Per the reliable Law Murray of the Athletic, the Clippers will waive guard Jason Preston before his contract guarantee date tomorrow.

The writing has been on the wall for Preston for forever, as the 33rd pick in the 2021 draft missed the entire 2022 season due to a foot injury, and then played a mere 14 games (all garbage time) in the NBA in 2023. Preston spent most of his time in Ontario in the G-League, where he was good but not great. Meanwhile, the Clippers acquired fellow 2021 draftee Bones Hyland at the deadline, a far superior point guard prospect.

After an unimpressive Summer League, the Clippers pushed Preston’s guarantee date back from July to October, presumably to give them time to trade him or clear a roster spot (the Clippers have 15 fully guaranteed players even after waiving Preston) in a larger deal that would give him a spot. Sadly for Jason Preston, the Clippers have not yet made such a deal, and with a full roster and training camp here, the waive was the only real option.

The lack of any team willing to trade for Preston and take a flier on him shows how low his stock has fallen in the past two years. Already 24 and with no real NBA experience as well as middling showings elsewhere, there’s not much short-term or long-term upside with Preston. I suspect he could maybe wrangle a two-way spot from a team with more ability to develop him long-term, but it’s probably the G-League for him.

The Clippers’ draft record remains abysmal. The drafting of Mfiondu Kabengele at 27 in 2019, Daniel Oturu at 33 in 2020, and Preston at 33 in 2021 is a simply horrendous run for a team desperate for cheap, young contributors, and that’s not even counting Jerome Robinson at 13 in 2018 or Keon Johnson at 21 in 2021, who the Clippers moved on from quickly.

The Clippers roster is now more or less set, as they have 15 guaranteed deals, 3 two-ways, and two Exhibit 10s to participate in training camp. They are still obviously on the hunt for an upgrade somewhere, with Malcolm Brogdon and James Harden two trade candidates, but their official business needed to get a legal roster is over.

Best of luck to Jason Preston. Even though he did not work out as a Clipper, he seems like a good guy and hard worker, and I hope he’s able to catch on somewhere else in the NBA.

Clippers Waive Jason Preston
Robert Flom

Per LA Times reporter Andrew Greif (and Law Murray of the Athletic), the Clippers have extended the contract guarantee date of Jason Preston again, this time all the way to October 1.

Both reporters immediately addressed follow-ups on Twitter about this being a “prove it in preseason” move. Training camp usually starts on September 30 or October 1, and preseason won’t start until October 10, so this date is more about players reporting to camp than anything else. As in, if you make a trade the rest of the offseason, you’d want it to be before October 1 so that the new players have training camp to get acclimated.

Really, this has nothing to do with Preston the player, and everything to do with Preston as a contract. His $1,836,096 contract might not be much, but under the more stringent salary matching rules of the new CBA for second apron teams, it could be helpful. For example, a theoretical Marcus Morris, Amir Coffey, and Terance Mann for James Harden deal wouldn’t quite work due to not enough salary going out. Adding Preston would be just enough.

The Clippers pushing back the date and keeping him around as a non-guaranteed salary thus makes a ton of sense. On Preston’s side, this is a gamble – if he is dealt in a trade, his contract would be guaranteed for however much is needed to make the deal work. That number will be better than nothing at all. And, of course, if his contract is guaranteed on a new team, there’s a chance he sticks around into the season. This is a sign that Preston and his agent are really down on his market (nothing beyond a two-way at the NBA level and nothing lucrative overseas) or really confident that he could stick on another NBA team.

In short, this pushback of the guarantee date for Jason Preston makes it only very slightly more likely he’s on the Clippers for the 2024 season. If the Clippers do a 4 for 1 or 3 for 1 Harden deal and Preston is not involved, it’s theoretically possible he could stick. But as of right now, the Clippers have 15 guaranteed contracts, Moussa Diabate on a two-way, and then Preston. He’s very likely to be traded before training camp, and if he isn’t, he will probably be cut at that point.

Clippers Extend Jason Preston’s Guarantee Date Again
Robert Flom

Our exit interview series on the 2023 Clippers nears its conclusion with a look at second-year point guard Jason Preston.

Basic Information

Height: 6’4

Weight: 187 pounds

Position: Point Guard

Age: 23 (24 in August)

Years in NBA: 2

Key NBA Stats: 2.9 points, 1.6 rebounds, 1.9 assists, and 0.7 turnovers in 8.9 minutes per game across 14 games played (0 starts) on 43.9/27.8/0 (1.3 3PA, 0.1 FTA attempts) shooting splits (48.9 True Shooting)

G-League Stats: 15.3 points, 5.4 rebounds, 7.0 assists, 0.9 steals, and 2.0 turnovers in 32.8 minutes per game across 37 games played (regular season + showcase cup) on 49.2/38.3/78.6 shooting splits (4.9 3PA, 1.5 FTA attempts) shooting splits

Expectations

There were virtually no expectations for Jason Preston in the Clippers’ 2023 season. Having missed his entire rookie season due to a foot injury, this was basically his rookie year, and the Clippers had championship aspirations and veteran point guards ahead of him. There was really no expectation for Preston to play any rotation minutes it eh NBA, with the most optimistic outcome being him pushing Reggie Jackson or John Wall for minutes, and the most pessimistic being him underperforming in the G-League.

Reality

Jason Preston barely played for the LA Clippers in the 2023 season, spending nearly the entirety of the year in the G-League playing for the Ontario Clippers. Preston played the least of any Clippers player on a full NBA contract by a significant margin, receiving just 129 minutes, all of them in garbage time. Therefore, there’s not much to really take away from his time in the NBA at all.

The G-League was a different story, as Preston played big minutes there as a starter. There are a few statistical takeaways from his time in Ontario, a mix of good and bad. First, his rebounding, which was great in college, carried over to the G-League – 5.4 rebounds per game is awesome for a guard. Another positive was his three-point shooting, as he hit 38.3% from deep on over five attempts per game. He shot 40% and 39% in his last two college seasons, but on a lower volume and from the college line. Preston did play next to Xavier Moon, another point guard, so a lot of his threes were probably off the catch and not off the dribble, but still, his shot looks viable.

Unfortunately, one of the biggest worries about Preston held up in the G-League – his lack of burst. Preston got to the line just 1.5 times per game, a very low number considering how much he had the ball in his hands and how many possessions he used. If he was unable to get past defenders and into the lane consistently in the G-League, he probably won’t be able to do it in the NBA, even with better spacing and more offensive support. There are point guards who can get buy without much dribble penetration as table-setters and off-ball guys, but Preston’s chances will be severely limited if he’s perimeter-bound.

Future with Clippers

Jason Preston has one non-guaranteed season left on the Clippers for the 2023-2024 season. However, unlike Brandon Boston, Bones Hyland, or Moussa Diabate, Preston’s spot is very much up in the air, not just as a trade candidate, but for a waive. The Clippers have invested two years in Preston, but they’ve not been afraid to pull the plug on young guys before, and with Bones, Terance Mann, Norm Powell, and likely a veteran point guard of some kind on the roster, there just isn’t much room for Preston. It’s not his fault that he hasn’t gotten an opportunity to prove himself, but he’s not as young a prospect as Moussa or Boston and has shown less than either of them. It wouldn’t be shocking if he made it onto the Clippers roster next year, especially with another two-way deal for a young guy, but it also wouldn’t be surprising if the Clippers traded or released him.

2023 Clippers Exit Interview: Jason Preston
Robert Flom

Late bloomer. That’s probably the best way to describe Jason Preston. By the time most future NBA players reach their senior year in high school, they already have a sense of where they’ll be playing college basketball – if they haven’t already committed.

In Preston’s case, he was ready to attend the University of Central Florida and major in journalism; his basketball playing career going no further than high school.

But by a stroke of fate, a friend’s AAU team needed an extra player. Preston obliged and the rest is history. College coaches started to take notice and he ultimately decided to change course from attending UCF and instead enrolled at Believe Prep Sports Academy in Nashville, TN for a post high school prep year.

While most people probably didn’t have Jason Preston pegged as a future NBA player even after the AAU tournaments, Preston himself always had that goal and knew if he was given an opportunity, he would make that dream a reality.

“I had it mapped out my whole life, honestly. I just knew I needed a chance,” Preston told 213 Hoops. “Once I got that chance from those first AAU tournaments out of high school, I knew as long as I got an opportunity, that I’d be in the position that I’m in. I’m just thankful to God, to stay injury free and be where I am today.”

Sure enough, that opportunity went a long way. Preston ultimately signed with Ohio University, where he developed into one of the best mid-major point guards in the country. He rose to prominence among NBA scouts when he led the No. 13 seed Bobcats to an upset over the No. 4 seed Virginia Cavaliers in the first round of the 2021 NCAA Tournament. In that game he finished with 11 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists.

The moment he had been waiting for had finally arrived. Following his junior year, Preston decided to enter his name in the 2021 NBA draft while maintaining his college eligibility. He eventually kept his name in the draft and was selected with the 33rd overall pick by the Orlando Magic and immediately traded to the Los Angeles Clippers.

But as he mentioned, staying injury free was a major goal of his, and his rookie year in the league didn’t quite pan out like that. Jason Preston suffered a foot injury during preseason and after undergoing surgery, was ruled out for the entirety of the 2021-22 season.

While he was unable to be on the court last year, just being on the bench and soaking up everything from his teammates went a long way towards getting him ready for the NBA.

“The main thing for me was off the court habits. Every day I saw veterans getting in on off-days, getting their stretches in, getting all their meals and make sure they’re getting their treatment. That’s something that I really got better at, off the court,” Preston said. “And then just also the attention to detail. I was big on that in college but it’s even greater in the NBA.”

This season, Jason Preston finally was able to take the court as an NBA player. But his live game reps haven’t come with the Clippers at Crypto.com Arena. They’ve come from the Toyota Center in Ontario with the Clippers G League affiliate.

He’s only suited up in seven games with the Clippers due to their veteran, guard-heavy rotation. But he’s spent 16 games with Ontario and he’s averaged 13.4 points per game, 5.6 rebounds and 7.4 assists while shooting 50.3 percent from the field and 40.3 percent from three-point range. He’s shown the type of playmaking that could eventually help the Clippers, butt he’s been grateful just to be able to play again against live competition.

It’s also given him the opportunity to work on the things that Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue and the rest of the coaching staff would like to see him improve on.

“It’s awesome. I love the opportunity to just play and make mistakes. We got a great coach and a great team. There’s no egos on this team, it’s really fun to play,” Preston said. “Just continuing consistency on the defensive end, getting more threes up, just being a leader out there and really trying to command the offense and defense on both sides.”

Playing point guard can be one of the toughest positions to master in the NBA. An extension of the coach on the court, your point guard is responsible for running the offense, making sure plays are ran properly, keeping the ball moving and setting teammates up for easy scoring opportunities.

Through his play with Ontario, Preston has shown he is capable of that against pro-level competition. His former Clippers teammate and current Ontario teammate Xavier Moon was arguably the best point guard in the G League last season and Preston could make a case for that title this season.

He admits that it took some time transitioning from an NCAA-level point guard to an NBA-level point guard, with a little more off the ball movement added in.

“In college during outlets I was used to always coming up with the ball,” Preston said. “But you know there’s a lot of great players here in the NBA and in the G League. Sometimes it’s me just running the floor instead of always coming up court with the ball.”

Preston is currently in the second-year of a three-year contract with the Clippers. Next season his deal is non-guaranteed. Given the Clippers roster makeup and aspirations, it doesn’t appear as if any regular playing time is in the cards for him this season.

He’ll spend the majority of this season getting reps in the G League in hopes that he can show the Clippers that he’ll be ready to contribute whenever they should need him.

And while he is focused on his NBA career for now, there’s always the possibility that somewhere down the line he could pivot back to his original goal of being a sports reporter. During his time as a writer for FanSided’s Detroit Pistons blog, he actually wrote articles about current Clippers teammates Reggie Jackson and Marcus Morris.

But don’t expect him to go back to writing if he does venture down that path once again.

“That’s a lot of writing,” Preston laughed. “I want to talk, I’d rather talk than type. I love talking about sports. If I do go back to that, it would probably be talking about it more.”

Jason Preston is Grateful to be Back on the Court
David Yapkowitz

Our 2022-2023 player season preview series continues with Jason Preston, the Clippers’ second year point guard prospect who will likely spend most of the year in the G-League.

Basic Information

Height: 6’4”

Weight: 190 pounds

Position: Point Guard

Age: 23

Years in NBA: 1

Key Stats: Missed all of 2022 rookie season with a foot injury

Contract Status: Guaranteed for $1.56M this season, nonguaranteed for $1.84M next season

Expectations

Expectations for NBA contributions are probably lower for Preston than any other player with a guaranteed contract on the Clippers. The Clippers don’t have great depth at point guard, but Preston is firmly behind two veterans in John Wall and Reggie Jackson for minutes, and probably behind other guards such as Terance Mann and Norm Powell as well in a pinch. Preston is likely to spend most of the season with the Ontario Clippers, where he will be given plenty of reps as the lead ball handler and adjusting to a difficulty far beyond the second-tier college play he had at University of Ohio. When he does play in the NBA, most likely in blowouts, Preston’s role will be to game manage the offense enough so rotation players don’t need to be re-inserted, and hopefully he can do that much.

Strengths

Jason’s top strength as a basketball player is his passing. He’s a fantastic playmaker, leveraging his 6’4 height and instincts to fling passes all over the court. Preston can make simple reads, such as extra passes on the perimeter and drive and kicks, more complex ones, such as pocket passes in the pick and roll, and downright difficult plays, like crosscourt passes to corner shooters. Simply put, if you give him the ball a lot, he will collect assists and help his teammates score. Despite not being an ace ballhandler, he’s a competent handler who can consistently lead offenses into sets. If Preston is to succeed in the NBA, it will likely be due to his playmaking abilities.

The Clippers are a team filled with poor rebounders, and Jason Preston is an excellent rebounder for his position. He averaged 5.6 rebounds per game in college, and that number rose to around 7 over his past two years. His height and basketball instincts serve him well here, enabling him to track down and collect rebounds in a way most point guards can’t. Being a good guard rebounder is a double bonus, as it enables Preston to immediately push the ball up the court and jumpstart transition. The NBA is very different from the MAC conference, but Jason should still be a plus rebounder even at higher levels.

Perhaps Jason’s most adept weapon offensively is his floater. He’s shown it off a bunch in Summer League, and it’s truly a beauty. He can get it off over a lot of defender due to his height and the shot’s high release point, and is capable of lofting it from well beyond the normal range. It’s a fun shot and something that should work against NBA defenses, though it will be tougher for Jason to shoot it over bigger and more athletic defenders.

A final plus is that Jason’s instincts apply on the defensive end as well. He had nice steal numbers in college, and is adept at reading passing lanes as well as poking the ball away from defenders. If he bulks up a bit, he should be a fine defensive player.

Weaknesses

Unfortunately, Preston’s biggest weakness is something that can’t be improved all that much – his athleticism. He’s an inexplosive athlete, both in terms of speed in the open court and attacking downhill in the halfcourt as well as leaping around the rim. As a point guard, that limits his creation abilities to some extent – if he can’t consistently break down defenses, his passing won’t matter, since he’ll just be moving the ball rather than driving and kicking. Speed and jumping are both things that can be enhanced to some degree, but Jason is a below-average NBA athlete, dampening his ceiling and floor.

Currently, Jason is also extremely skinny. Frames can be bulked, and he already has a lot more muscle than when he was drafted, but he’s probably never going to be the strongest player. Sometimes strength can offset a lack of speed in bullying opponents on the way to the rim, but that probably won’t come into play with Preston barring a Giannis-esque transformation (unlikely). On defense, that means despite his height, he will likely be a target who can be attacked by stronger players and pushed aside or beneath the rim. Again, this is an area that can be improved upon, but right now will be a liability at the NBA level.

There are also questions about Jason’s shooting. He was a 35.7% shooter from deep in his college career, and around 40% in his last two seasons, but it was all on low volume, with just 221 attempts across three years. More worryingly, he was a merely passable free throw shooter at 70.3%, though also on low volume with 212 attempts. If he can become a good shooter, especially off the dribble, and has to be treated as a real threat from deep, he should be able to attack closeouts, offsetting his lack of downhill burst. If teams can play off him, his offensive utility might become extremely limited.

Summary

Preston is a player the Clippers supposedly love (beat writers have stated this multiple times, as well as national NBA media such as Zach Lowe). Still, that doesn’t mean he will have much of an impact on the Clippers’ 2023 season. In fact, if Jason Preston does play a lot in the 2023 season for the Clippers, it will mean either he’s way ahead of schedule, or the Clippers have been crippled by injuries. Still, he’s someone to keep an eye on in the G-League.

Clippers 2022-2023 Season Preview: Jason Preston
Robert Flom

Our exit interview series at 213 Hoops continues with a look at the 2022 season of injured Clippers rookie point guard Jason Preston.

Basic Information

Height: 6’4”

Weight: 181 pounds

Position: Point Guard

Age: 22 (turns 23 in August)

Years in the NBA: 0 (Rookie)

Key Stats: Did not appear in a regular season NBA game due to a foot injury

Expectations

Lucas mentioned in Jason’s season preview that expectations for him and Brandon Boston Jr. were about zero. Which I agree with, as second-round rookies on theoretical championship-contending teams don’t usually play much, and when they do it’s rarely meaningful minutes. The hope for Preston is that he’d play in Agua Caliente, get some extended garbage time run in the NBA, and maybe even scratch a handful of rotation games due to injury. In terms of what Preston would provide, the ideal version of him is a traditional NBA point guard who can run an offense smoothly, create open shots for others, and score as needed.

Reality

Jason Preston did not play a minute for the LA Clippers in the 2022 season – or even for the Agua Caliente Clippers. He hurt his foot just a few days before training camp, had surgery in early October, and was out for the rest of the year. It’s not quite a lost season, as Preston got to be around the team, absorb advice from coaches and players, work on his shot, and get NBA-level strength and nutrition, which his huge for a guy as slender as he is. Jason hopefully took quite a lot from the season, and will be that much more ready for the next year.

Still, it’s never great to miss an entire season, and it’s even worse as a rookie, when every year of development time is precious. Not being able to truly play high-level basketball for a season can therefore be quite damaging, and Preston certainly might look a bit rusty when he returns next season. As long as the foot injury is not a harbinger of troubles to come, hopefully this year will be shoved to the back burner when Preston actually takes the court.

Future with Clippers

Jason Preston is signed for two more years, though the 2023-2024 season is non-guaranteed. Considering how many coaches were working with Preston throughout the season, his development appears to be a priority – and that’s been corroborated by reporting from local and national media. As big a name as ESPN’s Zach Lowe said on a podcast (I can’t possibly remember which) that the Clippers really like Preston, and that’s a sentiment that’s been floated elsewhere. Now, they’re not going say they don’t like a recent pick, but still, the level of interest seems to be higher than for guys like Daniel Oturu or Mfiondu Kabengele. Preston’s value is low, so he doesn’t provide much in a trade, and therefore it stands to reason he will probably be a Clipper for at least this upcoming season while the Clips see what they have. Then again, 2021 1^st round rookie Keon Johnson was traded halfway through his first season, so who knows.

Clippers 2022 Season Exit Interview: Jason Preston
Robert Flom