There is too much talent on the LA Clippers to keep everybody happy, but interestingly enough, it is a role player who is reportedly disgruntled.
Shams Charania of The Athletic reports Monday that Clippers forward PJ Tucker has expressed frustration about his current situation with the team. Charania adds that the two sides are in dialogue about how to resolve a role for Tucker, either with the Clippers or elsewhere.
Tucker arrived with James Harden as part of the blockbuster trade with the Philadelphia 76ers but has been a total goose egg for the Clippers ever since. He averaged 1.2 points and 2.4 rebounds per game in 12 appearances off the bench for the team and was pulled from the rotation entirely at the end of November. Rookie Kobe Brown, a 23-year-old energy player who can also hit a three, has gotten Tucker’s minutes instead.
At 38 years old, Tucker is virtually a shell of himself these days. He can’t play the 4 because he is too slow to stay in front of quicker power forwards and does not work at the 5 any more either since he has too much wear on his tires to grapple with opposing centers like he used to. Tucker, once one of the NBA’s premier corner pocket shooters, has lost his effectiveness from three-point range too. Nowadays, he rarely seeks out his own shot and is only hitting on 33.3 percent of the treys that he is attempting this season.
With $11 million on his contract this year and a $11.5 million player option for next year, Tucker is slightly complicated to either trade or to buy out. But Tucker’s current situation with the Clippers is apparently untenable, and he isn’t the only player on the team who has become a sudden DNP either.
