While we all wait around for Paul George decision today on his player option, another piece of Clippers news came out. Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reported that the Clippers will not tend a qualifying offer to Brandon Boston Jr., making him an unrestricted free agent.
This does not have to mean that Boston is gone. He and the Clippers could always work out a deal later in free agency once the shape of the roster becomes more clear. However, if the Clippers actively wanted to bring Boston back, they would have given him the qualifying offer so he’d be a restricted free agent, enabling them to match his offers.
The writing on the wall for Brandon came during the draft two days ago, when the Clippers selected Cam Christie with the 46th pick (and have at least an Exhibit 10 if not a two-way deal with Trentyn Flowers). Christie and Flowers are both young guard/wing types who are long-term prospects, exactly the role on the roster Boston filled when he was drafted with the 51st pick in the 2021 Draft.
Boston averaged 6.2 points, 1.8 rebounds, and 0.8 assists per game across 105 games played with the Clippers, most of which were garbage time appearances. Despite having an NBA-size frame and a real ability to “get buckets”, Boston’s role player skills – defense, rebounding, playmaking, catch-and shoot three-point shooting – never developed. Still just 22 years old, Boston has a chance to make something happen, but some team would need to give him a chance at rotation minutes, and I’m not sure who that team would be. Unfortunately, his main skill is scoring, and he’s not close to good enough at that to have that kind of a role in the NBA right now.
Best of luck to Brandon, who seemed like a fun personality, a good teammate, and a hard worker.
