The Los Angeles Clippers have dealt two veteran players to the Utah Jazz for another pair of veterans.
P.J. Tucker and Mo Bamba – the latter acquired by the Clippers this past offseason – were traded to Utah on Saturday in exchange for Drew Eubanks and Patty Mills, according to a media release from the team.
Eubanks is a power forward/center in his seventh year in the league who has career averages of 5.9 points, 4.6 rebounds and one assist per game. An 80.8% shooter over the course of his NBA tenure, Eubanks also previously played for the San Antonio Spurs, Portland Trail Blazers and Phoenix Suns.
This season, Eubanks’ stats hover around his career averages: 5.8 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.2 assists on about 61% shooting. He turned 28 on Saturday – the same day he was traded.
Mills, 36, is a grizzled veteran who is enjoying his 16th year in the NBA. A champion in 2013-14 with the San Antonio Spurs, the Australian point guard has career averages of 8.8 points, 2.2 assists and 1.6 rebounds.
So far this season, Mills – who won the NBA Sportsmanship Award in 2022 – is averaging 4.4 points and 1.2 rebounds and assists per game.
Mills’ and Eubanks’ time with the Spurs also overlapped, meaning the Clippers are now the third team they will be playing together on.
One of the Clippers relocating to Salt Lake City is Mo Bamba, the 26-year-old 7-foot center drafted sixth overall by the Orlando Magic in 2018. Since then, he’s played for the Philadelphia 76ers and the Lakers in addition to the Clips.
So far this season, Bamba – who is also famous for having a popular rap song named after him – has been averaging 6.8 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.3 blocks in 28 appearances for the Clippers.
According to ESPN, Bamba received limited playing time this season, with just five minutes played over the past four games, and the trade sees him move to a team where he could compete as a backup behind Walker Kessler.
Also heading northeast is veteran combo guard P.J. Tucker, 39, who was in his second stint with the Clippers. Tucker, a journeyman who has played in Toronto, Phoenix, Houston, Milwaukee, Miami and Philadelphia in addition to the Clippers, has not suited up this season.
ESPN reported that the Clippers are now free of Tucker’s $11 million contract; however, it is likely that the Jazz will buy him out.
In addition to Bamba and Tucker, the Clippers are also sending a 2030 second-round draft pick and cash considerations to Utah.
