Despite the fact that head coach Ty Lue threw cold water on the idea that Kawhi Leonard will be able to return some time this season from knee surgery, the Los Angeles Clippers have reportedly made a trade to bring a pair of productive wings to Los Angeles. According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, the Clippers will acquire the duo of Norman Powell and Robert Covington from the Portland Trail Blazers with less than one week until the trade deadline.
Wojnarowski reports that the Clippers will give up a package that includes a pair of veterans, a future second-round draft pick, and the player they took in the first round of the 2021 NBA Draft, Keon Johnson.
The Clippers are trading Eric Bledsoe, Justise Winslow, Keon Johnson and future second-round pick to the Trail Blazers for Norman Powell and Robert Covington, sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 4, 2022
“We know Kawhi’s probably not gonna come back,” Lue said on Thursday night after the Clippers beat the Los Angeles Lakers. “We don’t know the status of [Paul George], but these guys continue to keep fighting. Every single night.”
Despite the fact that Leonard hasn’t played this year and George has not suited up since mid-December due to elbow surgery, Powell and Covington are the kinds of battle-tested veterans that give a team with postseason aspirations a boost. The Clippers sit in eighth place in the Western Conference, 2.5 games back of the Denver Nuggets and the six seed, which would guarantee a berth in the playoffs without needing the play-in tournament.
On the year, Powell — who signed a 5-year, $90 million extension last summer — has averaged 18.7 points per game while connecting on 40.6 percent of his threes for the Blazers, who acquired him for Gary Trent Jr. last year at the deadline. Covington, meanwhile, has struggled from deep this season, connecting on 34.3 percent of his triples, and is an unrestricted free agent after this season.