PJ Tucker remains away from the Los Angeles Clippers start the season. The Clippers tried to find a trade for the veteran forward at the trade deadline last February and again during the offseason, but couldn’t find a deal they liked.
Now the Clippers are giving their agent a chance to find one, reports Chris Haynes.
Sources: Los Angeles Clippers have given PJ Tucker’s agent Andre Buck permission to talk to other teams to make it easier to work on a trade. Both sides continue to work together while the veteran remains away from the team waiting for an opportunity to contribute to victory. pic.twitter.com/RUqXeOgOLE
– Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) October 24, 2024
Four teams with playoff aspirations — and all that Tucker has played for before — have some level of interest, The Athletic’s Kelly Iko and Law Murray report. They are Philadelphia, Miami, Milwaukee and Phoenix.
A number of contenders — including the 76ers, Heat, Bucks and Suns — have held trade conversations with PJ Tucker’s representation, sources told me and @LawMurrayTheNU. The 14-year veteran remains away from the team, hopeful of a solution.
– Kelly Iko (@KellyIko) October 25, 2024
“We had ongoing conversations with PJ during the offseason and both decided he would not be with the team for the time being,” the Clippers said during training camp, announcing Tucker would be away from the team. “PJ is a professional who has achieved a lot in his career and there is more he wants to achieve. We will continue to work with PJ and his representative to find the best situation for him going forward.”
There are two challenges to doing a Tucker business now. The first is that this early in the season, teams kind of want to see what they have with their roster before making trades for role players. There is no urgency on their part.
The second, more difficult thing is Tucker, 39, is making $11.5 million this season (in the final year of his contract), and the playoff/contending teams he wants to go to are limited by hard caps and salary cap related requirements to luxury tax aprons. The Clippers are also tight on the first apron and are about $600,000 below that number, so they can’t take more money in a trade. Any deal will have to be almost exactly dollar-for-dollar, and that’s hard to put together.
Now Tucker’s agent can at least go look for those deals. The question is whether one is out there.
