Our exit interview series at 213 Hoops continues with a look at the 2022 season of the Brewmaster himself, third-year guard Amir Coffey.
Basic Information
Height: 6’7”
Weight: 210lb
Position: Guard/Forward
Age: 24
Years in the NBA: 3
Key Stats: 9.0 points, 2.9 rebounds, 1.8 assists in 22.7 minutes per game, with shooting splits of 45.3/37.8/86.3
Expectations
To be honest, expectations for Amir Coffey coming into the 2021-22 season were quite low. He hadn’t played much during his first two seasons with the Clippers and he had a pretty poor summer league showing. On a two-way contract, it was assumed that Coffey would spend much of this season in the G League and that this was almost like a make or break time for him in regards to his future with the team.
He did play well though in the 2021 G League bubble and he occasionally showed flashes of being the type of wing player the Clippers envisioned him as. But he never did much to assume that he would top out as anything other than a 3&D player.
Reality
Even when the injury/Covid bug hit the Clippers this season, it still wasn’t assumed that Coffey was going to end up playing a major role. But by the end of the season, Coffey not only became an invaluable part of the rotation, but played well enough to have his two-way contract converted to a standard one.
Once projected to be a 3&D player, Coffey kind of went back to his college days at Minnesota when he used to be a combo guard. The Clippers started the season playing Coffey as a small ball power forward, but by midseason he was taking over primary ball-handling and playmaking duties with the starting lineup with Paul George out and Reggie Jackson often ineffective. He became a much more consistent three-point shooter and he also became one of the better pick and roll guards on the team.
He nearly doubled his playing time from only 8.9 minutes per game over the course of his first two seasons to 22.7 this season. He also continued to split time early on between the Clippers and Agua Caliente in the G League. For a guy who looked barely like a fringe NBA player when the season began, it’s a testament to the work he put in this year.
Future With Clippers
There’s no question that Coffey has solidified his spot on the team. He is in line to be a restricted free agent this summer with a qualifying offer of $1,576,305. He played well enough to potentially draw interest from other teams and it comes down to him taking the qualifying offer or possibly signing an offer sheet and having the Clippers match it. The team appears to want him as part of their future and barring some insane offer from another team, it’s a good bet he’s back next season.