Los Angeles (United States) (AFP) – Australian guard Patty Mills, in his 16th NBA season, and forward Drew Eubanks joined the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday in a trade with the Utah Jazz, both clubs announced. The Clippers sent forward P.J. Tucker, center Mo Bamba, a future second-round NBA Draft choice, and cash to the Jazz in the deal.
Eubanks, who signed a two-year contract before the start of his seventh NBA season, was traded from the Western Conference’s worst club to a playoff contender on his 28th birthday. Mills, Tucker, and Bamba all have contracts expiring at the end of the season. Tucker has not played for the Clippers this season, parting ways in hopes of a trade deal.
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The move allows the Clippers, 28-20 and sixth in the West, millions of dollars in salary below the luxury tax ahead of Thursday’s NBA trade deadline. Mills, who won an NBA title with San Antonio in 2014, has averaged 8.8 points and 2.2 assists in 909 career NBA games. This season, he averaged 4.4 points, 1.2 rebounds, and 1.2 assists in 17 games off Utah’s bench.
Eubanks averaged 5.8 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 1.2 assists in 37 games this season for the Jazz, 10-36 and on an eight-game losing skid. Bamba, a 7-footer (2.13m) whose parents are from Ivory Coast, is in his seventh NBA season with career averages of 6.8 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 1.3 blocked shots a game.
Tucker, who helped Milwaukee win the 2021 NBA crown, is a 13-year NBA veteran who has averaged 6.6 points, 5.4 rebounds, 1.4 assists, and 1.1 steals a game.
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