One of the Clippers‘ primary goals at the trade deadline will be to create the roster and cap flexibility necessary to promote Kobe Sanders and Jordan Miller from their two-way contracts to the standard roster, according to Tomer Azarly of ClutchPoints.
The Clippers are currently operating about $1.15MM below their first-apron hard cap, with 14 players on full-season standard contracts (Patrick Baldwin Jr. is on a 10-day deal). They’ll need to move off of at least one of those 14 players in order to create roster space for both Sanders and Miller, who are nearing their active-game limits.
Point guard Chris Paul and forward Kobe Brown are the top trade candidates to watch, Azarly writes. While waiving either player would open up a roster spot, it would leave that player’s full salary on the Clippers’ books. Moving off of Paul’s or Brown’s contract in a trade would be necessary to create enough breathing room below the hard cap to sign both Sanders and Miller to new deals sooner rather than later.
For what it’s worth, the Clippers have already used their full mid-level exception and don’t have a bi-annual exception this season after using it in 2024/25. That means that if they want to offer Sanders or Miller a salary worth more than the minimum, they would need to use their $2.68MM disabled player exception, which can only be used for a one-year contract. A minimum-salary offer would be capped at two years.
Here’s more on the Clippers:
- Azarly adds the Hornets to the list of teams that have inquired on Ivica Zubac but says the Clippers haven’t shown any real interest in moving their starting center. Sources tell ClutchPoints that one team put an unprotected first-round pick and a pick swap in an offer for Zubac, but didn’t get anywhere in negotiations.
- Although the Clippers had some talks earlier in the season about big man John Collins, they’re less interested in moving him at this point, Azarly writes. Collins has played well during the team’s recent hot streak, averaging 15.6 points in 28.1 minutes per game on .675/.635/.792 shooting in his past 14 outings.
- Azarly says the Clippers aren’t “actively shopping” veteran guard Bogdan Bogdanovic, though I’d be surprised if the team isn’t very much open to the idea of trading him. Bogdanovic has been limited to 16 games and hasn’t played since December 26 due to health issues, and is averaging career lows in several categories, including points per game (8.0) and field goal percentage (37.6%).
- Hornets guard Collin Sexton, Celtics guard Anfernee Simons, and Bulls guard Coby White have each been linked to the Clippers in recent days, per Azarly, who notes that the club could use another ball-handler and play-maker to help out James Harden and Kawhi Leonard on offense.
Team aren’t giving away multiple firsts these days. Teams that have will regret it when the tax man comes knocking. Buying high, selling low. Extremely bad idea with today’s CBA. I like Zubac but clips are dreaming.
Agree. I said this last week.. watch for Zubac to the Celtics. I cannot think of a more Celtics move than that. I can engineer a deal that has Simons going to LAC and the Cs even getting below the tax with the Nets helping to facilitate. But as you said, teams just aren’t going to move multiple FRPs anymore, particularly for a player not an AS.
LAC: Simons, Dayron Sharpe, Celts ‘26 FRP and 31 pick swap
Celts: Zubac, Nets ‘26 SRP
Nets: Bogdanovic, Cam Christie, Garza, Celts ‘26SRP (basically a SRP swap with BOS that moves the Nets up in the 2nd rd)
Celts get Zubac for Simons, Garza and picks (maybe the 31 swap has to be an outright pick) and they even get below the tax line.
Clips get Simons and Sharpe for Zubac and Christie who doesn’t have much of a role and move Bogdan’s contract.. save about $2M and clears a roster spot to add Miller. And Simons is an expiring deal and it allows for an audition period to possibly re-sign him.
Nets trade Sharpe for Garza and Christie and get a higher SRP for taking on Bogdan’s contract. The Celts have the Pels SRP which could be right at the top of the 2nd rd. So, moving up 6 or 7 spots in the 2nd is not a big prize for facilitating a deal by taking on Bogdan’s contract but getting a young player in the deal, Christie, adds a little more value.
Anyway, certainly reasonable if the Clips don’t want to move Zubac, but this deal is very plausible. And of course there are other ways the Clips could open up roster spots for Miller and Sanders (Beal, Paul, Bogdan, Kobe Brown among them)..
Love it, make It happen. Stacking good contracts like Hauser, Pritchard and Zu would be a shroud move stabilising Boston’s cap while competing for many years.
Brown, Tatum, White, Pritchard, Zu, Hauser, Queta, the two young wings in Walsh and Huggo is a formidable squad. All these guys just play their role.
Yeah clips Dont have to move Zu at all. Team friendly deal for sure.
Kieth Smith has Zubac as the 7th most valuable contract in the entire NBA
Im with him 100%, and every proposal I’ve seen for Zu (by fans and media) has been abominable so far
I dont think Steve has any intentions on selling but If he did folks here would be shocked by what Zu landed on the open market