With Kawhi Leonard out most, if not all, of next season following ACL surgery, there are minutes to be had on the wing.
Enter Justise Winslow. The free agent wing will sign a two-year contract with the Clippers, a story broken by Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN and since confirmed by others.
Free agent G/F Justise Winslow has agreed on a two-year deal with the Los Angeles Clippers, his agents Austin Brown and Erika Ruiz of @CAA_Basketball tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) August 6, 2021
This is a low-risk flier by the Clippers, possibly for the taxpayer mid-level exception of $5.9 million (and there is a good chance the second season is only partially-guaranteed or a team option, the details have yet to be reported out).
Winslow does some things well: He’s very athletic, has good handles, can be a secondary shot creator attacking the paint, and is a good defender. All things the Clippers need with Leonard out. The problem is Winslow is not a good shooter, hitting 18.5% from 3 last season and not knocking down much of anything outside 10 feet. That’s why the Grizzlies chose not to pick up his $13 million option for this season.
For the Clippers, this is a good roll of the dice. If Winslow can fill in some of what Leonard brought, it makes the Clippers that much better while they wait for Kawhi’s return. For Winslow, he goes to a winning organization and gets an opportunity — he can’t ask for more than that.
