It was already covered last night that the Utah Jazz trading John Collins to the Los Angeles Clippers effectively sent them into a tailspin. From the looks of things, the Clippers appear past the point of no return. For what it's worth, the Jazz never intended that to happen, and, given the situation, the irony is that Utah has been helping the Clippers over the past few years.
This started with the Kris Dunn trade from 2024. After Dunn found himself in the NBA, the Jazz did the Clippers two favors. One: they gave them a 3&D guard at below-market value. Two: they helped the Clippers get rid of Russell Westbrook in the process, which is what they wanted to do in the first place.
They helped them again when they helped the Clippers offload PJ Tucker at the trade deadline back in February, while also giving them better depth with Drew Eubanks and Patty Mills just in time for their upcoming playoff run. The Jazz did another solid by killing two birds with one stone for LA. Again.
And then, of course, the Collins trade. In what was basically a "Here, take him" deal, the Jazz helped the Clippers' frontcourt depth immensely, something they've desperately needed since the beginning of the Kawhi Leonard era. While it's too little, too late, trading Norman Powell appears to have been the death blow to the Kawhi era in Hollywood.
If anything, the Jazz were doing everything in their power to keep the Clippers relevant (if you know their pick situation this season, it would make sense), but now the Clippers are in a prime position to not only give Oklahoma City a top pick, but potentially force Utah to do the same.
The irony gets even crueler...
The Clippers have a myriad of problems. They were already on thin ice even before the Collins trade because, even as good as Kawhi still is when he's on the floor, he hasn't proven to be consistently dependable since his miracle playoff run up north which was six (getting on seven) years ago.
If anything, swapping Powell, an excellent placeholder for Leonard, was the straw that broke the camel's back. However, the Jazz being the ones that put an end to this era for LA is cruelly ironic because it was the Clippers themselves who ended the vaunted Donovan Mitchell-Rudy Gobert era back in 2021.
Funny enough, as good as that Jazz team was, they too weren't on solid ground when that happened despite how fantastic that season went for them. The Clippers eradicated all hope when they beat them in the Western Conference Semifinals.
Even though the Jazz ran it back the next season, the writing was on the wall. Plus, there's no telling fi that would have been the case if Utah had come up victorious in that series.
The Jazz may not have wanted to do this to the Clippers, but at times like these, it's like the old cliche saying goes. What goes around comes around.