To start the 2023-24 season, veteran P.J. Tucker was with the 76ers. Philadelphia made a trade early on in the 2024 season with the Clippers and acquired James Harden. Tucker was part of that deal. The 38-year-old quickly fell out of the rotation for LA and has not played since November 27th.
That’s left Tucker incredibly frustrated knowing that he is healthy and just not seeing any playing time. There were reports that Tucker wanted to be traded from the Clippers ahead of the deadline. He’s been feeling this way for months. Yet, a deal never happened. Shams Charanoa of The Athletic reported that Tucker will not be with the team on Wednesday vs. the Warriors. Tucker will rejoin the team after the all-star break in an effort to “reset” his mindset.
Will P.J. Tucker see more playing time for the Clippers after the all-star break?
“PJ Tucker is now away from the Clippers, it’s expected that he’s going to rejoin the team after the All Star break, sources tell me. But this has been months of frustrations, three months he has not played in a single game.”@ShamsCharania with the latest on PJ Tucker.
📺:… pic.twitter.com/YaUMPmNM3c
— Run It Back (@RunItBackFDTV) February 14, 2024
P.J. Tucker has every right to be frustrated with his playing time over the last two and a half months. The 38-year-old has not seen playing time since November 27th. He’s been on the bench for the last 36 games in a row. Hence the reason why Tucker wanted to be traded at the deadline. However, he’s making $11 million this season and has a $11.5 million player option in 2024-25. That’s made him undesirable to trade for.
Shams Charania reported that the Clippers and P.J. Tucker had a “much-needed” discussion about Tucker getting back into the rotation. He’s not asking for much. After their game tonight, he’ll have missed 37 games in a row for the Clippers. Tucker has only played in 12 games for LA this entire season. One could argue that he hasn’t got a fair chance. However, the team has been incredibly successful since benching Tucker permanently. They are 28-8 since he last saw playing time.
PJ Tucker will be away from the Clippers until after the All-Star break to reset his mindset, per @ShamsCharania
Tucker had been frustrated with his role since joining the team and wanted to be traded… pic.twitter.com/eqDX07QBPC
— NBA Retweet (@RTNBA) February 14, 2024
The veteran was reportedly sent home two players ahead of the all-star break. An interesting and telling move by the Clippers with just one game before the all-star break. Bones Hyland joined P.J. Tucker and will not play on Wednesday vs. the Warriors. There are no details as to how much playing time if any that Tucker will get after the all-star break. His teammate James Harden said Tucker needs to lock in and hopefully, that can get him back into the rotation.
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