The Los Angeles Clippers, as an organization, is in good spirits after convincing DeAndre Jordan to come back and re-sign with them on a maximum contract. The Clippers will be going for it all this year as they believe they have the perfect roster to compete for an NBA Championship. Last season, the main problem was depth, but this year that shouldn't be much of a problem after signing guys like Josh Smith and Paul Pierce, and trading for Lance Stephenson. The most recent move made by the Clippers is reportedly bringing in veteran point guard Pablo Prigioni, according to Shams Charania of RealGM.com.
Prigioni's deal is reportedly for the league minimum, and it comes just a few days after he was involved in the trade that sent Ty Lawson to the Houston Rockets. Prigioni was waived by the Denver Nuggets right after they acquired him and just recently cleared waivers.
Prigioni will come in and, likely, be the third-string point guard behind Chris Paul and Austin Rivers. He has proven in the past couple of seasons to be a reliable ball handler, with the ability to knock down the long range shot. He is the second player, along with Smith, the Clippers signed from the Rockets, the team that defeated them in the playoffs last year. Prigioni is a career 40 percent three-point shooter in the NBA and that's where the 38-year-old will be most valuable with the Clippers.
While Prigioni is a solid depth signing for the Clippers, it does come at a pretty hefty price. The team only gave Prigioni the league minimum, but his addition puts the Clippers more than $13 million over the luxury tax threshold and will now have to reportedly pay a tax bill of about $24 million, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com. The luxury tax bill is based on the roster at the end of the season but, as it stands right now, the Clippers would be a taxpaying team. They were likely going to be a taxpaying team regardless of the Prigioni signing, but adding any player at this point increases that bill regardless of how much they're making.
