LA Clippers Trade DeAndre Liggins to Atlanta Hawks

Per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, the Clippers have traded shooting guard/small forward DeAndre Liggins and cash to the Atlanta Hawks for the rights to a player to be named later. The Clippers will get under the luxury tax by $122,000 once the deal is complete, and will also generate a $1.67 million trade exception that they could use to absorb a small contract later in the season.

Liggins was the last of the non-guaranteed contracts included in the Chris Paul deal to make the salaries match. While there was a chance he might have made the team when the trade occurred, that possibility moved to zero as the team went over the luxury tax this summer. His non-guaranteed deal made him a perfect choice to waive or trade, and it was only a matter of time before he departed the team.

The Clippers now have 19 players entering training camp, and could theoretically fill the last spot in the coming days. It’s possible they bring in someone else, but it’s highly unlikely it will be anyone who has even a remote chance of making the LA Clippers’ regular season roster.

The Clippers will, however, receive the rights to a player from Atlanta. According to basketball reference, the Hawks have the rights to four international players: Sergiy Gladyr, Marcus Eriksson, Dimitrios Agravanis, and Isaia Cordinier. All four play in top leagues in Europe: Gladyr and Cordinier in the French LNB Pro A, Agravanis for Olympiacos in the Greek A League, and Erikkson for Barcelona in LIGA ACB. None of them are top of the line prospects, but as Gladyr is the oldest (and therefore least likely to come to the NBA), I’d guess he’s the one who gets included.

Liggins will be waived by the Hawks, and will become an unrestricted free agent.

With media day tomorrow and training camp coming up, look for more news to start dropping soon. The NBA season- and Clippers basketball- is almost here!