Woike: Clippers Turned Down Wilcox, Snell Trade

At (literally) the last minute on the day of the NBA Trade Deadline, the Clippers came to a deal that was generally received as unappealing but necessary--Lance Stephenson and a 1st round pick for Jeff Green.  While some people don't like giving up a pick, or question Green's fit, it's safe to say that most accepted Los Angeles needed to make some sort of move to upgrade the SF position.  The Clippers were active in the trade market, trying to find players that fit their needs either as an upgraded SF, a stopgap PF, or both, before ultimately settling for Green at 2:59 ET.

As it turns out, one trade that Dan Woike of the Orange County register reports (at the VERY bottom) was on the table was a potential swap with the Chicago Bulls, where the Clippers could have acquired Tony Snell for C.J. Wilcox and a second-round pick.  Shabazz Napier was also on the table for Wilcox.

The Clippers received multiple inquries on second-year guard C.J. Wilcox, turning down a trade with Chicago that involved Wilcox and a second-round pick for Tony Snell.

Snell is an alright young player who defends pretty well and shoots 35% from three.  He's also 24 and has another year left on his rookie deal.  However, he's also a much more limited all-around player than Jeff Green, who can play the PF position in Griffin's absence and do more with the basketball.

While Snell probably would have been a better return value-wise (no future first being sent out), it seems as though Green was still the biggest upgrade available for the pieces the Clippers were shopping.

This leak also has some implications as to the value of C.J. Wilcox.  I'm refraining from proclaiming him a long-term piece after last night's game, because while it's easy to get excited and he did play solidly, it's just a few minutes in one game.  That said, if people around the league value Wilcox enough that Doc could have had Tony Snell for him, and Doc values Wilcox enough to turn that deal down, then C.J. might actually turn into something--either on the court or via return value in a trade.  Wilcox is in his second year and has two more on his very small rookie salary.

The rumored Napier proposal is altogether less enticing.  While the Clippers could use some point guard depth in the absence of Austin Rivers for the next couple of weeks , it would seem to me that Napier is at best a replacement-level guard who the Clippers could easily replicate via a 10-day contract.