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According to Scott Kushner, young Pelicans wing James Ennis is receiving interest from multiple teams, including the Clippers:
Unrestricted FA James Ennis has heard from #Pelicans, #Grizzlies, #Macs, #Clippers, #GSW, #Hawks already. Looks like good value now.
— Scott Kushner (@ScottDKushner) July 1, 2016
Ennis is a young wing player who has seemed like a fringe NBA guy up until now, but his future certainly looks promising with so many teams in pursuit. Ennis was picked up on a 10-day contract by the Pelicans last March, and earned a roster spot for the rest of the season, enjoying a successful but brief 9-game stint.
In his 9 games with the Pelicans, Ennis started 5 of them, played 31 minutes a night, averaged 16 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1.3 steals a game, and shot 48% from deep in 5.6 attempts per game. Those are great averages in a scary, scary sample size.
In his only large sample size, the 2014-2015 season with Miami where he played 17 minutes a night in 62 games, Ennis averaged per 36 numbers of 10.7 points and 6 rebounds, but shot just 32.6% from deep on while attempting threes at half of his rate with the NOP.
Which Ennis can you expect to show up--the recent small sample size, or the older full-season sample? Maybe somewhere in between?
It's exactly the type of gamble that the Clippers might have to take at the league minimum in order to find a decent backup small forward--it's also the type of gamble that a different team might use a few million of cap room to make, forcing the Clippers to fall back onto even worse options.