The Los Angeles Clippers, exactly one week after finding out they had lost their face of the franchise, have rebounded with a significant trade acquisition.
The Clippers on Tuesday agreed to terms on a deal with the Denver Nuggets to acquire center Marcus Camby as their replacement for Elton Brand, according to NBA front-office sources.
Sources told ESPN.com that the Clippers will only have to surrender a future second-round pick to acquire Camby, who is being jettisoned into the Clippers’ salary-cap space vacated by Brand to generate payroll relief for the Nuggets.
A trade call with the league to approve the deal has been completed, sources said, clearing the way for the teams to announce the swap later Tuesday.
Camby, 34, is coming off a productive season in which he averaged 9.1 points, 13.1 rebounds and 3.61 blocks for the Nuggets, who won 50 games to claim the final playoff spot in what is regarded as the most competitive conference race in league history.
But the Nuggets have yet to advance out of the first round with their Allen Iverson-Carmelo Anthony-Camby core and, according to sources, opted to shed the remaining two years on Camby’s contract (worth nearly $15 million) to create the flexibility that could allow for more changes.
The Nuggets had the league’s fourth-highest payroll last season and are required to pay $13,572,079 in luxury taxes for last season by July 23.
Credit: ESPN
