Clippers 2026 Salary Cap Tracker: How Much Room & Flexibility Does LA Have This Offseason?

The Los Angeles Clippers suffered an earlier-than-expected postseason exit at the hands of the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday night. Despite an admirable fight to get to the postseason following a disastrous start to the campaign, the Clippers ultimately came up short, creating a ton of uncertainty heading into the offseason.

The future of Kawhi Leonard remains at the center of it all, but the Clippers have other big questions to answer this summer. Fortunately, they have a ton of flexibility that will allow them to execute their vision, regardless of which direction they choose to go. Let's take a look at what the Clippers' financial situation looks like ahead of the offseason.

Clippers Under Contract for Next Season

The Clippers have Kawhi Leonard, Darius Garland, Derrick Jones Jr., Isaiah Jackson, and Yanic Konan Niederhauser under contract for the 2026-27 season. Every other player either has a player option, a team option, or a non-guarantee.

Player Options

Bradley Beal ($5.6 million)

Since Beal was a non-factor all season and is coming off an extended injury absence, he is likely to exercise his player option.

Team Options

Jordan Miller ($2.4 million)
Kobe Sanders ($2.2 million)
Nicolas Batum ($5.9 million)
Brook Lopez ($9.1 million)
Bogdan Bogdanovic ($16 million)

The Clippers have until the end of June to decide on these option decisions. Sanders and Miller are almost locks to have their options picked up. Bogdanovic's option will presumably not be exercised. Lopez and Batum's contract situations are up in the air.

Non-Guaranteed Contracts

Kris Dunn ($5.6 million, fully non-guaranteed)
Cam Christie ($2.3 million, fully non-guaranteed)

Dunn outplayed his salary by a significant margin, and the Clippers will guarantee his deal before the June 30 deadline. Christie is worth keeping around as a young player and a trade chip.

Clippers Free Agents

John Collins is an unrestricted free agent, and Bennedict Mathurin is a restricted free agent. The Clippers should have interest in bringing both back, especially Collins, but could face some competition on the market.

The Clippers have the right to match any offers for Mathurin to keep him around. They could also come to an extension agreement with him before he hits the market. Mathurin could also play on his qualifying offer if he can't find a better deal elsewhere. This will be an $8.8 million salary for one year.

Clippers' 2026 Offseason Cap Space

If all of the players mentioned above, other than Mathurin and Collins, are brought back, the Clippers will be almost $39 million below the luxury tax. This will allow them enough cap room to sign both of their free agents without crossing the tax threshold. It also creates enough flexibility for them to be active in free agency.

The Clippers can open up even more cap space by moving on from any of Bogdanovic, Lopez, and Batum. If LA doesn't exercise the team option on those three, the Clippers will have $70 million in cap space. Only moving on from Bogi would allow LA to have max cap space to sign anyone they want in free agency.

New contracts to Mathurin and Collins, as well as a potential lottery pick (if the first-round pick from Indiana conveys this year), could obviously take away a lot of this cap space. Potential trade scenarios involving Beal and Jackson could also help open up more cap room.

Potential Free Agent Targets

Some potential veteran stars who may be on the market this summer include LeBron James, Zach LaVine, and Kristaps Porzingis. The Clippers will have enough cap space to pursue any of these names.

For lower-profile names, the Clippers will presumably look to add more playmaking behind Garland, more shooting to surround their stars, and a starting center.

Collin Sexton, Norman Powell, Coby White, Quentin Grimes, Ayo Dosunmu, Robert Williams II, and Mitchell Robinson are some of the free agents who would be good fits for the Clippers.

Clippers' Offseason Options

The Clippers have a ton of flexibility heading into the offseason. They could easily bring back the same team from this season while staying under the luxury tax. This would allow them to maintain their future flexibility and keep their options open.

They could also revamp the entire roster around Garland and Leonard without much trouble. This would open up more cap space than they would know what to do with. Given the lack of star options on the market, however, this seems like a less likely scenario.

The Clippers will likely move on from some of the veterans, like Bogdanovic, and try to bring back Collins and Mathurin on team-friendly deals. The better deals they sign with their two free agents, the more active they can be in free agency and the trade market. This makes the Clippers' offseason one of the most fascinating ones in the entire league.

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