A day later, both were on their way out of Los Angeles ahead of the NBA’s trade deadline as part of deals that saw the Clippers overhaul their bench.
The Clippers are sending Jackson, their backup point guard and a second-round pick in 2028, to Charlotte for Mason Plumlee, who will fill their gaping need for a backup center. Kennard, a backup shooting guard who’d recently fallen out of the rotation, is going to Memphis in exchange for three future second-round picks.
Backup point guard John Wall is on his way to Houston, and in return the Clippers will receive Eric Gordon, the shooting guard who began his career with the Clippers.
(David J. Phillip / Associated Press)
In yet another move, the Clippers added Denver second-year wing Bones Hyland in exchange for a pair of future second-round picks.
All of the transactions were confirmed by people with knowledge of the trades but not authorized to speak publicly because the transactions are not official.
The moves filled priorities the team had long sought to address: Backstopping starting center Ivica Zubac with a capable understudy and breaking up the logjam within its guard rotation. Wall, who was bought out in Houston in the summer and signed with the Clippers with high hopes of reviving his All-Star form alongside Kawhi Leonard and close friend Paul George, displayed elements that were otherwise missing on the roster — his breakaway speed in transition, and vision. Wall also owned one of the worst plus-minus ratings on the team. His turnovers and shot selection never saw him progress from being a reserve.
Jackson went from a longtime starting point guard to out of the rotation entirely in January. Though he’d played his way back into second-unit ballhandler minutes because of an abdominal injury to Wall in mid-January — and was in many respects the beating heart of the Clippers roster — his expiring contract was used to acquire Plumlee.
Kennard made 44.8% of his three-pointers in three seasons with the Clippers, but the frequency with which he turned down shots at times rankled coaches who implored him to shoot. He had fallen out of the rotation this month after returning from a calf injury.