Per Real GM’s Keith Smith, an unnamed source believes the LA Clippers players are “too good to just cut”.
Fasten your seat belts gang, we’re going down to the wire.
Today is deadline day, and the LA Clippers must trim their roster down to size by 2:00 PM PDT. Currently overloaded with 19 total players, including two players on two-way contracts, the team must get rid of two full-time NBA players to adhere to league standards.
And the reason I say “get rid of” and not “waive”, is because some insiders, including Real GM’s Keith Smith, believe the LA Clippers are looking to trade its back-end roster players rather than cut them.
For the Clippers, they have several directions they could go. With a glut of PGs, LA has had talks with all of the suddenly PG-needy teams, but hasn't gotten there yet. A source said "Might take this all the way down to Monday's deadline. Their guys are too good to just cut." https://t.co/cerU10LF3d
— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) October 14, 2018
The benefits are clear. In a trade situation, the Clippers would not necessarily have to eat any salary, which is vital in protecting future cap space. And, according to Smith’s source, the Clippers may feel very strongly about the players on the block. It’s easy to forget that there’s a human element in this business as well, and it seems like the organization is attempting to go about this process as respectfully as possible.
As far as who the players in question are, it’s safe to assume that any of the back-end point guards, including Jawun Evans and Milos Teodosic, could be nearing their end with the LA Clippers. Evans only has one year of his contract remaining, as next year’s salary is a club option. Teodosic is due just over $6 million this season, the final of his contract.
Aside from point guards, Sindarius Thornwell and Wesley Johnson are other names that could be shipped out of Los Angeles today, assuming the team finds a trade partner. Thornwell has two fully-guaranteed years remaining on his contract, including this season, worth roughly $3 million. Johnson, like Teodosic, opted-in to the final year of his deal, worth about $6.1 million.
Of course, this also speaks volumes about LA’s depth, something that hasn’t been the norm for too long now. Each of the four aforementioned players had a significant role on last year’s squad, accounting for 97 total starts. However, with recent roster changes, there isn’t much room for any of these players to truly flourish any longer in Los Angeles.
If LA is unable to find a trade partner before this afternoon’s deadline, expect a few cuts to be made.