Clippers get Young, stunned
After acquiring scorer from Wizards, L.A. loses a big lead to the short-handed Suns.
The Clippers have been in need of a big shooting guard, of a more consistent scorer in the starting lineup, of something to replace what Chauncey Billups gave them before he went down with a season-ending left Achilles’ tendon injury.
The Clippers knew it would be nearly impossible to replace all that Billups brought, but they were at least able to add size and a quality scorer with the acquisition of Washington Wizards guard Nick Young in a three-team trade minutes before Thursday’s trade deadline.
Young was flying to Los Angeles while the Clippers were blowing a 17-point lead to the depleted Phoenix Suns, inexplicably losing, 9187, Thursday night at Staples Center.
Blake Griffin had 25
points, but he missed three of four free throws in the fourth quarter, one of them an airball. The Clippers, who had a closed-door meeting after the game, were only five for 12 from the free-throw line overall.
They were outscored 27-12 in the fourth quarter by a Suns team that didn’t play Steve Nash, 38, and Grant Hill, 39, because Phoenix was playing the second of back-toback-to-back games, and Coach Alvin Gentry wanted to rest his stars for Friday night’s game against the Detroit Pistons.
“You can’t take your foot off the gas,” Coach Vinny Del Negro said of having a big lead, “but obviously our track record when the other team’s better players don’t play is not very good. But that’s a weak explanation. That’s not how you should go about it.”
Shannon Brown led the Suns with 21points.
The three-team deal was completed when the Clippers got Young from the Wizards and sent Brian Cook and a 2015 secondround pick to Washington. The Clippers were able to fit Young into their $3.8-million trade exception they got for trading Eric Gordon to New Orleans in the Chris Paul deal.
The Wizards got center Nene from the Denver Nuggets for Wizards center Javale Mcgee and forward Ronny Turiaf.
Young, known to be a scorer, was averaging 16.6 points a game for the Wizards this season, and he has a career average of 11.6 points over four seasons. He was shooting 40.6% from the field, 37.1% from three-point range, this season.
Young started the first 32 games for Washington but was coming off the bench the last eight because of a falling-out with Wizards Coach Randy Wittman. Young will start for the Clippers
“He just gives us more size in the backcourt,” Del Negro said about the 6-foot-7 Young. “Just to get a player of his caliber on the team, on the roster, is just very, very positive.”
Young and all the other players have a deadline to take their physical on Sunday and deadline to pass it on Monday.
The Clippers said the earliest Young could play probably would be Tuesday at Indiana, when the Clippers start a back-to-back-toback set against Indiana, Oklahoma City and New Orleans.
Young is a local product, having attended USC and Cleveland High.
“I am excited to be back, first of all,” Young said during a call-in to the Clippers’ pregame show on Prime Ticket on Thursday. “They have great players on the team and I can learn from each one of them.”
Neil Olshey, the Clippers’ vice president of basketball operations, said he thought the deal was dead Wednesday night because the Wizards were having trouble completing other parts of the trade.
Olshey said talks resumed 45 minutes before the noon PDT deadline Thursday, allowing the deal to finally get done.
Young will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season. He signed a one-year contract in December.
Olshey said he hoped the Clippers can keep Young after this season.
“That’s the goal,” Olshey said. “Whether we find our two-guard now or we find him in July, we’re going to have to find one. We’d love for it to be Nick.”
Said Del Negro: “If you can add quality players to your roster, you have to do it. It’s part of the business. We’re trying to win.”