LA Clippers: Understanding the team’s cap this offseason

Here’s what you need to know about the LA Clippers salary cap this offseason.

When the offseason rolls around, everyone and their mother is quick to offer their opinion on what their team should do. They should make a package for X star. They should sign Y player for Z amount. We are all responsible. While that’s good and fun, it’s always nice to know exactly what is in the realm of possibility. For the LA Clippers, it’s a bit complicated.

Before we fully dive in, please understand I’m not a salary cap expert by any means. All of my knowledge comes from various sites and podcasts and if you want a truly comprehensive breakdown of the CBA and how every aspect of it works, take a look at Larry Coon’s CBA FAQ site. It has everything.

Current LA Clippers’ Salaries

First, let’s look at the team’s committed money. These are all the players currently under contract through the 2021 season.

• Paul George: $35,450,412
• Kawhi Leonard: $34,379,100
• Patrick Beverley: $13,333,333
• Lou Williams: $8,000,000
• Ivica Zubac: $7,000,000
• Rodney McGruder: $5,192,307
• Landry Shamet:$2,090,040
• Mfiondu Kabengele: $2,075,880
• Joakim Noah: $1,737,274 (non-guaranteed)
• Terance Mann: $1,517,981

There’s also one other player who has a player option which as of now, counts towards the cap figure. Should he opt out, that figure will obviously not count towards the cap.

• JaMychal Green: $5,005,350

These figures combined brings the team’s current salary cap allocation to $115,781,677. The projected salary cap this season is $109,140,000. In short, the Clippers are already above the cap before free agency even starts. Even if they don’t guarantee Noah’s deal and JaMychal Green opts out, they are right up against the cap. This doesn’t leave them a ton of wiggle room in the free agency market since they can only sign players using exceptions (more on that later) or veteran minimum contracts.

This is where re-signing players becomes important.