The L.A. Clippers could potentially copy the Los Angeles Lakers' cap-clearing strategy, as the team could amass as much as $70 million of free agent cap space by next offseason, enough to sign two max-level free agents, according to Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times.
Having signed shooting guard Avery Bradley to a two-year, $25 million deal, the Clippers have eight guards in the roster and would need to shed two or three contracts to be in line to reserving this cap space, starting with Milos Teodosic's $6.3 million option for next season, which could be bought out at a third of that price ($2.1 million).
“Second-year players Jawun Evans, Sindarius Thornwell and C.J. Williams, each of whom will make $1.378 million next season, could become casualties, too,” wrote Turner.
The Clippers have a hollowed out roster and are unlikely to compete, as their Lob City core of Chris Paul (Houston Rockets), Blake Griffin (Detroit Pistons), and DeAndre Jordan (Dallas Mavericks) are all gone within one year.
Yet this rebuilding season could prove what it takes to match or even exceed the Lakers' ambitions, as they're recently rumored to wait for the 2019 free agency period, with no progress in trade talks for Kawhi Leonard and the San Antonio Spurs.
Leonard has been reportedly intent on becoming a Laker, though countering reports say he just wants to wind up in L.A. and that LeBron James signing with the Lakers has actually hindered his desire to wind up in purple-and-gold.
If the Clippers can clear that cap space and pitch Leonard into a partnership he could envision himself with, the franchise could very well pull the rug from underneath their in-city rivals.
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