The Clippers have a realistic opportunity to bring back their 11-man rotation next season, according to Jovan Buha of The Athletic. Many of the decisions will come down to whether the organization wants to make a financial commitment to its current players or explore other options.
L.A. has Bird rights on Montrezl Harrell and can offer him a longer and more valuable contract than anyone else. The Clippers have Non-Bird rights on Marcus Morris, who was acquired from the Knicks last month, and can offer a new deal starting at $18MM per season. JaMychal Green has a $5MM player option, and the team might decide to use part of its mid-level exception to re-sign Reggie Jackson.
Buha adds that the loss of revenue from the shortened season could work in the Clippers’ favor by depressing a free agent market that’s already limited by the small number of teams with cap space. Harrell and Morris may not get the offers they would have under normal circumstances, while Green could decide to stick with his guaranteed money.
There’s more Clippers news to pass along:
- There may be something to the rumors that Doc Rivers would like to add Bulls guard Kris Dunn as a defensive specialist next season, Buha states in the same piece. Dunn will be a restricted free agent if Chicago makes a $4.6MM qualifying offer, and he could be a nice backcourt partner for Lou Williams coming off the bench. The downsides are Dunn’s poor 3-point shooting — 25.9% this year — and his season-ending knee injury.
- Speculation regarding Tyronn Lue as the next head coach of the Nets has died down while the league has been on hiatus, but Buha understands why Brooklyn would be interested. During his time in Cleveland, Lue proved he could win a title and he developed a strong relationship with Kyrie Irving. Buha identifies two other members of Rivers’ staff, Rex Kalamian and Sam Cassell, who might get head coaching offers soon.
- The Clippers may benefit as much as anyone from having several weeks off, Buha suggests in a separate column. They are among the league’s oldest teams and injuries have been a concern, particularly for Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and Patrick Beverley. New additions Morris and Jackson will also get more time to learn Rivers’ system.
Load management in any form is pathetic,
So very true, players have 4-6 months to rest every year, bet no one gets holidays that long, also are looked after by great medical teams, when you get paid $600K a week, surely you can play 3 games!
I absolutely hate load management, if healthy a player must play, end of story!
It wasn’t that long ago that NBA teams such as San Antonio were fined if star players were held out of some road games, depriving home team fans the chance to see players for which they specifically bought tickets. Now load management is ok? What a load of crap!
Everyone knows Lue (“Lue Hefner” on bbref) has his ring because of Lebron, but it’s a little surprising no one else has given him another head coaching job yet. Luke Walton (“Little Wheats” on bbref) was coveted right away after “leading” Warriors to a 39-4 (!) record and has been ever since.
Clippers have 113M guaranteed next season. I don’t think they can find replacements with their cap situation.
If Green opts in for that $5mil, it’s time to investigate the Clips again.