Woike: Clippers Would Have Attempted to Re-Sign Lance Stephenson

Lance Stephenson has been an interesting guy for the Clippers this season--in all sorts of different roles making all sorts of different contributions.  However, he's also been the most frequently mentioned name in trade talks this week--but it looks like that has more to do with his incredibly movable contract ($9 million expiring deal) than his play.

According to Dan Woike of the Orange County Register, the Clippers would have attempted to re-sign Stephenson in free agency had they traded him:

Another interesting tidbit I heard: had the Clippers dealt Lance Stephenson, they'd still try and re-sign him this offseason.

— Dan Woike (@DanWoikeSports) February 18, 2016

The story of Doc deciding not to move Lance is starting to become clearer--he was willing to move the contract, but he also sees the same potential in the player that some of us see.  There's the issue of the no re-acquirement clause, which prohibits a team from getting back the same player they traded away for one calendar year (unless said player is traded again), but we'll forget about that for now.