Los Angeles Clippers forward P.J. Tucker is reportedly seeking a trade.
“I’m not saying they’re gonna make a massive move, but they did just get Ivica Zubac back against Miami,” Ohm Youngmisuk said. “And so now they have three bigs. And of course they do have P.J. Tucker who wants to be traded, has made no secret about that. He even told me that just last week in Toronto. I think his words were ‘actively looking to get traded.'”
Tucker has played in just 12 games with the Clippers so far this season since being dealt to the team along with James Harden. He’s averaging 1.2 points and 2.4 rebounds per game in Los Angeles while shooting 28.6 percent from the field and 27.3 percent from deep.
The 38-year-old hasn’t taken the floor for the Clippers since Nov. 27, when he logged two steals and one assist in six minutes of playing time in the team’s loss to the Denver Nuggets.
Tucker has a lot of mileage on him. He has played for seven teams — the Phoenix Suns, Houston Rockets, 76ers, Miami Heat, Toronto Raptors, Milwaukee Bucks and Clippers — over his decade-plus stint in the NBA and is one of the oldest players in the league right now. But he showed with the 76ers a season ago that he can still serve as a valuable rotation player.
His numbers in 75 starts with the 76ers during the 2022-23 regular season don’t jump off the page. Tucker averaged 3.5 points, 3.9 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game on 42.7 percent shooting from the floor and 39.3 percent from deep. But his impact with the team went beyond the numbers, considering he was arguably the 76ers’ best defensive player.
The Boston Celtics make sense as a landing spot for Tucker. The Celtics boast arguably the best starting lineup of any team in the NBA when at full strength, but the team isn’t exactly loaded with depth. Plus, Tucker would have a chance to be in a rotation for a team that is gunning for an NBA title this season. The Celtics own the NBA’s top record at 38-12 and have lost only three of their 26 games at home in the 2023-24 regular season.
Considering Tucker’s advanced age and defensive chops, expect him to land with a title contender if he is indeed traded before the trade deadline.
