Lawrence Frank always makes trades … except this offseason.
As the offseason unfolded, the LA Clippers reached a free agent deal with John Wall while being able to re-sign Nicolas Batum and Amir Coffey, plus also agreeing with Robert Covington and Ivica Zubac on extensions.
But one thing has stood out: the Clippers have not yet made a trade.
That little factoid means the Clippers are one of the five teams so far in the NBA — along with the Toronto Raptors, Miami Heat, Chicago Bulls and New Orleans Pelicans — to not have made a trade, which Luke Adams of Hoop Rumors pointed out recently:
The Raptors, Heat, Bulls, Pelicans, and Clippers are the only teams that have not been part of at least one trade since their seasons ended this spring. While most of those clubs were pretty active in free agency, it has been an especially quiet offseason in New Orleans, where the Pelicans also haven’t made a single free agent signing.
It’s an uncharacteristic thing for Clippers’ president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank to not have made at least one deal.
In fact, the Clippers did not even make a trade at the draft. The last deal the team made came when they moved Serge Ibaka to the Milwaukee Bucks in exchange for Rodney Hood and Semi Ojeleye. That was on Feb. 10.
Since getting promoted to his current role within the organization, Frank has made a trade during every single season and in every single offseason.
Here are some of the trades Frank has made during the key windows:
- Sept. 25, 2017: Trade DeAndre Liggins to Atlanta Hawks
- Jan. 29, 2018: Trade Blake Griffin to Detroit Pistons
- June 26, 2018: Trade Austin Rivers to Washington Wizards
- Feb. 6, 2019: Trade Tobias Harris to Philadelphia 76ers
- July 10, 2019: Acquire Paul George from Oklahoma City Thunder
- Feb. 6, 2020: Acquire Marcus Morris Sr. from New York Knicks
- Nov. 19, 2020: Acquire Luke Kennard from Detroit Pistons
- Mar. 25, 2021: Trade Lou Williams to Atlanta Hawks
- Aug. 16, 2021: Trade Patrick Beverley to Memphis Grizzlies
- Feb. 4, 2022: Acquire Norman Powell and Robert Covington from Portland Trail Blazers
That’s 10 trade windows for the Clippers with Frank at the helm where the team made a move. But now we’re in the 11th window and still no deal. Will one come? Hard to know.
Either way, the Clippers do have some time before the start of training camp, especially with an open guaranteed roster spot available to absorb a player into. Plenty of time to make a trade. We’ll see what Lawrence Frank has up his sleeve.
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