3 Clippers Who Aren't Safe With Less Than 3 Weeks Left Before the NBA Draft

The 2026 NBA Draft is right around the corner, and the stakes for the Los Angeles Clippers have never been higher heading into the draft. The Clippers have massive decisions to make in terms of the direction of the franchise. Regardless of whether they choose to build a contender around Kawhi Leonard or decide to rebuild around the No. 5 pick and Darius Garland, the Clippers have to make a decision on the rest of the roster.

The Clippers have a ton of options when the draft kicks off on June 23rd. They can trade down and accumulate more assets, or pick the best prospect available. They also have the No. 36 and No. 52 picks, giving them further optionality.

This means that there will be significant changes to the roster. Depending on how the draft, free agency, and trade negotiations go, there are a few Clippers who may be on the thinnest of ice.

Brook Lopez

The Clippers have a $9.1 million team option on Lopez. After his play last season, Lopez doesn't deserve his option to be picked up. However, LA may want to keep him around as a competent veteran and a backup center. More importantly, they may use him as a matching salary in a potential trade.

Unless LA has a trade already in place, then it makes little sense to exercise Lopez's team option. The Clippers could find a backup center for the veteran minimum who can provide as much as Lopez can at this stage of his career.

Center is a priority for the Clippers this summer. They will presumably draft a center, even if it's not with their fifth-overall pick. They are bringing back Isaiah Jackson and Yanic Konan Niederhauser. They have the resources to sign a center in free agency. This should make Lopez highly expendable between now and July.

Bennedict Mathurin

If the Clippers want to keep Mathurin, they certainly can. They can match any offer sheets for the restricted free agent. How far they are willing to go to keep him in LA, however, is another question.

Mathurin had an up-and-down spell with the Clippers. He had massive scoring games, but didn't do much else. His shot has abandoned him, he has no playmaking chops, and he is an inconsistent defender.

There is a tendency to overrate scorers like Mathurin. If there is a team willing to pay him more than the non-taxpayer midlevel exception, which starts at $15 million next season, the Clippers should be willing to walk away.

Plus, the Clippers are more likely than not to draft a backcourt player with the No. 5 pick. The best prospects in that range are offense-first combo guards. That could render Mathurin redundant in LA. If Mathurin projects as a sixth man in the long run, is there really an argument for the Clippers to go that much above $15 million per year to retain him?

Bradley Beal

Believe it or not, Bradley Beal is still on this team. While even the most die-hard Clippers fans may have forgotten, Beal remains on the roster. And he has a player option for $5.6 million for next season.

Considering that he missed almost the entire season and was bad when he was on the court, he will almost certainly pick up that option.

Whether he will play for the Clippers, however, is another question.

Beal will turn 33 before next season. This is not the same Clippers team he signed with last offseason. There is an effort to get younger and more dynamic. Beal doesn't fit that goal.

If the Clippers can find any team willing to take on Beal, they would presumably not ask for much in return. That roster spot and salary slot would be better utilized for one of the second-round picks the Clippers will select in the draft.

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