![]() It would obviously be more fun if this move was a precursor to an imminent deal, especially if it turns out to be part of a larger series of transactions that brings James Harden to Los Angeles. ![]() Teams hold on to draft rights without expiration, so we could go a decade without hearing this guy’s name again before he suddenly makes a trade possible–Sofoklis Schorsanitis (affectionally known to Clippers fans as My Big Fat Greek Center in the mid-2000s) was drafted by the Clippers in 2003 and never came over, but they used his rights in a trade in 2012. That’s what $2.1M gets you, apparently–maybe saving yourself a second round pick if a very specific situation arises at some point down the line. ![]() It’s unclear to me if that rule kicks in this summer or next, as the stricter rules will be phased in, but regardless: there’s a possibility, whether it’s this summer or years down the line, that the high-spending Clippers will be above that second apron and need to send something for the “touching” rule to pull off a multi-team trade, and having Koprivica’s draft rights to send will save them a second round pick. But with the NBA’s new second apron rules, which I wrote about yesterday, teams over the second luxury tax apron can no longer send out cash in trades. Among other things (like a 2nd round pick), teams could satisfy this requirement by sending $1.1M in cash. Of course, not having the draft rights to a random stashed player who iwll never come over hasn’t blocked teams from making multi-team deals in the past. ![]() But the Clippers could need Koprivica’s draft rights as the “something” in any multi-team scenario that could come along, now or in the future. Something from LAC being rerouted to a non-Philly team + Harden coming in = touching 2 other teams. Even in hypothetical 4-team, or 5-team, or 9-team trades that Morey could be cooking up, you only need to touch two other teams in the trade, not every other team. I don’t know what the Clippers’ potential deal for James Harden looks like, but they’ll probably already be fine on this front–if the Sixers’ plan is to flip stuff from LAC along with additional pieces of their own to a third team to add a replacement star, then “stuff from LAC” going to the third team already satisfied this requirement. The draft rights to an international player who hasn’t come over yet counts as something (even if that guy seems unlikely to ever actually come to the NBA, as long as he’s still a player in a competitive professional league, which the Adriatic league certainly is). In multi-team trades, each team must “touch” at least two other teams in the trade by having something sent or received. They traded for him so that they can trade him again, potentially as soon as in the next few days. The Clippers didn’t trade for Balsa Koprivica because they think he can join them next season, and they didn’t trade for him because they think he has a shot at being a helpful piece at some point down the line. I won’t pretend to be well-versed in fringe prospects playing overseas, but he wasn’t on anyone’s radar to come over to the NBA next season in fact, the Pistons didn’t even have him on their Summer League roster this year after scarcely playing for them in Las Vegas the last two summers. Let’s be blunt: Koprivica averaged 9 points as a sophomore at Florida State before entering the draft and has been a backup in the Adriatic league for the last two years. The LA Clippers traded cash considerations to the Detroit Pistons for the draft rights to Balsa Koprivica.- LA Clippers July 1, 2023
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