a pick in the first round until 2027, so they can’t send a pick to Washington. They don’t have any interesting players either.
The deal for Patrick Beverley and Lou Williams probably won’t excite the Wizards. If they could bring in Beal, the Clippers would probably be the favorites to win the championship, but that doesn’t seem possible this year. If it needs to be replaced, it will probably be somewhere else.
Of course, the body is disturbed
Beal is coming off his most impressive season as a pro. He leads the NBA with 35.4 points per game, nearly five points higher than Kevin Durant with 30.5 points per game. But the Wizards are the worst team in the NBA. They are currently 3-11, which is the worst record in the league. While Beale clearly wants things to work out in Washington, he is beginning to show his frustration.
It’s tough, Beal said after Wednesday’s loss against the New Orleans Pelicans (via ESPN). I’m not gonna sit here and be naive. …we want to win, and I want to win. That’s why I stayed. I want to win. I thought this was the place to do it. It’s hard. Last year, that was it. We had a lot of people. John [Wall] was gone. It’s been a very bad year. KOVID has struck.
This year is just the same, he added. It’s like a little bubble outside the bubble. No fans, nothing, no practice time. It was difficult.
Beal has worked hard to build a winner in Washington, but it doesn’t look like that’s going to happen. The superstar is a free agent this season, and it’s unlikely he’ll stay until the Wizards change things up.
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