Duke basketball standout with big shoes to fill after new contract

A former Duke basketball champion has big shoes to fill after his latest contract agreement. 

It has been a rough two seasons for former Duke basketball champion Justise Winslow, but he now has a chance to prove himself in the NBA once again.

The often-injured Winslow is out to the West Coast as he signed a free-agent contract with the Los Angeles Clippers last week, according to multiple reports.

The deal is for two years and worth a fully guaranteed $8 million.

Justise Winslow has only played in a total of 37 games over the past two seasons with the Miami Heat and Memphis Grizzlies, due to a slew of injuries but most notably a season-ending hip injury that he suffered in last season’s Orlando bubble.

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However, assuming Winslow is able to get healthy in the offseason, he could be relied on heavily to fill the massive hole left by Clippers superstar Kawhi Leonard.

Leonard suffered a partial ACL tear in the second round of the playoffs against the Utah Jazz, which has put his availability in question for the 2021-22 regular season.

Duke basketball championship trio quickly separated

It was a short stay in Durham for the trio of Justise Winslow, Tyus Jones, and Grayson Allen, and it was equally as short of a stay in Memphis for the group of players.

Jones is the only player left with the Grizzlies with Winslow on his way to Los Angeles and Allen being traded to the NBA Champion Milwaukee Bucks this offseason.

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Memphis and Los Angeles have been busy this offseason with their most recent trade that sent Patrick Beverley, Rajon Rondo, and Daniel Oturu to the Grizzlies and Eric Bledsoe to the Clippers.

The Grizzlies then quickly shipped Beverley to the Minnesota Timberwolves in exchange for Jarrett Culver and forward Juancho Hernangomez.