3 Clippers Whose NBA Futures Are On the Line This Season

It's time for Clippers fans to focus on the present and the future of the team. The Kawhi Leonard saga and the investigation are behind us. As frustrating as that process was, it's better to leave it behind and shift our attention to the 2026-27 Clippers.

There is a fascinating competition for starting spots and backup minutes. But there are equally interesting battles further down the depth chart.

The Clippers now have 17 players under contract after the Kawhi trade. The new-look Clippers present an opportunity for a lot of young players still trying to establish their careers.

The 2026-27 campaign will be a make-or-break season for a couple of players on the roster. Let's take a look at three Clippers whose NBA futures are in jeopardy heading into the season.

Johni Broome

The Clippers acquired Broome from the Philadelphia 76ers earlier this summer. This move largely went under the radar because the main motivation was for Philly to create a roster spot and offload salary so that they could sign LeBron James and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.

For Broome, however, it presents an excellent opportunity. He arrives on a team with minimal frontcourt depth. Especially since Yanic Konan Niederhauser is starting the season injured, Broome has a clear path to some backup minutes.

The Clippers have Brook Lopez, Isaiah Jackson, and Broome as their only players who can play minutes at center to start the season. At this stage of his career, Lopez can't and shouldn't play more than 25 minutes a game. This means that Broome can carve out a role for himself.

If he can't, the 24-year-old big man's NBA future may be in jeopardy. After getting selected in the second round of the 2025 NBA Draft, the former Auburn star didn't have much of an opportunity with Philly last season. So, another lost season would make it very difficult for him to stick in the league.

Cam Christie

Christie is entering his third season in the league, but he hasn't done enough to justify a roster spot. A shooting guard whose calling card is supposed to be his shooting, Christie hasn't made enough shots for the Clippers. And now, he is behind a slew of capable shooting guards like Max Strus, Bradley Beal, Kobe Sanders, and Kris Dunn.

The chances of Christie making the 15-man roster are low. He may get waived between now and the start of the season. This will complicate his NBA future, since it's hard to see how he lands another guaranteed contract right away. He may have to settle for a two-way offer.

There, he needs to start making his presence felt and hitting shots to have a chance at reviving his NBA outlook.

Gradey Dick

It's unclear how much the Clippers prioritized Dick in the Kawhi Leonard trade. Did they specifically ask for the 22-year-old shooting guard to be included, or was he just a throw-in to match salaries?

Regardless of the Clippers' intentions, Dick is facing an uphill battle for rotation minutes in LA. As mentioned above, there are simply not enough minutes to go around on the perimeter. Barring an injury to Beal or a trade involving Dunn, the former Raptor will be buried in the depth chart.

Entering the fourth and final season of his contract, that is not an ideal place to be for Dick. The former lottery pick has to showcase what he can do to earn another contract. Whether he will get a chance to do that on the 2026-27 Clippers, however, remains to be seen.

Add us as a preferred source on Google