2023 NBA Free Agency: Eric Gordon to become free agent after LA Clippers refuse to pay $21 million salary
Eric Gordon of the LA Clippers is set to become a free agent this offseason. The Clippers reportedly decided to not guarantee Gordon's $21 million salary for next season ahead of Thursday's deadline.
According to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, the LA Clippers made the decision several minutes before the supposed deadline on Thursday. Gordon was acquired by the Clippers midway through the season and averaged 11.0 points, 1.7 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 22 games with the Clippers.
Anil Gogna of Thread Sports Management explained that the Clippers might have made the move to save money. Gogna added that the Clippers will just need to add a minimum rookie deal to save around $108 million from their luxury tax bill next season.
The Clippers would save $108M in their projected luxury tax bill if they replaced Eric Gordon's $20.9M contract with a Rookie Minimum level contract.
Eric Gordon currently has $0 GTD.
It becomes Fully GTD tomorrow (6/28). twitter.com/i/web/status/1…
The LA Clippers acquired Eric Gordon in a three-team trade with the Memphis Grizzlies and Houston Rockets. The Clippers also received three second-round picks, while the Grizzlies got sharpshooting guard Luke Kennard. As for the Rockets, they received John Wall.
At the age of 34 years old, Gordon is no longer the explosive player he once was. However, he remains one of the best shooters in the league. He can also offer some defense, but his value lies in his 3-point shooting.
He's a career 37.1% shooter from beyond the arc and shot 42.3% from threes with the Clippers this season.
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LA Clippers' plans this offseason
The LA Clippers suffered another disappointing ending to their season due to injuries. The Clippers made quite the run to earn the No. 5 seed in the Western Conference, but injuries to Paul George and Kawhi Leonard ended their season early.
George ended up missing the Clippers' first-round series against the Phoenix Suns due to a knee injury he suffered late in the regular season. Meanwhile, Leonard played magnificently in the first two games of the playoffs.
He injured his knee in Game 1 and played through it in Game 2, but was ruled out for the rest of the postseason.
It's been the theme for the LA Clippers with George and Leonard's time together. There have been rumors of the franchise trying to trade "PG13", but it will likely be hard to gauge his value. As for Leonard, his value might be at an all-time low due to his injury history since 2019.
Russell Westbrook fits perfectly with the LA Clippers, so he might be the priority signing for them this summer. They tried to acquire Malcolm Brogdon from the Boston Celtics, but there were concerns about his elbow injury.
According to Luke Adams of Hoops Rumors, the Clippers could look to trade the expiring contracts of Robert Covington and Nicolas Batum.
Marcus Morris, who was supposed to get traded for Brodgon, might be dangled in a different deal this summer as well.
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