The last two times Spencer Hawes switched teams in the NBA, little impact, if any, was felt within the Eastern Conference.
The Philadelphia 76ers remained an easy first-round target for the eventual champion Miami Heat in 2011 after Hawes came over from the Sacramento Kings. The Cleveland Cavaliers, meanwhile, didn’t make the postseason at all after acquiring him late in the 2013-2014 campaign.
Cleveland lost its first three games with the new addition, followed by two losing streaks of four and a pair of back-to-back defeats near season’s end. Hawes wasn’t directly responsible. But he certainly wasn’t the missing piece toward making the playoffs either.
So now that the 7’0” smooth-shooting center finds himself on the Los Angeles Clippers, what changes are afoot in the Western Conference?
Will a similar non-impact result? Or will he propel LAC all the way into the top two—the West’s upper echelon currently occupied by the San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder?
Let’s opt for a definitive “no” to the former and a tentative “we’ll see” to the latter.
That said, Hawes will bolster the Clippers. And his signing will leave considerable holes on the three other teams that pursued him.
The former University of Washington product gives Los Angeles a frontline asset it simply didn’t have last season. He provides his new squad with an offensive weapon at center and a legitimate backup behind defensive powerhouse DeAndre Jordan.
Hawes averaged 13.2 points, shot an incredible 41.6 percent from downtown and dished out 3.0 assists per game last year. And for a supposedly “soft” big man, he managed a respectable 8.3 rebounds and 1.2 blocks.
Yet with his complementary inside-out skill set, Hawes could play alongside or in place of Jordan.
With Jordan anchoring the paint on both ends, he could help spread the floor with another marksman in Doc Rivers’ offense, while also providing enough defense against opposing shooters on the wing. And with No. 6 off the court, he would fill the void in an effective reserve fashion, not to mention serving a big man capable of hitting free throws down the stretch (78.4 percent in 2013-2014).
Now, if the Clippers improved, which trio of Western foes will now suffer without the services of the eight-year vet?
Reputable scribe Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports reports that both the Portland Trail Blazers and Phoenix Suns presented serious offers to Hawes.
Portland ended up signing Chris Kaman for the backup spot behind Robin Lopez. But Kaman lacks any semblance of an outside shot and Hawes is a far superior overall player. The Suns, for their part, already lost their own stretch big man when Channing Frye signed with the Orlando Magic. Losing out on two key free agents really hurts a club that was just inches away from a playoff berth last season.
Finally, the Golden State Warriors are now 0-for-3 on landing three-point shooting bigs: no Kevin Love, no Frye and no Hawes. Similar to his impending role in LA, he would have protected Andrew Bogut during the regular season and given Golden State an offensive option at center.
One way or another, Hawes makes a stacked Clippers squad just that much better in a loaded Western Conference.
While they’re not quite San Antonio quality just yet, Oklahoma City has been put on notice. The No. 2 spot out west is very much up for grabs.
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