It may be time for Lance Stephenson to retire — seeing as how he doesn’t fit in anyone’s system these days.
Yahoo Sports Marc Spears is reporting that the Clippers have gauged trade interest in Josh Smith and Lance Stephenson over the past month.
“There is not much of a market for them,” one NBA executive told Spears. “They are buyout candidates. Maybe Lance goes back to Indiana, you never know. You won’t get back much for them.”
Stephenson can be traded now while Smith is not eligible to be dealt until Dec. 15 after signing as a free agent in the offseason. Two NBA executives told Yahoo Sports that the Clippers would have hard time trading the struggling newcomers who have not fit in well during the team’s slow start.
The Clippers haven’t been as active in trying to move Stephenson and Smith in recent days because of the team’s injuries, another source said.
Said another team’s front-office executive: “They are talented, but when you add people like that it does affect the chemistry of their team. I don’t think they will be traded. It’s a tough thing to do because they didn’t have a lot of takers beforehand.”
Stephenson — who was reportedly hell-bent on proving the doubters wrong — is averaging just 5.3 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 1.7 assists in 18.7 minutes per game.
Smith should just sleep through the games — as he’s averaging 5.5 points per game while shooting an awful 39.8 percent from the field.