4 most underpaid Clippers players on next season's roster

The LA Clippers' first season at Intuit Dome will be their first since Kawhi Leonard arrived in town that Paul George will not also be part of the equation. With number 13 in Philadelphia, the Clippers' task of making it back to the playoffs as a top-six seed will be a tall one, especially considering how strong thr Western Conference looks to be yet again.

But Lawrence Frank and the rest of Clippers management were far from unprepared for George's departure, as they immediately made compensatory moves following his free agency decision to improve their roster and stay in the playoff race. Now, we will see how this group fares against a challenging and deep West.

Of course, every roster in the league has players that most would consider to be both over and under-paid. After making multiple new signings this summer, the Clippers have several players who will be earning a salary below what they are actually worth. These four guys represent the most underpaid players for the Clippers in 2024-25.

Ivica Zubac

We have discussed multiple times how Ivica Zubac's stellar play has to make the Clippers think hard about coming up with an extension for him sooner rather than later. Zubac will be earning $11.7 million this coming season, and is set to become an unrestricted free agent in the 2025 offseason.

The thing is, his career season this past year means he should be getting paid much more than a middle-of-the-road $11 million. Zubac's 11.7 points and 9.2 rebounds on extremely high efficiency and while remaining consistently available to play should put him in the category of one of the better-paid big men in the league.

Derrick Jones Jr.

The former Mavericks wing will come into the 2024-25 season earning $9.5 million in the first season of his three-year deal he just signed with the Clippers. But if we look at what Derrick Jones Jr. just finished accomplishing in Dallas, it becomes clear that number is far too low.

Derrick had what was without question the best season of his eight-year career. His career-high 8.6 points while playing the most minutes of any of his professional seasons do not begin to tell the story of what he brought to the Mavs as a high-level role player. You can chalk his performance up to playing with Luka Doncic, but DJJ earned more than he's being paid.

Kris Dunn

In a way, Kris Dunn represents an even more extreme version of what Derrick Jones Jr. has become. Derrick was mostly cast aside as a less-than-useful piece in this league a few years ago before obviously making his resurgence, but the level that Dunn was discarded by the NBA exceeded even that.

A top-five pick in the 2016 draft out of Providence, there were extremely high expectations for Kris. When he did not immediately reach them, he was given scarce chances across the league and was even playing in the G League just two seasons ago. Now, he has proven himself as a capable defensive-minded guard once again. That makes his $5.1 million salary seem a bit low.

Kevin Porter Jr.

The time that Kevin Porter Jr. spent away from the NBA was due to personal mistakes. The Clippers' front office looked into his entire situation and opted to take a chance on Porter, signing him to a veteran minimum $2.2 million deal.

Before his controversial situation occurred, Kevin was earning north of $15 million per year while playing for the Rockets. What that means is that if KPJ ends up producing at anything resembling the level he was playing at before, the Clippers truly pulled off a steal with his contract.