Ship Record: Bill is better than Powell in organizing & ball control, Coach Lu, appreciates him very much

Recently, the Clippers' reporter Law Murray wrote an article about why the Clippers chose to believe that Bill's state can rebound after the sun's sluggish state.

The Clippers quickly signed center Brooke Lopez after the free agent market opened, one of the best three-point shooter and blockers in league history. A week later, the Clippers sent shooting guard Powell to the Miami Heat through a three-party trade in exchange for Jazz power forward Collins. To fill the starting vacancy left by Powell's departure, the Clippers signed former Suns shooting guard Bill on a two-year contract after reaching a buyout agreement with the Suns this week.

At least, Frank believes the Clippers now have the strength to win the playoff series for the first time in five years. Thinking about the best, he believes that the team is expected to achieve extraordinary achievements in 2026.

On Saturday after officially signing Bill, Frank said: "Bill had multiple choices at the time, and we are very grateful to have established a team organization that has become an ideal destination now. The Clippers have tried to trade the star twice in the past."

Frank also said: "We have been the second most winning team in the NBA over the past 14 years. Although the championship has always been our goal, it has not yet been achieved. For Bill, the most important thing is the chance to win a major victory. We are very lucky that he chose the Clippers. "

Bill has a player option in 2026, and in the Clippers' expected 10-man rotation, Collins will be a free agent, and five other players (Bill, Lopez, Harden, Bogdan and Batum) hold player or team options, and may become a free agent after the 2025-26 season. There are three Clippers players (Leonard, Derek Jones Jr. and Chris Dunn) who will be free agents in 2027. Only the starting center Zubac (free agent in 2028) has a contract that extends beyond 2027.

Bill, now 32 years old, was selected as the All-Star three times (2018, 2019, 2021) and was selected as the third team of the NBA All-Squad in 2021. At that time, he averaged a career-high 31.3 points per game for the Wizards. Bill became an All-Star for the first time in the 2017-18 season, reaching his peak in 2021. It was also his only season with point guard Westbrook for his Wizards, and the team made it to the playoffs. But the Bills have not been selected as the All-Star in the past four seasons, nor have they won the playoff series again, and during this period they missed 33 games per season.

As the 2012 NBA Draft, the Bill averaged 23.2 points per game in the Wizards' last two seasons, and he has partnered with Dinwiddie (2021-22) and Monte Morris (2022-23). In 2022, Bill signed a five-year, $251 million contract with the Wizards, including a veto.

This contract prompted the Wizards to enter the reconstruction period. In 2023, the team hired former Clippers general manager Michael Wenger as president, and Wenger's management witnessed the end of Bill's 11-year Wizards career. Bill was eventually traded to the Suns, with the deal packages including Chris Paul and multiple first-round draft picks swaps.

In the 2023-24 season, Bill's average score dropped to 18.2 points. This season, the Suns abandoned traditional point guards and instead organized the offense with Booker, Durant and Bill. The Suns won 49 wins in the season, but lost 195 points in the fourth quarter, losing at least 100 more points than other teams in the league. In the first round of the 2024 Western Conference playoffs, the Suns were swept by the Timberwolves.

Bill is the most important addition to the Clippers' offensive end. The Clippers' offensive performance last season was greatly fluctuated: before Leonard's debut on January 4, the team ranked 23rd in the league in offensive efficiency; in the first two months after Leonard's return (January 4 to March 4), the offensive efficiency only increased to 18th, with a record of 13 wins and 14 losses during the period; in the final stage of the regular season (18 wins and 3 losses), the Clippers played the best offensive in the league, and their offensive efficiency was second only to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2025 playoffs.

But the Clippers ranked 23rd in the league in turnover rate last season, with only Trae Young and Cunningham averaging more turnovers than Harden. The Clippers often have to arrange Dunn and Harden to partner in the starting lineup to relieve the latter's defensive pressure. Due to lack of ball possession and organizational ability, Powell is difficult to compete in this role. This combination was effective during the regular season, Dunn's excellent defense was crucial, and Powell focused on scoring.

As the series with the Nuggets deepened, the Nuggets began to shoot unstable shots against Dunn, which eventually led to Dunn being replaced by Derek Jones Jr. in the tiebreak. Harden is frustrated with the team’s space issues in the playoffs. Although Bill's shooting ability is not as good as Powell last season, he is still at an excellent level.

Most importantly, Bill is obviously better in possession and organization than Powell who left the team. Bill averaged 3.7 assists per game (eight-year low), still higher than Powell's best career 2.1 times; he averaged 1.9 turnovers per game (eleven-year low), which was almost the same as Powell's 1.8 times.

Bill will switch from the Suns system that emphasizes ball transfer, pick-and-roll and no-ball running to the Clippers offensive system, which mainly plays singles and has long been at the bottom of the per game pass count. But his ball-holding ability will allow coach Tyron Lue to arrange for him to partner with Harden in the backcourt while enabling a taller player (Jones or Collins) in the frontcourt.

Coach Lu, who is also a Missouri state, said: "It is very rare for players of this level. Bill is an All-Star, competed for scoring, and has also been the team's number one star. You can put him in any position to score: pick-and-roll, cover, catch and shoot. He can create opportunities independently and play without the ball, good at cutting at the empty space, and make his teammates better. "

The Clippers have gained an excellent scoring season from Powell (18.2 points per game), but with Leonard participating in the full game, this performance may be difficult to replicate. Powell's 10 30+ games last season, only one of Leonard participated, and Harden was all partnered.. In the playoffs against the Nuggets, Powell's average score dropped to 16.0 points.

Bills are an efficient ending point (the shooting percentage of 49.7% last season and 38.6% of three-pointers), but their scoring ability has declined: only 30+ last season (Book and Durant both played in the defeat against the Raptors); they played at the same time as Booker and Durant averaged 15.8 points per game; the two absent 16 games averaged 19.9 points per game but did not reach 30+. By comparison, when Harden or Leonard were absent, Powell averaged 24.8 points per game in 33 games, scoring 30+ in 27.2% of the games. Bill only 7 times in 110 games in the Suns, including 0 in 4 playoffs.

Compared to Powell, Bill's biggest regression was reflected in free throws: he averaged only 2.6 free throws per game in the Suns in two seasons (Powell 4.4 last season). According to Second Spectrum, Bill averaged 61 goals per game last season (eight-year low), while Powell averaged only 42.8 games with the Clippers (down to 33.3 after the All-Star game). Bill is expected to get more touch opportunities than Powell, but it will be difficult to reach last season's level. From being a mediocre inside or substitute with Booker, Durant and the Suns, to working with Harden, Leonard and the Clippers in a deep lineup.