4 Players Who Won't Be on Clippers Roster Next Season

The Los Angeles Clippers' season is over. Now, it's time to shift our focus to the offseason. While the Clippers Nation awaits news about the league investigation and Kawhi Leonard's future with the organization, the front office has to prepare for a crucial summer. There are important contract extension decisions, free agency negotiations, and potential trade scenarios as the Clippers look to build a sustainable winner.

Everything is on the table. The Athletic's Law Murray recently reported that, other than Ty Lue and Darius Garland being in LA next season, there aren't any certainties with the Clippers in the offseason. Yet, reading between the lines, we can deduce that the following four players will likely not be with the team next season.

Bennedict Mathurin

After an up-and-down tenure with the Clippers, Mathurin finished the season strong with a good performance against the Warriors on Wednesday. Whether he did enough to warrant a long-term investment, however, is another question.

The Clippers have some flexibility this offseason and can sign Mathurin to a lucrative contract while still staying under the tax. This is a tricky decision since Mathurin hasn't shown much improvement in his four years in the NBA in non-scoring aspects of the game. His defense, outside shot, and playmaking leave plenty to be desired. If Leonard and Garland are both staying, is giving Mathurin a multi-year deal around the non-taxpayer midlevel exception of $15 million really the best use of resources?

After last night's loss, Mathurin said he would love to come back to the Clippers for another season, but added that he understood that it's a business. LA will likely see what else is out there and whether they can make a better use of Mathurin's salary slot. Unless Leonard leaves, it doesn't make a lot of sense for the Clippers to re-sign Mathurin to a deal that he presumably expects.

Bogdan Bogdanovic

Against all odds, Bogdanovic survived the trade deadline. Many thought that his $16 million expiring salary would be used as a trade chip to upgrade the roster at the deadline. Instead, the Clippers will likely let Bogi sign elsewhere or head to Europe to finish out his career.

There is a very small chance that the Clippers will exercise Bogdanovic's $16 million team option for next season to use it as a matching salary in a trade. However, since LA will have some cap space this offseason, they aren't too desperate for matching salaries. It's also not out of the realm of possibility that Bogi returns to the Clippers on a veteran's minimum deal instead, but that seems less likely than his next contract being with a Euroleague team.

Brook Lopez

After a slow start to the season, Lopez picked it up in the second half of the season. Following Ivica Zubac's departure at the trade deadline, Lopez played a big role for the Clippers as the starting center.

The signs of an age-related decline are obvious for Lopez. He just turned 38 and is a couple of steps too slow on defense. He does little else except shoot threes. He is still a very good rim protector if he is close to the rim, but struggles rebounding the ball. The Clippers desperately need to find their starting center of the future.

Lopez wouldn't be a bad option as a backup, but his team option for next season is worth $9.1 million. That would be an overpay for the veteran center. The Clippers would be better off taking a flyer on a younger, cheaper center on the market.

Bradley Beal

Yes, Beal is still on this team. And he has a player option for $5.6 million for next season. Given the fact that he underwent season-ending hip surgery six games into the season, he will likely exercise that option.

That, however, doesn't mean that he will be on the Clippers. LA has made it clear that they want to get younger. With the emergence of Jordan Miller or Kobe Sanders, the Clippers don't really need Beal, especially considering they will presumably want to retain Kris Dunn. They will look to use Beal's salary as a trade chip. Teams around the league could be interested in Beal as an expiring salary, especially if the Clippers throw a second-round pick or two their way.

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