ESPN Deal Rating: Clippers Luxury Tax Over 100 Million But Strength Boost A- Trailblazers Save Money B-

The Clippers negotiated a trade with the Blazers, sending Eric Bledsoe, Winslow, Keane Johnson and the 2025 second-round pick (from the Pistons) back to Norman Powell and Robert Covington. ESPN expert Kevin Pelton rated the deal, giving the Clippers an A-od and a Blazers hitting a B-.

Clippers: A-

Generally, a team that ranks eighth in the division and whose two biggest stars may be reimbursed for the season will consider cutting the $94 million luxury tax bill, but the Clippers are not the average team, and their boss is the wealthy Ballmer. After the deal, the Clippers' luxury tax bill was added by another $19 million, which has now reached $113 million.

Bledsoe's annual salary for the 2022-23 season is $19.37 million, but only $3.9 million of that is guaranteed, and the Clippers converted his contract into Powell, who has 4 years left in his contract and Covington, who can be renewed under Bird's terms in the offseason.

Powell should be the Clippers' main target in the deal, and he's a perfect fit for the Clippers, and with his height he can participate in unlimited moves, as he proved when he was with the Raptors. Powell, who shoots 38 percent from three-point range in his career and 41 percent in the last two seasons, is a better three-point shooter than Mann and has better ball-handling ability than Luke Kennard.

Covington's ability to fit in with the Clippers is worth watching, he is a seriously polarized player, poor defense and possession of the ball, but strong defensive ability. His three-pointers aren't stable, and his value on the offensive end depends almost entirely on his three-point crosshairs. If Covington is unable to integrate into the team after joining the Clippers, the Clippers may send him away in the offseason by signing first and then exchanging, replacing a useful player or trading exceptions.

At this stage, the deal boosts the depth of the Clippers, but they lack a backup point guard. The Clippers could swap Ibaka's expired contract for a replacement point guard, or they could convert Kofi's two-way contract into a formal contract, followed by a two-way contract to sign a replacement point guard.

With Powell and Covington, the Clippers are still far from winning the title this season unless one or both of their two biggest stars make a comeback. But in any case, after the deal, the Clippers are deep enough to get them through the playoffs, and Next Season George and Leonard have a better lineup configuration around them.

Trailblazers: B-

From Jan. 10 to 24, the Trail Blazers won six of their nine games, during which Powell missed five games due to a health and safety agreement and four for personal reasons. Powell returned just in time for Little's reimbursement, when the Blazers' weakness of the lack of height in the backcourt to complete the defense was exposed.

In addition, last year Powell signed a 5-year fat contract, and now Lillard and McCollum occupy a lot of salary space, Simmons is also facing a contract extension, they can only send Powell to reduce the burden. After the deal, the Trail Blazers' total salary fell below the luxury tax line, and they saved at least $6 million next year.

The Blazers paid two first-round picks to get Covington, and in that deal they got a first-round pick for Johnson. Johnson has great talent, but hasn't been good this season. Fortunately, the Blazers are experienced in developing rookies who didn't perform well early in their careers, and Little is an example. If the Blazers can develop Johnson into a key puzzle, they will not lose money in this deal.