According to American media reports, the Los Angeles Clippers are expected to make an unexpected trade for a superstar before the trade deadline on February 6th. This is quite a fresh development, isn't it? The Clippers might just pull off a big move before the trade deadline and bring in a superstar! If this happens, the Clippers will be formidable. Just imagine, it's like our CBA's Guangdong team, which was already doing well; if they brought in another superstar, wouldn't their strength go up another level? Take the players from Guangdong back then, Zhu Fangyu and Wang Shipeng, who were already strong, and later they brought in some excellent players, and they were practically invincible in the league. If the Clippers can really trade for a superstar, they might just stir up a storm in the NBA!
This trade news was first reported by Eddie Bitar, a journalist from the American media Fadeaway World. It's said that the Clippers are planning a big move. They want to use Powell, Bones Hyland, Terance Mann, Kevin Porter, plus a first-round draft pick in 2031, these five chips to exchange for Charlotte Hornets' star player LaMelo Ball. We're saying, if this trade goes through, it would be amazing. Just look at the CBA, back when Guangdong wanted to win the championship, didn't they also make some personnel adjustments and trades? At that time, some of Guangdong's players were not very stable, so the team management decisively made moves, trading for some players that were more suitable for the team system, and as a result, Guangdong really won the championship that season. So you see, teams make trades and adjustments to become stronger and strive for better results. This move by the Clippers might just significantly increase their strength!
The Los Angeles Clippers this season let go of their second-in-command Paul George during the offseason without trading or signing a superstar. Moreover, Leonard got injured, leaving James Harden to lead the team forward alone. However, under James Harden's leadership, the Clippers have achieved a record of 14 wins and 12 losses, ranking ninth in the West. You say this Clippers team is really tough. It's like some teams in our domestic CBA league, with big personnel changes and key players getting injured, the difficulties are real. For example, there was a domestic team before, their core player got injured, several important players transferred away, the situation is similar to the Clippers. The remaining players are under great pressure, they have to step up. Just like the current Clippers, they are all relying on Harden. But Harden really delivered, leading the team to a decent record, which is not easy.
But the fact facing the team now is that they have lost three consecutive games and are about to fall out of the playoff qualification zone. The team's situation is not looking good! Losing three games in a row, they are about to say goodbye to the playoff qualification zone. Just take our CBA's Shandong men's basketball team as an example, they had a similar situation before, losing several games in a row, the players were under tremendous pressure. At this point, everyone realizes that something must be done to change the situation. To qualify for the playoffs, the Clippers need to find a helper for James Harden. And the best candidate for this is LaMelo Ball. Imagine if there was a capable assistant, the team's fighting power might just increase significantly. Just like Yi Jianlian of Guangdong men's basketball back then, with the support of powerful teammates, the team's performance skyrocketed. Therefore, finding a helper like LaMelo Ball for Harden is still very necessary.
LaMelo Ball has played the best performance of his career this season, averaging 34.1 minutes per game, scoring 31.1 points, 6.9 assists, and 5.4 rebounds, with a three-point shooting percentage of 35.6%. We're saying, these stats are quite impressive! Just like Guo Ailun in our CBA, he had a season where he was in top form. In a crucial game, the opposing team guarded him tightly, but Guo Ailun relied on his excellent skills and keen awareness to score continuously both inside and outside. In that game, his scoring, assists, and rebounding statistics were all good, just like LaMelo Ball now, showing super strength and becoming the absolute core of the team. LaMelo Ball can perform like this, it's really amazing, believe that he can have more outstanding performances in future games.
LaMelo Ball is a talented scorer, organizer, and ball-handler, perfectly complementing James Harden and Kawhi Leonard. Also, LaMelo Ball is very young, only 23 years old this year, with the potential to become the face of the Clippers in the future. We're saying this LaMelo Ball, his skills are not small. Just talking about scoring, he has a good technique and can score for the team in critical moments; in terms of organization, he has a special set of skills, able to organize the team's offense in an orderly manner; ball handling is even better, the ball in his hands is called stable. Look at some of our CBA's young players, if they could have LaMelo Ball's skills, the team's strength would definitely go up a notch. Take a young player named Xiao Li before, his skills weren't great at first, but he worked hard, constantly learning and training, and later in the game could also perform like LaMelo Ball, with good performances in scoring, organizing, and ball handling, helping the team achieve many victories. LaMelo Ball is only 23 years old, youth is capital! If he can go to the Clippers, with his ability and potential, he might really become the face of the Clippers and lead the team to better achievements.
But it's going to be tough to get this trade done. If LaMelo Ball doesn't tell the Hornets to make this trade, relying solely on Norman Powell, Bones Hyland, Terance Mann, Kevin Porter Jr., and a future first-round draft pick as trade bait, it's unlikely the Hornets will agree. We're saying, this thing is actually not difficult to understand. It's like Xiaowang in our village, who wants to sell his orchard to Lao Li in the neighboring village. Xiaowang's offer is some ordinary fruit tree varieties, plus a piece of land that doesn't look fertile, trying to make Lao Li interested. But Lao Li knows in his heart that although these things have some value, they are not enough to make him willingly open his wallet. Just like the Hornets looking at those few players and draft picks, they feel it's not enough weight, not enough to make them easily decide to trade.
For the Clippers, the most favorable news is that LaMelo Ball's father, LaVar Ball, previously expressed in a media interview that he hopes all three of his sons can play for the Los Angeles Clippers. Why does LaVar Ball want his son to join the Clippers? He doesn't want his son to play for the Lakers, he doesn't like how the Lakers treated Lonzo Ball. Moreover, he gave an interesting reason, saying that the owner of the Clippers is Ballmer, and his last name is Ball, so they are family. We're saying this reason sounds pretty special. It's like Lao Wang in our village, who thinks that the Wang boss who runs the supermarket next door is surnamed Wang, so they are family and should take care of each other. Although this reason sounds a bit far-fetched, LaVar Ball still insists on it.
With the help of his father, it's not impossible for LaMelo Ball to join the Clippers. We're saying this thing, if the old man can really help, then the player joining another team really has a chance. Just like in our domestic CBA league, there is a player named Xiao Li, he has talent in playing basketball, but he was in a not-so-strong team before. His father is very knowledgeable about basketball and knows many people in the circle. This old man went around helping Xiao Li contact better teams, and it really aroused the interest of some strong teams in Xiao Li. So you see, if there is a capable father to help, the player's development may really have new opportunities. If LaMelo Ball's father exerts himself, his joining the Clippers might really happen.
