Clippers and Magic to swap Bledsoe/Butler for Afflalo on Thursday

[djohn2oo8]

The Orlando Magic and Los Angeles Clippers are "expected" to complete a trade on Thursday, the day of the 2013 NBA Draft, reports Mark Heisler of Sports City.

In the deal, which has been rumored since late May, the Magic would send veteran swingman Arron Afflalo to the Clippers in exchange for point guard Eric Bledsoe and veteran swingman Caron Butler.

[baseline bum]

Strange to see them trading for that contract. I guess good for Orlando to get out of that and might as well get younger with Butler's expiring if you're the Clippers, since you won't have caspace for a long time with Griffin's deal and Paul's.

[BatManu20]

Weird trade TBH.

[LkrFan]

Me no likey. AA is a solid, underrated player that would thrive next to CP3.

[HarlemHeat37]

If Afflalo gets back to playing defense, which shouldn't he a problem, I like this for the Clippers, tbh..

Adds shooting and defense to their perimeter, while shedding the horrible Caron Butler..

Losing Bledsoe hurts, but playing him at the 2 hurts their spacing, and he won't get big minutes at the 1 with Paul on the team, obviously..

[AchillesHeel]

Total steal for the Clips, tbh.

[LkrFan]

If Afflalo gets back to playing defense, which shouldn't he a problem, I like this for the Clippers, tbh..

Adds shooting and defense to their perimeter, while shedding the horrible Caron Butler..

Losing Bledsoe hurts, but playing him at the 2 hurts their spacing, and he won't get big minutes at the 1 with Paul on the team, obviously..
This. He's also a hard-nosed, no nonsense player. He'd be a great addition to the Clipp Show tbh.

[Mori Chu]

Don't get this deal for the Clips. Afflalo shoots only 30% from 3 and 44% overall. He is a nice defender but not a reliable shooter. Orlando is doing backflips that they can turn him into the highly coveted Eric Bledsoe. Weird deal for Clips to give up their only insurance for oft injured CP3.

[HarlemHeat37]

Afflalo shot 40% or better from 3 for 4 years in a row, tbh..he didn't suddenly forget how to shoot, he was not getting looks in Orlando's shitty system with no creators around him, especially with Jameer Nelson missing a half the year..

Afflalo isn't a guy that can create his own shot consistently, obviously..he's very similar to Danny Green IMO..

[Killakobe81]

Good pickup. Afflalo is gonna be the Clips version of 2009 Ariza. Contract sucks but Paul's knees on borrowed time might as well go all in tbh

[Koolaid_Man]

anything that reduces the total amount of decent players I'm all for...Bledsoe and Butler was a nice duo to have...now when Afflalo gets injured they're rotation is cut shorter...

[jeebus]

With Sloan coaching the Magic, this trade will work out great.

[Clipper Nation]

Gonna miss Bledsoe, tbh :cry

That being said, the lack of a three-and-D guy like Afflalo that all true contenders have was a major flaw with last year's Clippers, so this fixes that tbh....

[Killakobe81]

Gonna miss Bledsoe, tbh :cry

That being said, the lack of a three-and-D guy like Afflalo that all true contenders have was a major flaw with last year's Clippers, so this fixes that tbh....

Agree whole heartedly besides best to sell high on Bledsoe

[baseline bum]

Hope he's better in the clutch with the Clippers than he was at UCLA. What a no-show in the National Championship game against Florida. He was Bruin Ginobili :depressed

[rayjayjohnson]

dont forget AA is compton bred. dude would love playing back home.

[benefactor]

Nice move for the Clips.

[Clipper Nation]

FWIW, Kyler says this could be "part of a bigger deal".... maybe by making it a three-team trade, this could be a way to get KG to the Clipps without Stern vetoing it?

[Raven]

the move makes sense for both, orlando would get a legit young pg and would be able to draft mclemore with a clean heart. butler is just a filler. Clippers would get a LOT better with afflalo (in theory).

[InRareForm]

Don't really like AA's game.. And he was terrible on my fantasy team as well.

[DPG21920]

Nice move for both. AA is overrated, but as an over paid 3rd/4th option he's useful.

ORL didn't need him & parlayed him into a nice prospect.

[Killakobe81]

Nice move for both. AA is overrated, but as an over paid 3rd/4th option he's useful.

ORL didn't need him & parlayed him into a nice prospect.

Agreed. I think if Pelicans had stcuk to their guns and insisted on Bledsoe (as I originally argued) they could be the one flipping Bledsoe for a decent starting SG. AA is a bit overrated and definitely overpaid ...but on the right team he can hit open 3's and play some defense.

[mystargtr34]

Good deal for both sides IMO

Orlando will likely draft Mclemore at 2 anyway who plays the same position.. shed a big contract which is always the way to go for a rebuilding team and get a expiring contract and a solid young piece with potential in Bledsoe.

Clippers get a solid 3 and D guy with the potential to be a solid role player on a contending team. Get rid of a shitty ball stopping player in CB. They gave up Bledsoe but I like this trade if I'm a Clipper fan.

KG
Griffin
Pierce
Afflalo
CP3

Scary tbh

[monosylab1k]

Great move for the Clippers. Bledsoe is yet another backup PG who is overrated as hell and will be exposed the second he gets a starting job.

[DPG21920]

But what if Bledsoe is used as a 6th man?

[Rogue]

bledsoe has no outside game, just a smaller demonkey Jordan. Afflalo ain't the best player of this position but at least he has every skill a SG is supposed to have

[Leon Black]

Lateral move :lol
:lol Clippers
:lol destined to be mediocre forever

[JMarkJohns]

Solid trade for Clippers, but they should press for inclusion of 2nd-rounder. They could really benefit from acquiring a few 31-45 range picks and taking a very skill-specific player, IE Withey (shot blocking C) or Bullock (D and 3 SF), should either fall, or Murphy (stretch PF), or Snell (dribble drive athletic guard).

They can provide quality depth, and, energy for a team that's getting old quick.

[Clipper Nation]

:lol Now the Orlando media is saying the Magic could be shipping out Andrew Nicholson and a first-round pick along with Afflalo in exhange for Bledsoe and Caron.... Orlando would be getting fleeced, imho....

[djohn2oo8]

:lol Now the Orlando media is saying the Magic could be shipping out Andrew Nicholson and a first-round pick along with Afflalo in exhange for Bledsoe and Caron.... Orlando would be getting fleeced, imho....
:lol WTF Hennigan?

[benefactor]

But the long-awaited arrival of Doc Rivers as the Clippers' new coach and senior vice president of basketball operations could push any Bledsoe trade into July -- or maybe even longer -- because Rivers is a well-known Bledsoe fan who has indicated he'd like to keep Bledsoe around if possible.

http://espn.go.com/los-angeles/nba/story/_/id/9423005/los-angeles-clippers-discussing-trading-eric-bledsoe-orlando-magic-sources

:lol if Rivers sabotages this trade

[TIMMYtoZO]

:lol at the people praising the Clippers for this trade. It really doesn't make them all that much better. Just 2 role players being traded for another role player.

Also, :lol at the people praising a Clippers teams with KG/Pierce on it. Two old players on the decline hardly makes them scary. Blake Griffin's game is so flawed it's painful to watch, and we all know pg's leading teams are destined to fail.

Again, :lol at all of this love for the Clippers over 3 players and an overrated coach who won't really make much of a difference.

[benefactor]

350357307978297344

D:lolc sabotage complete.

[Clipper Nation]

Holding out for an Aldridge trade, maybe?

[~O~]

Arron Afflalo wasn't playing hard because the Magic were tanking. At the beginning of the season, he was a great defender. In fact he was one of the main players pissed that we were tanking and pissed at losing. That guy barely smiles.

Nobody knows how the Eric Bledsoe trade would really work for us ...which I find pretty relieving. Only a few have guessed and guessed correctly.