Clippers Free Agency Preview: Everything you need to know

As 2016 NBA free agency gradually approaches and the Los Angeles Clippers consider their options, here’s a preview of everything you need to know about the team’s salary cap and contract situation.

The problems and questions weighing down the Los Angeles Clippers didn’t come to an end with their elimination from the 2016 NBA playoffs. In fact, that couldn’t be much further from the truth. As their hopes to win another championship were instantly crushed with the injuries to Chris Paul and Blake Griffin, their elimination by the Portland Trail Blazers that soon followed meant their focus now shifts to what could be a pivotal offseason in deciding the future of the franchise.

Trade Paul for Kyrie Irving? Trade Griffin for Carmelo Anthony or Kevin Durant? Plenty of outlandish ideas have been thrown around for some time now, all posing ‘cures’ to the Clippers curse of always coming up short in the playoffs.

They all provide so-called ‘cures’, but except for the low possibility of picking up Durant, none are realistic and none suddenly make the Clippers contenders. None should be seriously entertained for the time being and Paul in particular, as the team’s undisputed MVP and two-way leader, should not be dealt anywhere.

The question of whether or not the Big 3 of Paul, Griffin and DeAndre Jordan is ending won’t blow over, at least until free agency passes and the theorizing of NBA fans can die down until the trade deadline approaches. For the Clippers, their star trio is the fundamental base of the franchise, unsurprisingly prompting Doc Rivers to address the fact that he wants to bring back as many players as possible this offseason.

So, in preparation for 2016 free agency, here are the Clippers’ free agents and an overview of the team’s cap situation ahead of 2016-17, highlighting just how strapped the team is for spare cash right now (all financial information via Basketball Insiders).

First, the guaranteed money:

• Chris Paul — 2016-17 salary: $22.86 million

• DeAndre Jordan — 2016-17 salary: $21.16 million

• Blake Griffin — 2016-17 salary: $20.14 million

• J.J. Redick — 2016-17 salary: $7.37 million

• Paul Pierce — 2016-17 salary: $3.52 million (he’s also ’50/50′ to retire)

• C.J. Wilcox — 2016-17 salary: $1.2 million

• Carlos Delfino — owed $650,000 after release due to stretch provision

• Jordan Farmar — owed $510,921 after buyout due to stretch provision

• Miroslav Raduljica — owed $252,043 after release due to stretch provision

Non-guaranteed money:

• Branden Dawson — 2016-17 salary $874,636

The free agents:

• Jeff Green — current salary: $9.2 million

• Jamal Crawford — current salary: $5.67 million

• Luc Mbah a Moute — current salary: $1.27 million

• Pablo Prigioni — current salary: $980,348

• Jeff Ayres — current salary: $251,890

Those with player options for 2016-17:

• Austin Rivers — possible 2016-17 salary: $3.34 million

• Wesley Johnson — possible 2016-17 salary: $1.22 million

• Cole Aldrich — possible 2016-17 salary: $1.22 million

Final cap holds:

• Glen Davis — $980,431

• Hedo Turkoglu — $980,431

• Ekpe Udoh — $980,431

Essentially, the Clippers have free agents galore and $64.16 million of their cap space accounted for by the max contracts of the Big 3 alone. With such superstar money and other salary hits in mind, the team’s total cap projection for 2016-17 comes to $92 million, clearly leaving them with little leeway to make many changes.

As cap guru Eric Pincus has pointed out, this leaves them in a highly difficult situation to compete with offers from other teams to sign new players if they lose some of their current guys to get under the cap limit.

As the offseason for the Clippers has already begun, we’ll continue to breakdown all aspects of the team, from their individual performances in 2015-16 to analyzing the importance of key free agents and who should be targeted in the draft.

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This summer has been projected by many as one that could see blockbuster changes for the Clippers. But until those unlikely days come if Doc stays true to his word of keeping the core in tact (as he likely will), it looks as though this team will be almost the same again next season.

And as Doc said himself to Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times, “they [the free agents] all want to come back, but they’ve all played well and so they’ve all made it more difficult.” With a rising salary cap and important players like Rivers and Aldrich impressing this season, bringing everyone back may not necessarily be feasible.

Next: Clippers cannot afford to lose Cole Aldrich in free agency

While other teams may reap the rewards of having a ton of cap space as the limit rises to around $90 million, the Clippers will need to tweak their bench accordingly and use negotiations and contract exceptions as wisely as possible to hold onto their key backups. And as long as the core stays together, their window to contend in the playoffs is still well and truly open.

The glaring issue, though, is just how little cap flexibility they have to make improvements.