Why Clippers Should Not Hesitate to Make a Trade This Season

The Los Angeles Clippers won their opener by 25 points against Sacramento, and they have not won since.

Seven straight losses have them at 1-7 and 13th in the Western Conference, and the latest one was a 117-116 overtime loss to Miami on Wednesday.

Other teams have noticed, which is exactly why the front office should not sit on its hands.

Tim MacMahon put the Clippers on the trade radar in ESPN's insider notebook on Friday.

"It's way too early for trade discussions to pick up steam, but multiple scouts and executives are keeping an eye on the LA Clippers as likely sellers," MacMahon wrote.

MacMahon named center Brook Lopez, guard Kris Dunn, forward Rui Hachimura, forward Max Strus and forward Derrick Jones Jr. as players who could fill roles for playoff teams.

Lopez, Dunn, Strus and Jones Jr. are all in the final year of their deals, and Hachimura has a team option for next season.

That group has real value, as Lopez is shooting 42.3 percent from three, Dunn is averaging 2.8 steals a game and Jones Jr. is hitting half of his threes, and that is the sort of help contenders look for.

The list overlaps with many of the same names other people are already watching, and those players will not hold their value forever.

The biggest reason to act is the draft, since the NBA took away the Clippers' first-round picks from 2029 through 2033 as part of its penalties, and Oklahoma City still holds swap rights on their 2027 pick.

Losing a lot this season does not give the Clippers much of a reward in the draft.

A normal 1-7 team can sit back, play young guys and hope for a high pick, but the Clippers do not have that safety net.

If this season is going to slip away, the best thing interim president of basketball operations Trent Redden can do is turn expiring contracts into picks or young players the team actually controls.

I am not saying the Clippers should give up on the year.

Four of the seven losses came by eight points or fewer, including a collapse against Miami, and forward Brandon Ingram has not played yet after heel surgery.

Point guard Darius Garland is averaging 20.9 points, and rookie guard Keaton Wagler has been a bright spot off the bench at 12.0 points a game.

The Clippers host New Orleans on Sunday with five players already ruled out, including Ingram and guard Bradley Beal.

Then they visit Phoenix on Tuesday and host Oklahoma City on Friday.

Ingram has made progress in his recovery, but The Athletic's Law Murray reported he has no target return date, so the help is not coming right away.

The trade deadline is Feb. 11, so there is time, but I would not wait until then, because every loss makes the veterans look less like difference makers and more like pieces on a bad team.

If the next few weeks look like the last two, the Clippers should pick up the phone and start building for the years when they will own their picks again.