P.J. Tucker didn't get traded by Clippers and remains frustrated about it
The last time Tyronn Lue pointed at P.J. Tucker and told him to get into a game was Nov. 27th, the Clippers' 15th game of the season. The Clippers struggled with him on the court and Lue, looking for rotations that worked, went away from him and never looked back.
A frustrated Tucker hoped to be traded to a playoff team that could use him at the trade deadline, but no deal materialized. With Tucker under contract for $11.5 million next season, no buyout was coming either. That left Tucker in no-man's land. He (and guard Bones Hyland) are away from the team right now and will return after the All-Star break, reportedly after Tucker had a heated meeting with Lue and the Clippers front office.
Tucker is frustrated because this is not a situation he asked to be in (he was salary ballast in the James Harden trade) and expressed that to Tomer Azarly of clutchpoints.com. He said he shouldn't have to endure this sitting when he wants to play somewhere.
"No, not necessarily because I feel like I shouldn't have to go through this," Tucker told ClutchPoints regarding his status with the Clippers. "I didn't ask to be here. I didn't ask for and I didn't demand a trade to be here.”
In regards to Tucker being on the move, he made it very clear when asked if he ever requested a trade from Philly:
"No," Tucker adamantly responded. "So, I don't feel like it's something I have to deal with. I don't look at it as one of those things. When I was younger, struggling to play or trying to figure it out. I figured it out, I mastered my craft, and what I bring to teams. So, it's something I got to deal with, yeah, but it is what it is.”
There is no short-term answer. Tucker will be with the Clippers through the end of the season and it's hard to envision him getting back into the rotation. Maybe this summer the Clippers can trade him (possibly part of a larger deal again), when he is an expiring contract and a buyout makes more sense to a team acquiring him.
For now, Tucker is a Clipper and will be watching games from some of the best seats in the house, but that's a bitter pill for an NBA champion and 12-year veteran.
