THE Los Angeles Clippers will welcome back Eric Bledsoe, reacquiring the seasoned guard in a trade that will send veteran guards Patrick Beverley and Rajon Rondo to the Memphis Grizzlies, as well as center Daniel Oturu, ESPN reported on Sunday.
Bledsoe, 31, originally was drafted in the first round (18th overall) out of Kentucky in 2010 by the Oklahoma City Thunder, who immediately traded him to Los Angeles. He played three seasons with the Clippers and will return with 11 seasons of National Basketball Association (NBA) experience with four teams.
Bledsoe played with the New Orleans Pelicans last season and was moved to the Grizzles on Aug. 7 in the three-team trade that also included the Thunder. He has averaged 14 points, 4.7 assists and 3.9 rebounds over 702 career games.
Beverley, 33, will see his four-season run in Los Angeles come to an end. The standout defender averaged eight points and 4.3 rebounds in 177 games with the Clippers and has scored 8.8 points with 4.3 rebounds in nine seasons with the Houston Rockets and Clippers.
Rondo, 35, played just 18 games with the Clippers after he was acquired in a trade with the Atlanta Hawks last season. The 15-year veteran, who has been an All-Star four times, has averaged 10 points, 8.1 assists and 4.6 rebounds over 918 career games.
Oturu, 21, who has been effective with the Clippers’ Summer League team, scored 1.8 points with 1.6 rebounds over 30 games off the bench last season. He was a second-round draft pick out of Minnesota by the Timberwolves before being traded to the Clippers.
JALEN GREEN
Meanwhile, Houston Rockets rookie guard Jalen Green is now out for the rest of the Summer League schedule, according to reports.
Filipino-American Green, born to an Ilokana mother, had a sore hamstring last week and was to undergo precautionary MRI.
The No. 2 overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft sustained the injury during the second quarter of a Summer League game against the Toronto Raptors on Thursday in Las Vegas.
Green had 13 points and three rebounds before exiting the game.
“I don’t have anything to prove here,” Green said to the Houston Chronicle after the game. “I got to prove it in the NBA, and that’s what I’m going to try to do.”
“I think I proved myself this week. We’re just going to be cautious and get ready for the season, in case it is anything. But it’s just tight. I feel good. I’m sad that I had to leave that game, but I feel good.” — Reuters