The Clippers made a series of moves today, with the most important being that they picked up Brook Lopez’s team option for $9.187M, declined Bogdan Bogdanovic’s team option for $16.02M, and declined Nic Batum’s team option of $5.881M. They also declined Jordan Miller and Kobe Sanders’ team options, but extended them qualifying offers to make them restricted free agents, and extended a qualifying offer to Bennedict Mathurin as well.
This is not quite Kawhi Leonard trade shakeups, but these are important moves. Brook Lopez is back, and while I’m not excited to watch him again next year, the center free agent class this summer was awful and he’s a known positive in the locker room. It’s fine that he stays, even if it’s just to keep the seat warm for Yanic Konan Niederhauser as Yanic recovers from his Lisfranc surgery. Ultimately, this is fine, even if he will be overtaxed again as a starter if the Clippers don’t get someone above him on the depth chart in free agency.
Bogdanovic was always going to be gone this summer, the question was via trade or free agency. The Clippers clearly could not find a team for Bogi, so free agency it is. It’s an unceremonious end to Bogi’s Clippers tenure, which is sad considering the initial promise he showed upon his acquisition in 2025, and how fun he can be when he’s rolling. I’ll be wishing him the best of luck moving forward, with the Nuggets being an early favorite for his services to pair him with fellow countryman Nikola Jokic.
Nico is the most interesting of the three. It’s been assumed and more or less reported that Nico does not want to play anywhere else in the NBA but for the Clippers. Thus, declining his deal, to me, does not mean Nico won’t return, it’s just that he will probably come back on a veteran’s minimum as an end-of-bench locker room leader. It is possible he retires (it’s been rumored before) or goes to another team, but as of now I’d still expect him to be back.
For Miller and Sanders, all of the reporting is that the Clippers want to sign them to multi-year deals. Since they are both restricted free agents, I’d imagine both are back on the team next year on reasonable deals, though I have no idea what the market for either is.
The last piece of news that came out today was Bradley Beal declining his $5.6M player option. This came as a bit of a surprise, as Beal missed almost the entire season, is on the wrong side of 30, and was bad in the few games he did play last season. Still, he must have gotten wind that the Clippers were going younger, and he must also know that there’s a spot on a contender for him, even if it’s on a vet minimum. If I had to guess, I’d say the Heat, Warriors, or Celtics will be his home next year. Multiple Clippers reporters have said the Clippers will look at bringing Beal back, but I have no idea why they’d do that.
That’s about it for today! The Kawhi rumors are still lingering, but a lot of business got done. Now, we wait for free agency tomorrow, where two Clippers (John Collins and Bennedict Mathurin) are some of the biggest names out there. We should have info on what’s going on with them in the coming days.
