Got a break!75,000 fines!He's become a Clippers locker room bomb?

As you know, the Clippers have had a very good run over the past few months.

After a 3-7 opening game and Harden's five-game losing streak, the Clippers then went on a 33-10 spree and finished second in the league during the same period, and now they have the worst record in the West to fourth, all the way to third in the West, and only two wins away from the Timberwolves, who are first in the West.

The core of this Clippers team is the Big Four, but they are not only the Big Four, including Powell, Zubac, Mann can stand up and score, have squad depth, have supergiants, and a championship coach, the Clippers are undoubtedly a big contender for the championship this season.

However, with such a Clippers, there are still some inconsistencies, and there are even players who could become time bombs in the locker room, yes, we are talking about PJ Tucker.

Tucker was sent to the Clippers in the previous Harden trade, and when he first arrived with the Clippers, he still had an average of nearly 20 minutes per game, but less than a month later, Tucker completely fell out of the rotation, and his last appearance for the Clippers was back on November 28, 2023, when the Clippers played against the Nuggets, Tucker played 6 minutes and did not score a point.

In other words, the Clippers' past wave of Northern Expedition actually has nothing to do with Tucker, he has been DNP in 37 consecutive games, during which the Clippers have a record of 29 wins and 8 losses, and the winning percentage is the first in the league.

A veteran DNP, most likely, would be to trade or buy out to another team that needs him, but this time, Tucker and the Clippers had a bit of an ugly falling out.

Tucker was interviewed before the trade deadline and said that he feels good, but his position from a few months ago has not changed, he wants to be traded, and he expects to play on a competitive team.

Then after the trade deadline, Tucker was still wearing a Clippers jersey, which also made him very unhappy, and he publicly said: "We all talked about it, so I just accepted sitting (being DNP), it was all said and done, I was sitting there until they sent me away, but they didn't trade me." But I'm going to try to be as professional as I can and be as professional as possible. At the same time, if I don't speak up for myself, who is going to speak up for me? You know, but that's the way it is. ”

Due to repeated public requests to be traded to another team, the NBA officially fined Tucker a heavy $75,000 - publicly complaining that the referee "only" fined $25,000, this time directly tripled, to be honest, the force is not small.

As we said, it doesn't look good, and it could even become a locker room bomb, but it's really not that simple.

Let's talk about Tucker's state first, it's very bad, since he was traded, he has played a total of 12 regular season games for the Clippers, averaging 1.2 shots per game, scoring 1.2 points, shooting 28.6% from the field, 27.3% from three-point range, and only 45.7% from the field.

Tucker's original highlights were defense and corner three-pointers, but now that he is older, his defense is not as good as it was back then, and the bottom corner three-point is gone, and after joining the Clippers this season, he has made 5 of 16 corner three-pointers, shooting only 31.3%.

The stats can also reflect Tucker's damage to the team: since being traded, when Tucker is on the floor, the Clippers have lost 8.9 points per 100 possessions, and conversely, when Tucker is not on the court, the Clippers have outscored opponents by 5.6 points per 100 possessions.

If Tucker is only the base salary, then it's okay to say, the problem is that Tucker's salary is quite a lot, with an annual salary of 11.01 million this season and 11.54 million next season (player option), and it is impossible for any team to accept a player with such a premium and one year left on his contract.

The fact is that it was previously reported that the Clippers have been actively promoting Tucker, but there are no buyers in the market due to his age (39 years old in May this year), contract status, style of play, game output, and fit with potential next home;

Follow-up news also said that in fact, the Clippers did not want Tucker in the original trade with the 76ers, but the 76ers were determined to get rid of Tucker's contract in any deal involving Harden.

So, is it possible for Tucker to buy out? The answer is almost zero, because once Tucker accepts the buyout, he will have to give up the remaining 11 million player options, and Tucker himself said: "I won't consider a buyout." ”

To sum up, Tucker's current situation is that he doesn't have much gas, can't contribute to the Clippers, and can't find a home, his contract is still a bit big, not worth 11 million, if he really wants to go, then give up the rest of the contract, but Tucker himself is not willing to give up such a big contract.

The Clippers are in good shape right now, and when Leonard returns, they are likely to continue their upward expedition to the north, but the instability in the locker room still needs to be resolved, however, Tucker should be a veteran of the locker room who will not "make trouble", and I hope the two sides can get together and disperse.