Hot off the presses, the Clippers have traded for Hassan Adams. Here's the press release:
The Los Angeles Clippers today acquired guard/forward Hassan Adams and cash considerations from the Toronto Raptors in exchange for a future conditional second round draft pick.
An Inglewood native who played at Westchester High School, Adams has appeared in 12 games with Toronto this season, averaging 0.9 points, 0.6 rebounds and 0.1 assists in 4.3 minutes per game. Adams, 24, was originally drafted in the second round (54th overall) of the 2006 NBA Draft by New Jersey after a stellar career at the University of Arizona.
Adams played in 61 games and made eight starts for the Nets in 2006-07, averaging 2.9 points per game. Adams spent the 2007-08 season in Italy, playing with Ignis Draghi Novara and Siviglia Wear Teramo before signing with the Raptors as a free agent on July 8, 2008.
This is another 'free look' deal (note the key phrase 'and cash considerations'). The Raptors, like the Nuggets, are on the cusp of the luxury tax. The pick is no doubt once again very future and very conditional.
So it costs the Clippers one thing to have Samb and Adams around - a roster spot. The thing is, I'm not sure they can afford that right now. The good news is that there's not much downside to waiving these guys either. So if someone better becomes available, I would not expect the Clippers to hesitate to cut Samb or Adams loose.
This does not bode well for Fred Jones, who could have signed a 10-day contract with the team when he clears waivers later today. Will the Clippers take a very, very qucik free look and move on? We'll see. The same applies for anyone hoping that the team would bring Shaun Livingston back. The last roster spot is now taken, at least for the time being.
One assumes that Adams is on his way to San Antonio as we speak and will be in uniform tomorrow night.