Bulls at Clippers
The Los Angeles Clippers and the Chicago Bulls are two of the more active teams ahead of the trade deadline, and both appear to be setting themselves up for the future. The Clippers will be trying to earn their first win since trading away Blake Griffin when they host the Bulls on Saturday.
Los Angeles made the first big splash of the NBA's trading season by shipping Griffin to the Detroit Pistons for a package that included small forward Tobias Harris, shooting guard Avery Bradley and a pair of draft picks. Harris and Bradley are expected to make their team debuts on Saturday after watching their new club drop a 104-96 decision at home to the Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday. Chicago took off when Nikola Mirotic returned to the lineup on Dec. 8, winning 15 of their next 23 games before going into a recent slide, but Mirotic never backed off a trade request and the team shipped him to New Orleans on Thursday. "We've got to look long term," Chicago vice president John Paxson told reporters. "As we mapped out what Niko would be looking for financially, especially going out (after next season), that wasn't a part of our timeline. We now have a situation where we're invested in these young guys. Our focus remains on growth and development of them. This is consistent with what we set out to do on draft night."
TV: 3:30 p.m. ET, NBCS Chicago, FS Prime Ticket (Los Angeles)
ABOUT THE BULLS (18-33): Mirotic's days were numbered in Chicago when he came out of a preseason altercation with teammate Bobby Portis with facial fractures and had to miss the first six weeks of the regular season. "What I'll tell you is that Niko's representatives were consistent over the last several months that they wanted him moved," Paxson told reporters. "They never backed off that stance one bit. I'm sure that given everything we heard throughout this entire process this satisfies what he wanted. More than that, it satisfies what we wanted to get out of it in moving him. It fits our timeline. It fits the direction we're going." That direction is a turn toward youth, and none of the three players acquired from New Orleans -- center Omer Asik and guards Tony Allen and Jameer Nelson -- figure into the team's long-term plans.
ABOUT THE CLIPPERS (25-25): The Griffin trade reunites Los Angeles coach Doc Rivers with Bradley, who played for the Boston Celtics while Rivers was the coach from 2010-2013. "I was a little shocked, but at the same time I was excited," Bradley said, mentioning in particular Rivers. "I knew I was going to get the opportunity to not only play for a great organization, but having the chance to play for Doc again. I thought it would be a great opportunity for me. I'm excited about this chance and excited to get out there on the floor." Harris and Bradley are both expected to start on Saturday while center Boban Marjanovic will come off the bench.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Clippers C DeAndre Jordan grabbed 19 rebounds in each of the last two games.
2. Bulls PG Kris Dunn (concussion) sat out the last six games and is not expected to join the team on the west coast.
3. Los Angeles took both meetings last season and three straight in the series.