Who Is the Most Likely Clippers Departure Candidate After Bradley Beal Signing?

With the addition of Bradley Beal, the LA Clippers are now facing a roster crunch. Assuming that the Kawhi Leonard trade goes through and Brandon Ingram and Gradey Dick are both Clippers, the team will have 16 players under contract. This means that the Clippers have to make a corresponding move to make room for Beal.

So, who is the most likely player not to be on the roster when the season rolls around?

Of course, there is a scenario in which the Clippers have to part ways with more than just one player. The Clippers are still pursuing restricted free agent Peyton Watson. Bringing Bennedict Mathurin back can't be entirely ruled out, either.

If the Clippers have to part ways with just one player, however, Cam Christie is the most obvious pick.

Cam Christie Is on the Chopping Block After Bradley Beal's Return

Christie has a fully non-guaranteed $2.3 million salary for next season. The Clippers and the 21-year-old shooting guard have pushed back the guarantee date twice already. LA now has until October 15th, the week before the start of the season, to make a decision on Christie. If the Clippers don't make any other moves between now and then, we can deduce that they will almost certainly release Christie.

This makes sense for a variety of reasons. The young shooting guard has yet to give the Clippers much of a reason to keep him around. For a player whose calling card is his shooting, he hasn't made enough shots in the NBA, G League, or the Summer League.

Plus, the Clippers really don't need to use another roster spot on a shooting guard. They have Beal, Kris Dunn, Kobe Sanders, and Gradey Dick, whose primary position is the two. Keaton Wagler will also play a chunk of his minutes at shooting guard. Since Christie can only play shooting guard due to his size and lack of ball skills, it's nearly impossible for him to crack the rotation in that crowded backcourt.

There is a slight chance the Clippers wouldn't want to give up on Christie entirely. He just turned 21, after all, and he is on a rookie-scale contract. In that case, they may have to move on from someone else.

That could be Johni Broome, whom they just acquired from the Sixers. Or they could try to trade Kris Dunn, Derrick Jones Jr., or Isaiah Jackson. They might also try to reroute Gradey Dick to a third team.

While all of these scenarios are possible, they are not probable. The simplest path to cut down the roster to 15 players is to let Christie go. Whether the Clippers' front office agrees remains to be seen.

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