The Clippers have an agreement with undrafted center Yanick Moreira for training camp, as Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia first reported and as Fiba.com confirms. Moreira said last week during a press conference in his native Angola that he wouldn’t play for the national team this summer, and Angola’s coach indicated that his decision came because of the opportunity to play in the NBA, as Fiba.com details. It’s a partially guaranteed arrangement, according to Carchia, and it has to be for the minimum salary, since that’s all the Clippers have to give.
Moreira, who attended SMU, was the 95th-best prospect in this year’s draft class, as Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress ranked them, but he was unranked on Chad Ford’s ESPN Insider listings. The Clippers weren’t among a group of teams reported to have worked him out prior to the draft, one that was composed of the Celtics, Jazz, Suns and Nets, but he was a starter on the Clippers summer league team, averaging 9.6 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.2 blocks in 25.1 minutes per game.
The Clippers have a fairly uncluttered roster, with 13 full guarantees and Jordan Hamilton‘s non-guaranteed salary. That would seemingly give Moreira, who turns 24 this week, a better shot than most camp invitees to make it to opening night, though the team will surely make other signings between now and the start of camp.
Do you think Moreira will see regular season action in the NBA at some point, either with the Clippers or some other team? Leave a comment to let us know.
It’s doubtful that the Clippers are thinking of Moreira as a guy who’s going to make the 15-man roster. He’ll have to really open some eyes in camp to make it happen.