The Clippers added a steady scorer in free agency, and their Summer League roster might be the most exciting one they've had in years.
The Los Angeles Clippers have not felt like this team in years, and the shift became official this week when Rui Hachimura agreed to a two-year, $28 million deal that pulls him away from the Lakers and across town to their rival.
It caps an offseason that already saw Los Angeles send Kawhi Leonard to Toronto for Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick and a stack of future draft picks after a season that ended 42-40 with a play-in loss to the Golden State Warriors.
Hachimura gives the new direction its first real spark, a proven scorer who fills the power forward spot without needing the ball in his hands on every trip down the floor.
A Steady New Frontcourt Piece
Hachimura spent three and a half seasons with the Lakers and became one of their most trusted role players, averaging 11.5 points and 3.3 rebounds a game last season on efficient shooting.
He replaces John Collins, who left for Detroit in a sign and trade, and slides into a frontcourt that badly needed a reliable scorer next to Darius Garland, Keaton Wagler and Brandon Ingram.
He will not fix the rebounding trouble that has followed this roster for years, and passing has never been his strength, but for $14 million a season he is a safe, low risk fit for a group that just tore itself down to the studs.
Los Angeles has been just as active elsewhere this month, re-signing its own free agents while it plots a bigger move.
The Road to Peyton Watson
One more decision looms over the whole offseason.
Denver's Peyton Watson is a restricted free agent coming off a breakout year, averaging 14.6 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.1 assists before a hamstring injury cut his season short, and the Clippers have real interest in the 23-year-old wing.
Denver intends to match any offer sheet, so Los Angeles probably needs a trade the Nuggets actually want rather than a number on paper they can simply beat.
That means finding takers for some of the extra guards on this roster and using part of the draft capital from the Leonard trade to make a sign and trade appealing.
None of it works unless the Clippers also settle their restricted free agency with Bennedict Mathurin first, since his next contract will decide how much room is actually left to spend.
A Summer League Worth Watching
None of that will get settled by the time Summer League opens in Las Vegas, but the roster the Clippers are sending still feels different.
Keaton Wagler, the fifth overall pick, headlines a group that includes Baba Miller, Nick Martinelli and a newly re-signed Kobe Sanders, and for once the excitement in Los Angeles is not about a star chasing one more ring.
This one is about a young core the Clippers built through the picks and players they collected in the Zubac and Leonard trades.
That alone makes this the most interesting Summer League trip the franchise has had in years, even before Watson's situation gets sorted out.
