The Clippers just acquired Norman Powell and Robert Covington, but they are still reportedly looking for a point guard.  Meanwhile, Luke Kennard is probably going to lose some time to the new acquisitions.

Clippers get:
Josh Richardson
Dennis Schroder

Celtics get:
Luke Kennard

This gives the Clippers a "playmaking PG", which they supposedly want.  Meanwhile, Richardson is a two-way wing who might be a better fit with Powell going forward than Kennard would be, and is under contract next year for when Kawhi and George return.  For the Celtics, they get the sniper they need to knock down the volume of open looks that Brown and Tatum can create.  The deal saves a little money for the C's this year, and a little for the Clippers next year, so it's a relative wash financially.  The Clippers have an open roster spot, so there's no friction with the 2-for-1 players.

Yeah, I didn't want to be the first with a negative reaction but what I see is trading two useful players for one player that is not as useful as either, while losing future flexibility due to a longer contract.

I get the attraction to Kennard's 3pt shooting percentage but this does not seem like a good trade at all.  If the point is to save money this year (the trade would save us about $4M) there would seem to be better ways to get under the tax line.