It was announced by Shams Charania of The Athletic that LA Clippers backup center Mason Plumlee is expected to miss around two months with the MCL sprain he suffered in LA’s loss to the New York Knicks. Charania added that the Clippers have shown interest in acquiring veteran center Daniel Theis from the Indiana Pacers in Plumlee’s absence.
Theis has not appeared in a game yet this season, but did play seven games for the Pacers last year after being acquired from the Boston Celtics in the Malcolm Brogdon trade. Spending parts of five seasons with the Celtics, Theis appeared in 257 games for Boston, 112 of which came as a starter.
Beause Theis has played so little over the last year, it’s hard to know how much he can contribute at this stage of his career, but he’s reportedly on LA’s radar as a potential option in Plumlee’s absence. Whether it’s Theis or someone else, the Clippers will almost certainly sign another big man, since they currently do not have another one outside of Ivica Zubac on a standard contract.
PJ Tucker, who came to LA in the James Harden trade, has been seeing backup minutes the last two games; however, that isn’t a sustainable longterm option for LA. It will be interesting to see how they address this, and how long they’re willing to wait.