The Clippers cut two big men in two days, and the moves leave them thin at center heading into camp in Hawaii.
The Los Angeles Clippers cut two big men in two days this week, and neither one ever played a game for them.
The team waived forward Johni Broome on Thursday and center Jamarion Sharp on Friday, just before media day on Monday and the start of training camp in Hawaii on Tuesday.
Why the Clippers Made the Cuts
Broome came over from the Philadelphia 76ers on July 28 in a deal where the Clippers sent cash and also got a 2027 second-round pick.
Broome played only 11 games for the 76ers last season, averaging 0.9 points.
The Clippers were facing a roster crunch, and Broome was owed the least guaranteed money of their 16 players, according to Hoops Rumors.
The team still owes him his $2,150,917 salary for this season unless another team claims him, and Law Murray wrote after the move was reported that the Clippers valued the pick in that deal.
Sharp was on a two-way deal after signing in August.
He was the G League Defensive Player of the Year last season with the Texas Legends, where he averaged 3.8 blocks, but he has never played in an NBA regular-season game.
The Clippers now have an open two-way spot, and Jake Fischer reported that they are in no rush to fill it.
"The Clippers' current plan is to keep this spot open as training camp begins next week. Perhaps that changes based on who becomes available around the league, but I'm told there's no immediate two-way signing in the works," Fischer wrote.
What It Means for the Center Spot
Neither player was part of the rotation, but these moves still matter for depth.
Center Brook Lopez averaged 8.5 points in 75 games last season and is 38, and center Isaiah Jackson averaged 7.5 points in 17 games after coming over from Indiana in February.
That was already a thin group, and the frontcourt rotation has been a question all summer.
The other center, Yanic Konan Niederhäuser, had surgery on his right foot in March to repair a Lisfranc injury.
The team has not given a timetable, and Murray said in July that he did not expect him back by opening night.
Losing forward John Collins to the Detroit Pistons in free agency did not help either.
A Bet on the Guards
This roster is built on its backcourt, and a full look at the depth chart shows how much the team leans on its guards and wings.
Guard Darius Garland and forward Brandon Ingram lead the way, though Ingram had surgery to remove a spur from his right heel in the offseason, so his health is one of the first things to check at media day.
The roster crunch forced a choice, and the Clippers chose their guards and wings over two young bigs who had not proven much yet.
It is a fair call but a risky one, because if Lopez or Jackson gets hurt, the Clippers will be very short at center, and that open two-way spot may need to be filled sooner than planned.
The next few weeks will show whether any centers shake loose around the league, but this team is betting that its guards can carry it.
