Does this trade make sense for the LA Clippers?

Cutting salaries this season is something that does make sense for the Clippers because there is no reason for management and ownership to pay such a high tax bill if this team is not going to be a real contender. 

As mentioned before, the Clippers have proven that they can contend for a title in the Western Conference at full-strength, but it is hard to imagine that this will be the case moving forward during the second-half of the season. 

Even if Kawhi Leonard returns, he is not going to jump right into games and look like the two-way All-Star we have known him to be. The earliest Kawhi could return is near March and by then, the Clippers may be too far out of the playoff picture to be real threats. 

Los Angeles would be smart to shut Leonard and George down for the rest of the season, commit to shaving some salaries from their roster like that of Serge Ibaka’s and continue getting some of their young talents more playing time. 

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Ivica Zubac, Luke Kennard, Terance Mann and Amir Coffey have all started to carve out long-term roles with this organization this season and allowing them to continue growing as young, impactful players will be key. 

Obviously having key veterans like Ibaka, Morris and Batum when at full-strength is key for the Clippers to be successful, but trading some of these guys away for salary relief and draft compensation could go a long way in the Clippers being able to sustain success into future seasons.