With the trade deadline less than six days away, the Los Angeles Clippers and the Portland Trail Blazers worked out a five-player swap with the Clippers acquiring swingman Norman Powell and Robert Covington in exchange for Eric Bledsoe, Keon Johnson, Justise Winslow, and a second-round draft pick.
Powell averages 18.7 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 2.1 assists as the starting small forward for the Trail Blazers this season. He’s shooting 40.6% from 3-point range.
| NBA TRADE: CLIPPERS & BLAZERS |
| LA Clippers Get: | Portland Trail Blazers Get: |
| Norman Powell (SG/SF) | Eric Bledsoe (PG) |
| Robert Covington (PF) | Keon Johnson (SG) |
| Justise Winslow (PF) | |
| 2025 2nd Round Draft Pick |
The LA Clippers are 27-27 and currently occupy the #8 seed in the Western Conference playoffs. The Portland Trail Blazers are 21-31 and hold down the #10 seed with the LA Lakers sandwiched in between themselves and the Clippers.
The Blazers are 20.5 games behind the to-seeded Phoenix Suns, but trail the Clippers by five games.
The Clippers are +4000 odds to win the 2022 NBA championship according to the Westgate SuperBook in Las Vegas. The Trail Blazers are long shots at +50000 odds.
Rip City: More Deals to Come?
The Portland Trail Blazers were rumored to dump one or both of their star backcourt players prior to the trade deadline. However, Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum are both still with the team… for now.
Lillard is out for at least another month or two while he recovers from core stomach surgery. McCollum recently returned to action after missing several weeks with a collapsed lung.
The Trail Blazers dealt Powell to get under the luxury tax threshold and ditch his hefty contract. Powell signed a five-year deal worth $90 million with Portland in the offseason. He still has $75 million remaining over the next four years.
Powell won an NBA championship as the Sixth Man with the 2019 Toronto Raptors, but he signed with Portland in the offseason. He played his collegiate ball at UCLA and grew up in San Diego, so he gets to return home to Southern California after 5-plus seasons north of the border and two half-seasons with the Portland Trail Blazers.
The Raptors traded Powell to the Trail Blazers last year at the deadline in exchange for Rodney Hood and Gary Trent Jr. Powell signed a contract extension in the offseason to remain in Portland, but it seems like the Trail Blazers are ready to reboot the team after trading two starters.
Covington started at power forward for the Trail Blazers and he averaged 7.6 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 1.4 assists per game.
Will McCollum or Lillard remain in Rip City? Or will either of them be the next player to depart the Pacific Northwest?
Clippers Score Powell for a Steal
The Clippers added Powell to provide a scoring presence with their top two stars sidelined with injuries. Kawhi Leonard said his rehab from ACL surgery is ahead of schedule, but he’s still a long shot to return before the end of the season. Paul George’s future is still unknown. He has an elbow injury that the Clippers hope will heal without surgery, but he’s expected to miss at least another month of action.
Powell and Kawhi will be reunited. The former teammates with the Raptors won a championship in Toronto together back in the 2018-19 season.
The Clippers gave up Bledsoe and two guys that were buried deep on their bench. Bledsoe started 29 games for the Clippers this season averaging 9.9 points and 4.2 assists per game.
Power forward Justise Winslow averaged 4.2 points and 3.6 rebounds per game in just 13 minutes of action per game with the Clippers this season.
Keon Johnson is a rookie out of Tennessee who appeared in only 15 games this season averaging 3.5 points in limited action.
The Clippers added a second-round pick (via the Detroit Pistons) in the 2025 NBA Draft to complete the Powell trade with the Blazers.