The Clippers’ main roster is already settled, with 14 players with full NBA contracts all set for training camp and the start of the 2025-2026 season. However, they have continued to tinker on the margins, with multiple pieces of roster news breaking yesterday.

First, Shams Charania of ESPN announced that the Clippers were signing guard TyTy Washington to a one-year deal. It was not specified in the tweet, but it was later confirmed that this deal is an Exhibit 10 contract, making it an elevated training camp signing. Washington is a fourth-year guard who was drafted by the Rockets at 29 in the 2021 draft, but was traded and then waived after his rookie season. He has been on the Bucks and Suns the past two years on two-way deals, and has played just 58 NBA games with limited minutes.

Later in the day, Michael Scotto of Hoopshype broke the news that the Clippers were re-signing wing Jordan Miller to a two-way deal. To clear room for Miller, the Clippers waived Patrick Baldwin Jr. from the two-way deal he signed late last season. However, Law Murray of the Athletic stated that the Clippers were hopeful Baldwin Jr. would join the team in training camp. I’m not surprised by this swap: Miller is too old to really be a prospect, but he’s closer to an NBA-level player than Baldwin, whose athleticism did not cut it even in Summer League.

Essentially, where the back half of the roster stands right now is this: Cam Christie and Yanic Konan Niederhauser are on full roster deals and expected to remain on the roster going into the season. Jordan Miller, Kobe Sanders, and Trentyn Flowers are on two-way deals, with TyTy Washington and Patrick Baldwin Jr. on Exhibit 10 deals. NBA teams can bring 21 players into training camp, so the Clippers could technically add two more players on Exhibit 10 or other training camp deals.

The Clippers don’t seem heavily tied to anyone on two-way deals. Law (in his tweets yesterday) indicated that Jordan and Kobe are actually a bit “safer” than Flowers, and that all three will face competition from the training camp invitees for those two-way deals. If I had to guess, I think the three of those guys will win the two-way spots, but who knows.

That honestly might do it for the Clippers this summer unless some unexpected trade happens. The Clippers will not carry 15 full roster spots into the season, and their three two-way slots are all filled as well. The last pieces of business might be signing the last two training camp deals, but it is possible those are so unimportant they won’t even make “news” rounds on Twitter.

Clippers Make Multiple Back End Roster Moves
Robert Flom

After years of speculation about a reunion, news broke today that the Clippers will in fact sign Chris Paul to a one-year veteran’s minimum deal, bringing the franchise great back home.

Chris Paul spent six seasons with the Clippers from 2011 to 2017, serving as one of the centerpieces of the Lob City era. Despite those teams never breaking through to the Western Conference Finals, that era turned the Clippers franchise around – there is no Steve Ballmer or 213 era without Chris Paul. Chris Paul brought eyeballs, success on the court, and professionalism that had not existed in the franchise before. He changed the game.

Paul himself has a pretty ironclad case as “greatest Clipper ever”, with by far the strongest resume of any Clippers’ player. In his six seasons, he made five All Star games, earned 3 All-NBA First Teams and 2 All-NBA Second Teams, and received 6 All-Defense First Teams honors. He earned MVP ballot placement in each of those seasons as well, ranking 3rd in 2012 and 4th in 2013. No other Clippers player comes close to those accolades.

Forget Chris Paul, Clippers’ legend, for a moment. What about Chris Paul, the player, in 2025? Well, Paul is now 40, and is entering an absolutely ludicrous 21st season in the NBA. He played in all 82 games last year for the Spurs, averaging 8.8 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 7.4 assists on 42.7/37.7/92.4 shooting splits and only 1.6 turnovers per game. Paul basically never forgets to the rim or the free throw line anymore, but he remains a capable ballhandler, smart defender, and solid three-point shooter. Despite being far, far from the player he was for the Clippers, he was a positive impact presence for the Spurs by all accounts last year.

How Paul fits on the current roster is a bit more of a mystery. Paul makes 11 veteran, rotation-caliber players on the Clippers’ roster. Coaches like Steve Kerr last year have experimented with more than 10 players in a rotation (he got up to 12 last season), but it’s uncommon. When the team is fully healthy, at least one of if not two capable players might not get run. I’ll have another article breaking down all the possibilities there, but I think CP3 himself is a prime candidate to not play in that scaled down rotation, especially since he and James Harden simply can’t play together at this stage of their careers.

I know some people are worried about the Clippers having too many mouths to feed in the rotation, and locker room issues popping up as a result. I also know other people either were never huge fans of Chris Paul, or have since soured on him due to his presence on Clippers’ rivals in Houston and Phoenix. I get all that.

To me, however, this is an undeniable win. As detailed above, I believe Chris Paul is the greatest player in franchise history. To have him coming back to complete his storied, all-time career in a Clippers’ jersey is awesome, and I think his first and final games of the season will be incredible to witness. Welcome back, Point God.

Clippers to Sign Chris Paul
Robert Flom

Well, after two weeks of rumors, Shams Charania announced today that the Clippers will sign Bradley Beal to a two-year, $11M (with a player option on the second year) deal after he completes his buyout with the Suns. Beal will earn back some of his buyout money and get a chance to earn another bag in free agency next year if he balls out for the Clippers, while the Clippers get a veteran scorer on a cheap deal.

Beal just turned 32 and is entering his 14^th year in the NBA after 11 seasons with the Wizards and two with the Suns. A three-time All Star, Beal’s tenure with the Suns was a disastrous one, ending with one of the largest buyouts in NBA history. But what about his fit with the Clippers? Especially considering that all of the initial reporting is that Beal will be starting at shooting guard for the Clippers, replacing the departed Norm Powell.

Beal is not fully washed. He’s not the same player he was five years ago, but he averaged 17.6 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 4.3 assists across his 106 games in Phoenix while shooting 50.5% from the field, 40.7% from three (4.7 attempts), and 80.8% from the line (2.6 attempts). He’s still a capable three-level scorer, and is as tough to guard as anyone in the NBA when he gets hot. While not as good off-ball as he was early in his career, Beal did play a lot off the ball alongside Devin Booker and Kevin Durant, and will be in a similar situation with the Clippers playing off James Harden and Kawhi Leonard. At the same time, he offers a dynamism with the ball in his hands that nobody else on the Clippers can match. On offense, despite some worries about “too many mouths to feed” (which is valid, more on that later), Beal seems like a clean fit.

Comparing Beal to Norm Powell is interesting. All of the advanced stats would say Norm was a (significantly) better player than Beal last year, despite Beal’s pedigree. Norm scored more, shot better from three while taking more threes, and got to the line more. Norm was simply a significantly more reliable and deadly scorer than Beal. Both are bad defenders, with Beal being a bit larger and sturdier than Norm, and Norm probably being somewhat quicker at this stage. Beal, while not an amazing rebounder, is stronger on the glass than Norm, which is nice. Most importantly, Beal is a far, far better playmaker for others, capable of truly running an offense at times and operating in the pick-and-roll as a passer in a way Norm could never do consistently. Thus, the Clippers are losing some scoring punch, but are getting a somewhat more well-rounded player in return.

Beal’s availability is also a matter of concern. In the past six years he’s played in 57, 60, 40, 50, 53, and 53 games. Even with the first two of those being COVID-shortened seasons, that’s a tough track record. That said, if there’s a roster where availability doesn’t matter a ton (even with Kawhi’s availability being an issue as well), it’s the Clippers, who have several players that can fill in Beal’s spot in the starting lineup in a number of different ways – Bogdan Bogdanovic as the cleanest skillset replacement, Derrick Jones Jr. for an athleticism upgrade, and Kris Dunn as the defensive floor raiser. If both Beal and Kawhi are out, the Clippers will still have some scoring options alongside Harden in Ivica Zubac and John Collins. And, if Harden is out, then the Clippers will have a semi-feasible short-term fill-in with Beal’s ball-handling and playmaking.

I think the overall rotation and lineup decisions that Beal’s arrival (and seemingly likely starting) foists upon Ty Lue are a bit more challenging. Harden-Beal-Kawhi-Zu are going to be locked in, which is a ton of scoring but also a lot of guys who want the ball, and not a huge amount of defense or role-playing connective pieces. John Collins seemed like the starting power forward when the Clippers traded for him, and he does add some much needed size and athleticism. But if the Clippers start Collins, their perimeter defense will be severely lacking. Jones Jr. and Dunn are two other potential starting options, and would solve the perimeter defense issue, but would create further deficiencies for size and rebounding. The bench rotation would also be a bit fouled up either way, as if Collins start, both Dunn and DJJ will come off the bench, which offers some redundancies, whereas if Collins comes off the pine, the Batum-Collins-Lopez frontcourt would look mighty slow. Staggering players will help, of course, but Ty Lue will have his hands full figuring everything out.

Honestly, I think my biggest concern with the Beal signing is chemistry. The Clippers won last year through defense and chemistry – everyone on the team seemed to get along and they just seemed like a together bunch that was rowing in the right direction. Beal, while not a notable malcontent, was unhappy in Phoenix last year with his role and his effort took a notable hit. The Suns were a miserable group last year, and winning cures a lot of concerns, so I’m not too worried, but I don’t think he’ll get more touches or a larger role in LA than he had in Phoenix. There have also been rumors of Beal being a less-than-stellar teammate going back to his time in Washington. Hopefully the chance to revitalize his career on a good team with veteran teammates is enough to keep Beal happy and pulling alongside everyone else. Still, the team’s overall spirit is something I will be keeping a close eye on – even without Beal’s potential issues, it’s tough to have great chemistry two years in a row.

The Clippers’ free agency is not over, even though this is likely the last big move they’ll make this summer. After all, the Clippers only have 13 roster spots filled, and while they usually prefer to leave one open, that still leaves one spot to fill. The Clippers’ depth chart is quite well filled out, with 10 clear top rotation players followed by the young guys (Cam Christie, Kobe Brown, Yanic Konan Niederhauser) and two-ways (Trentyn Flowers, Kobe Sanders, Patrick Baldwin Jr.). Their 14^th spot could just be filled by Jordan Miller, but my guess is the Clippers sign another veteran instead. Rumors have swirled around Chris Paul, but he’d be outside the Clippers’ current rotation, and my guess is he wants to play a real role on a team. Still, I’d expect the Clippers to make a minor move or two in the coming weeks.

Overall, I think this is a fine signing for the Clippers. Beal has his warts in terms of availability, fit, and attitude, but he is an upgrade over some ways in Norm Powell, and even if you prefer Norm in a vacuum, adding in the John Collins piece means the Clippers are a more talented team than they were last season. Fingers crossed that the team that looks like a fairly competitive Western Conference heavyweight on paper turns out to be one in actuality in three months when the season starts.

Clippers to Sign Bradley Beal in Free Agency
Robert Flom

Well, the most discussed/rumored trade in recent Clippers history finally happened, as the Clippers traded Norm Powell to the Heat, sent their 2027 second round pick to the Utah Jazz, and received John Collins from Utah. Collins has been mentioned as a Clippers target for years, and he is now at last on his way to Los Angeles.

From a roster perspective, this move makes quite a bit of sense for the Clippers. The reason Collins has been a name that has come up so frequently is because he is a large, athletic power forward that can play small-ball center, and the Clippers have all too frequently been small, old, and unathletic in the past five years. Collins does not fix those issues, but he goes a ways towards addressing them in the short term.

The West is just getting bigger. The Thunder play with two bigs a lot, the Rockets added a center and multiple large forwards this offseason, the Timberwolves kept their two key big men, and the Nuggets traded for Jonas Valanciunas. The Clippers really needed to add more size to the roster, and shifting from a small guard in Norm to a large forward in Collins will help them deal with those larger, physical teams in the West.

Collins has been around for a while, so I don’t think I need to provide a ton of in-depth analysis on his game, but he’s coming off probably the second-best season of his career, averaging 19 points, 8.2 rebounds, and a steal and a block for the (admittedly tanking) Jazz while shooting 52.7% from the field and 39.9% from three (3.7 attempts per game). He’s shot well in general the past two years, seemingly course correcting from his awful shooting season in 2023 (when his finger was messed up). He’s still not a high-volume shooter for a forward, but he can space the floor for Ivica Zubac at least a bit. His main addition, however, will be as an above-the-rim finisher for James Harden and as a support on the glass and back line defensively.

Right now, the current Clippers’ starting lineup would seem to be James Harden, Kris Dunn, Kawhi Leonard, Collins, and Ivica Zubac, with a bench of Bogdan Bogdanovic, Derrick Jones Jr., Nic Batum, and Brook Lopez. All of a sudden, after seeming so guard heavy for so many years, with Norm gone and Amir Coffey gone, the Clippers now could use another guard, preferably one who provides shooting and ball handling. I do think the Collins trade therefore increases the likelihood of Bradley Beal ending up a Clipper – he’d likely replace Dunn in that starting unit and enable the Clippers to keep Collins in the starting role or shift in Derrick Jones Jr. However, adding a bench guard like Chris Paul or Malcolm Brogdon would make sense as well.

This move also checks boxes from a long-term perspective. Norm was looking for an extension, and it was clear the Clippers did not want to give him a deal that would conflict with their ability to get to cap space in 2027 (or even next summer). It therefore made sense for both sides to move on, with the Clippers now able to evaluate Collins and see how he fares before he fits free agency next summer.

As for Norm, he gets to go to a Miami Heat team that prizes the work ethic that he consistently displays, and will play a big role on a team that doesn’t have much in the way of scoring. Norm was highly productive for the Clippers in his 3+ years on the team, and his career year in 2025 was a significant reason for the Clippers’ overperformance that season. Alas, he ended his Clippers’ career on a bit of a sour note against the Denver Nuggets in the playoffs, and it’s hard not to think that the Clippers being so physically outmatched against Denver played a part in the Clippers making this deal. I’ll be rooting for Norm going forward; he played hard, helped bridge the gap between 213 and the new era of Clippers’ ball, and had some very memorable performances as a Clipper.

I don’t think the Clippers are done yet – they will almost certainly add a guard of some kind in the coming days. For now, welcome John Collins!

Clippers Trade Norm Powell for John Collins
Robert Flom

In the most expected Clippers news of the entire offseason, the Clips re-signed veteran forward Nic Batum to a two-year, $11.5M contract. The second year is a team option and Nico also gets a trade kicker as part of the deal. It’s a raise for Nico while remaining very team friendly for the Clippers.

Nico has spent 4+ of the last 5 years on the Clippers and has become one of the most beloved role players in franchise history. Nico is in the waning days of his career and is no longer capable of starting or playing heavy minutes regularly, but he’s still an excellent backup power forward who can handle stints at small-ball center as needed. His combination of shooting, defense, and connective play makes this contract a real value play, even at his age.

Nico is one of the few rotation players on the team the past few seasons who has earned the respect of the team’s stars, coaching staff, and front office as well as the love of fans, making him an essential bench guy for the Clippers. The Clippers openly stated that they missed him the one season he spent in Philadelphia after the James Harden trade, and Nico in return has said he doesn’t want to play for another NBA team the rest of his career.

On the court, the Clippers now have most of their rotation set. The only real need on the roster is a backup point guard, and that signing will probably come in the next few days.

Welcome back, Nico!

Clippers Re-Sign Nic Batum to Two-Year Deal
Robert Flom

The Clippers made their third move of the 2025 free agency early this evening, inking Brook Lopez to a two year, $18M deal to serve as their new backup center.

Brook has played 17 years in the NBA, making him one of the longest tenured players in the league, and has started 1065 of his 1105 career regular season games. Brook spent the last seven years in Milwaukee alongside Giannis Antetokounmpo, including winning a championship in 2021, and previously played for the Lakers and Nets.

It’s hard to view this signing as anything other than a win. While Brook is old and has declined in the past few years, he still averaged 13 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 1.9 blocks per game for a good Milwaukee team last year. Compared to the abysmal set of backups the Clippers have had in recent years – Moses Brown, Kai Jones, Mo Bamba, and washed Mason Plumlee notably among them – those stats look incredible.

Brook’s biggest value comes on the defensive end. He’s been one of the best rim protectors in the league for the entirety of his tenure in Milwaukee, and was still highly effective on that end last year. He’s not versatile at all on defense – he plays almost exclusively in deep drop – but he’s very good at what he does do. Moreover, the Clippers are used to playing with a big in drop coverage with Ivica Zubac, so there should not be much acclimation needed on either end. Again, compared to Zu’s recent backups, the gap on defense is as big as Mount Everest. Brook has immense experience, has played in Finals games, and knows exactly where to be on defense.

That’s not all! The Clippers have been searching for a “stretch” center for what feels like a decade (remember Spencer Hawes, anyone?), and they finally found one. Brook started taking threes nine years ago, and since then has never taken fewer than 4.0 per game in a season with his lowest mark being 31.4%. Across his seven years in Milwaukee, Brook averaged 4.7 threes attempted per game at 35.7%. Not great for a shooting guard, but for a big man, those are massive numbers. Brook draws the defense and will consistently capitalize on open looks. That’s so important for bringing a different playstyle to the table for the Clippers.

Brook’s deal is also very reasonable. He’s old, but he has only had one season (2022) in the past decade where he’s missed more than a handful of games. He’s available and he fits with the team. If he declines at all next year, he should still be a competent backup, and then his deal will be expiring. Compared to other free agent big men who signed today – Clint Capela, Kevon Looney, and Luke Kornet – I think the Clippers got the best deal in terms of years and money for quality of player.

That’s not to say Brook is perfect. He is very old for an NBA player (37), and for guys that age the cliff can come at any time. The Clippers were already old, slow, and unathletic, and Brooks just makes them more so across the board. You’d wish for more dynamic, athletic play. But that type of play (at least from competent NBA big men) was just not available in this free agent class. The most talented center available is DeAndre Ayton, and I can think of fewer guys who are a worse fit for the new Clippers culture that has been established.

At the end of the day, this is just a good signing. It might not be an A+ because of the age concerns and lack of upside, but it’s easily a B+ and probably more like an A-. Good work by the Clippers in finally, finally getting a competent backup for Ivica Zubac.

Clippers Sign Brook Lopez To Two-Year Deal as Backup Center
Robert Flom

Shams Charania of ESPN just broke the biggest expected offseason news for the Clippers, which was James Harden opting out of his $36.3M player option for next season and re-signing with the team. The only question was what size contract Harden would receive, and the answer is a 2 year, $81.5M deal with the second year a partially guaranteed player option.

This deal makes a ton of sense for both sides. Harden got a raise of over $4M for next season and gets at least a partial security blanket for the following season as a reward for his mostly excellent 2025 campaign. The Clippers keep the floor-raising Harden for another season with Kawhi Leonard while giving them the option of moving on from Harden next summer or of having a clean cap sheet in the summer of 2027, when Harden and Leonard’s deals will expire. Considering how good Harden was in the 2025 season, this deal seems like a fair upgrade while enabling the Clippers to have some flexibility with team building. I predicted a 2/85 deal back in my Harden exit interview, so this is even more team friendly than I thought.

Harden will slot back in as the Clippers’ starting point guard, with Leonard locked in as a starting forward and Ivica Zubac as the lead center. That means the rest of free agency will be figuring out if the Clippers make any notable changes to the other two starting spots, whether bringing in a starting guard to replace Norm Powell or Kris Dunn, or a larger forward to enable Kawhi to slide back from power forward to small forward.

Having Harden on the team also just about guarantees that there won’t be a Kawhi trade (not really rumored, but at least mentioned by names as large as the Ringer’s Zach Lowe). This deal aligning Harden with Kawhi sure seems to indicate that the Clippers will be “going for it” to some extent in 2026 with this version of the team. The question is how much of the surrounding roster shifts around them.

Considering how skeptical I was of the Harden trade all the way back in fall 2023, I’ve been pleasantly surprised with the Harden experience as a Clipper. Yes, there have been ups and downs, with a few rough playoff games. But the Clippers would not have sniffed the 2025 playoffs without Harden, and he’s mostly been enjoyable to watch play basketball.

The first major step of the Clippers’ 2025 offseason has locked into place. Let’s see where the Clips go from here.

Clippers Re-Sign James Harden to Two-Year Deal
Robert Flom

With the 50th pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, the Clippers selected Kobe Sanders, a 23-year-old wing from the University of Nevada. They traded up from 51 to 50 to make the pick, sending the rights to an international player and cash to the Knicks to make the selection

Kobe averaged 15.8 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 4.5 assists in 31.7 minutes per game at Nevada as a fifth-year senior (he played his first four years at Cal Poly), shooting 46% from the field, 34.2% from three (3.6 attempts), and 79.5% from the free throw line (5.9 attempts).

Kobe is tall for a wing, standing at 6’7, though he’s fairly skinny at just over 200 pounds. He scored mostly with midrange jumpers and at the free throw line, as his three-point shooting in college was not very good for a scoring wing. On offense, his best skill by far is playmaking – 4.5 assists for a guy his size is pretty good. He is good at manipulating defenses and making quick reads to open teammates. The ability to dribble, pass, and kind of shoot is valuable, and Sanders does check those boxes for an NBA wing. If he can stretch his range from the midrange to three, he could have a real NBA future.

The downsides to Kobe are fairly obvious. He’s on the older side (already 23), the three-point shot seems very shaky (at best), and his athleticism and defense are below average for an NBA player. But at 51, it is what it is.

I don’t imagine that Kobe Sanders will get a full contract from the Clippers, as they already have a pretty full roster and a lot of guards/wings ahead of him. Thus, I’d expect him to get a two-way deal, joining Trentyn Flowers and Patrick Baldwin Jr. as the Clippers three two-ways.

I’ll be honest, I don’t have a ton of thoughts on Kobe. He seems like a fine enough pick at this point in the draft, as nearly every player who I had real thoughts on were gone by pick 40 or so. There is real talent, and Kobe appears to be quite good at basketball – the question will be whether he’s athletic enough to make it in the NBA. Welcome to the Clippers, Kobe!

Clippers Select Kobe Sanders at 50 in the 2025 NBA Draft
Robert Flom

With the 30th pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, the Clippers selected Yanic Konan Niederhauser, a 22-year-old Swiss center from Penn State who played in Germany prior to coming over for college.

Yanic averaged 12.9 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 2.3 blocks in 25.1 minutes per game last year at Penn State while shooting 61.1% from the field (1/11 on threes) and 66.4% from the line (4.5 attempts per game). Prior to Penn State, he played at Northern Illinois for two years, playing limited minutes his freshman season and then serving in a low-minute center role his sophomore season.

I’ll be honest, I think this is unfortunately another really bad pick by the Clippers. Niederhauser was projected by most mock boards in the mid-40s, so I think the Clippers could have got him sometime tomorrow if they really wanted him – and there were a handful of much higher rated players on the board, notably Rasheer Fleming, Adou Thiero, and Ryan Kalkbrenner.

Let’s start with the good. Yanic is huge (6’11 without shoes) and very athletic for his size. He’s an above-the-rim threat who will feast on rim runs with NBA-level playmakers, and James Harden in particular should be able to develop a nice chemistry with him. The size and athleticism also helps on the offensive glass, and makes him a potent rim protector on defense.

Now for the bad. Niederhauser is an extremely low skill player with no shooting touch, playmaking, or handling. His only real value on offense is the rim-running and a bit of offensive rebounding. Despite the block numbers, he’s also a very, very poor defender with limited awareness and no ability to defend in space. There are the outlines of a modern NBA big man, but right now he’s essentially just a taller Kai Jones.

Niederhauser is also 22, so while he’s not as old as Kobe Brown or Jordan Miller were on draft night, he’s also further along in years for a guy as raw as he currently is. The best bet for Yanic is that he’s able to become an energy offensive big man off the bench who can come in and get some easy buckets against opposing reserves without getting punished on defense.

While this pick isn’t quite as unfathomable as the Daniel Oturu (sorry for still taking shots at you five years later Dan!) selection in 2020, I’ve also heard nothing but negative comments about it from all of the draft people and scouts I talk with on Twitter. There is some upside there, but it’s not much, and there were several significantly better prospects on the board. Oh well, there’s always pick 51, and the Clippers select better late in the draft anyway. Rooting for Yanic – he seems like a good kid who plays hard. Hopefully he proves me wrong!

Clippers Select Yanic Konan Niederhauser With the 30th Pick in the 2025 Draft
Robert Flom

The Clippers made a long-awaited move this afternoon, converting Jordan Miller from his two-way deal to a full NBA contract. Per Shams Charania of ESPN, the deal is for four years, $8.3M. That first year is for the remainder of this season, giving Miller about $1M for this year. In order to clear room for Jordan Miller, the Clippers waived MarJon Beauchamp, who came over in the Kevin Porter Jr. deal but was not part of Ty Lue’s rotation.

The reason for the deal happening now is simple. March 1 is the playoff eligibility deadline, so the Clippers wanted to allow Beauchamp the opportunity to be signed to another team to make their playoff roster. Additionally, Miller had been active for 49 of his 50 NBA games allotted as a two-way player, so he could no longer give the Clippers any minutes at the NBA level.

This is a real triumph for Miller, who was the 48th pick in the 2023 Draft and has been on two-way deals the past two years. This deal, while not a “bag” by NBA standards, is a massive increase in salary for Miller – and marks him as a full-time NBA player. The Clippers have indicated they’ve wanted to sign him to a full deal since the offseason, and it’s now come to fruition.

Miller was in the Clippers’ rotation for a 12-game stretch between November 20 and December 16, and had a couple of nice games, highlighted by 15 points in a win over the Wizards on November 27 and a 14-point outing in a victory over the Blazers on December 3. However, the Clippers were getting healthier, and a couple poor outings from Miller pushed him out of the rotation. Since then, he’s only played in garbage time or in rare games where the Clippers are injured enough that he’s on the fringes of the rotation.

Miller is 25, so there’s not much in the way of traditional “upside” with him. However, he’s dominated the G-League, was fantastic in Summer League, and has had just enough good NBA outings to think he could be a rotation player in the NBA. There are two key skills for him that he needs to hone: three-point shooting and defense. He was a good defender in college and has shown flashes at higher levels but has not been consistent on that end. The three-point shooting has been very shaky in the NBA and extremely inconsistent in the G-League. If Miller could just iron out his shot and be a steadier presence on defense, his rebounding, slashing, and ability to draw fouls would make him a nice bench player. Those are big ifs, but the Clippers are willing to bet on Miller – and it’s not a bad bet for someone who has impacted winning at every level, is a hard worker, and is a well-liked teammate.

Miller’s contract now puts him with money through to the 2028 season, making him one of only two Clippers on the books for that year along Ivica Zubac and Cam Christie. That doesn’t guarantee he will be on the Clippers until then, of course, but does indicate that the Clippers think he could be on the “next” version of the Clippers after this current group ages out. He won’t be in the rotation for the rest of this season, but one would expect he will be competing for a spot next season.

As for Beauchamp, well, we hardly knew you. MarJon seems like a good dude and I wish him well – I hope he gets picked up by another NBA team.

Congrats to Jordan on the next phase of what will hopefully be a long tenure with the Clippers!

Clippers Sign Jordan Miller to Full Deal, Waive MarJon Beauchamp
Robert Flom