The Clippers and P.J. Tucker have mutually agreed that the veteran forward will remain away from the team indefinitely, per Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).
According to Marc J. Spears of Andscape (via Twitter), L.A. is working with Tucker’s agent to try find a new situation for the former NBA champ.
“We’ve had ongoing conversations with P.J. throughout the offseason and have both decided that he won’t be with the team for the time being,” the Clippers said in a statement, first shared by Spears. “P.J. is a pro who has achieved a lot in his career and there’s more he wants to accomplish. We will continue working with P.J. and his representative to find the best situation for him moving forward.”
It sounds like the two sides will try to find a trade involving Tucker’s expiring $11.54MM contract, but given his recent production, a buyout may be the inevitable fix.
As Law Murray of The Athletic notes (via Twitter), Tucker – who was a healthy scratch during the Clippers’ Saturday preseason bout against the Warriors – was the lone L.A. player to not attend the team’s media day festivities last Monday.
The 6’5″ combo forward had an effective run as a venerated 3-and-D role player on playoff teams in Houston, Miami and Milwaukee. Tucker won his lone NBA championship to date as a member of the Bucks in 2021 — a trade deadline addition that year, he came off the bench down the stretch for Milwaukee, then was elevated to the starting lineup during the team’s postseason title run.
The Texas alum was traded to the Clippers from the Sixers early in the 2023/24 season as part of the deal that also landed James Harden in Los Angeles. Tucker subsequently had his least productive season since his rookie year in 2006/07, serving as a fringe rotation player in L.A. and appearing in just 28 games for the team, including none for nearly three months from late November to late February.
Tucker, 39, averaged a career-worst 1.7 points per game in 31 total appearances for the Sixers and Clippers, adding 2.7 rebounds, 0.5 assists, and 0.5 steals in 15.7 minutes per contest. However, as a deep-bench piece on a more favorable contract, the aging pro could still add value to a contending franchise as a versatile frontcourt defender.
Even during his most prolific offensive season, 2013/14 with the Suns, Tucker averaged a fairly modest 9.4 points on .431/.387/.776 shooting, along with 6.5 boards, 1.7 assists and 1.4 steals per game. He finished 12th in Defensive Player of the Year voting that season.
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