Clippers' Next Move After Trading for Johni Broome Is Obvious

The Los Angeles Clippers made a savvy move on Tuesday, acquiring an intriguing young big man in Johni Broome and getting paid for it. Taking advantage of the Philadelphia 76ers' desperation, the Clippers took Broome and a second-round pick without giving anything up.

How much Broome will factor into the Clippers' long-term plans remains to be seen, but it is clearly a worthy flier on a player who fills a need. LA desperately needed more depth in their power forward and center rotation, and Broome has shown flashes in his time in Philadelphia. As one of the most productive college players in his final season at Auburn and his lone year in the G League, Broome may have some untapped potential.

For the Clippers, this trade also signals more upcoming moves. Broome has now taken the final roster spot in LA. This means that for the Clippers to do anything else, they have to open up a roster spot.

Clippers Must Let Cam Christie Go to Open Up a Roster Spot

The prime candidate for this has to be shooting guard Cam Christie. Heading into his third season in the NBA, Christie hasn't done anything to warrant a roster spot. If the Clippers don't want to give up on him just yet, they could release him, then bring him back as a two-way player. They don't have an open spot there, either, so they would have to part ways with one of their two-way players: Sean Pedulla, Nick Martinelli, or Jamarion Sharp.

What makes this such an easy decision for the Clippers is that Christie's $2.3 million contract for next season is still not guaranteed. The sides have agreed to push back the guarantee date twice. Now, LA has to make a decision before the season starts in October. They could just cut Christie without any financial implications.

This would reopen the 15th roster spot for the Clippers. They could then use this on Bennedict Mathurin, Jonathan Kuminga, or Peyton Watson. Which direction the Clippers should go with that spot is another question, but moving on from Christie is a prerequisite to bringing in any of these players.

If the Clippers intend to re-sign Mathurin, that is even more of a reason to let Christie go. With another offense-first shooting guard in the mix, it's difficult to imagine how Christie would see the floor in his third season.

Of course, this all assumes that the Kawhi Leonard trade goes through. If it doesn't, then the Clippers have bigger problems to deal with than roster spots. For every Clippers fan's sake, however, let's not think too much about that possibility.

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