Los Angeles Clippers Rumors: Free Agents Jamal Crawford And Austin Rivers Want To Return Next Year, J.J. Redick Plans To Finish His Career With The Clips


The Los Angeles Clippers have a lot of work this offseason, if they plan on competing in the tough Western Conference next season.

The Clippers tumultuous season came to a crashing conclusion Friday, losing to the Portland Trail Blazers in six games. Los Angeles was without both Chris Paul and Blake Griffin for the final two games of the series, so the series outcome wasn’t as unexpected as the way their season ultimately played out.

The Clippers were expected to challenge the Golden State Warriors for the best record in the Western Conference, but that never materialized due to injuries and chemistry issues. No Clipper appeared in all 82 games, and only two – Jamal Crawford and Wesley Johnson – appeared in at least 79 contests.

Griffin missed 47 regular season games due to a few injuries and suspension. Austin Rivers (25), Paul Pierce (24), Paul (8), J.J. Redick (7) and DeAndre Jordan (5) were other key players to miss time last season due to a variety of reasons. Los Angeles brought Pierce, Lance Stephenson, and Josh Smith in to solidify their bench during the offseason. The Clips ended up trading Smith to Houston and trading Stephenson to Memphis for Jeff Green.

Despite the instability, Los Angeles managed to go 32-16 in the 2016 portion of the schedule and finish with the conference’s fourth-best record at 53-29. The Clippers were also one of three teams ranked in the top-six of the league in both offense (106.5) and defensive rating (100.9) according to the USA Today. The other two teams to accomplish the feat were the Warriors and San Antonio Spurs.

The key to the Clippers’ success this past season was the play of their bench. A year after finishing in the bottom third of the league in both points scored and points allowed, the Clippers‘ reserves improved to No. 7 in the league in points scored and No. 12 in points allowed.

As a result of these facts, Clippers’ head coach and president of basketball operations Doc Rivers believes that the Clips are “close” to competing for an NBA title and said he will keep the team’s Big Three together for another season despite several rumors of the contrary. Los Angeles has won 66.4 percent (262-132) since Paul joined Griffin and Jordan in 2011, but the Clips have yet to get past the second round.

“I like our team,” Rivers said after Friday’s season-ending loss to Portland. “Our bench was fantastic this year. The problem is we have a lot of free agents on our team and I think a lot of them are going to be attractive, and so we have to fight to keep our own first and then try to build from that point. We’re going to have a difficult time. It’s going to be tough.”

Los Angeles already owes over $77 million in guaranteed salary for next year, which includes more than $3.5 million due to Pierce is (per Basketball Insiders). That means the Clippers will have roughly $14 million to spend this summer with the salary cap expected to be set at $92 million. Los Angeles does own the Bird Rights on Crawford, Rivers and Green — meaning the Clippers can go over the salary cap to sign those three players.

The Clippers potentially have eight free agents this summer. Crawford, Green, Luc Mbah a Moute, Pablo Prigioni, and Jeff Ayres are unrestricted free agents, while Rivers, Johnson and Cole Aldrich are expected to decline their player options.

Crawford has said he would like to return to the Clippers next year. The 36-year-old was named the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year for a record third time a few days ago.

“I know my role, I respect my role, I respect my teammates. I don’t like change, so I’m very, very comfortable here, and I’d love to stay here further.”

Crawford reached double-figures in scoring in 18-of-his-last 19 games, including all six playoff games. He scored 32 points, on 10-of-25 shooting, in Game 6 against Portland and averaged 17.3 points during the series. Crawford averaged 14.2 points and 2.8 assists during the regular season.

Rivers, of course, has close ties with the Clippers, with his dad serving as head coach, but he could see a lot of thrown his way after his gutsy performance in the Clippers’ Game loss to Portland reports the Long Beach Press-Telegram. Despite missing a quarter while getting 11 stitches and barely able to see, Rivers still finished with 21 points, six rebounds, and eight assists for the game.

Rivers, 23, has improved every year and has proven his toughness. Rivers averaged 10.3 points along with 2.7 rebounds and 2.7 assists a game during the playoffs, though he increased his production in the last two games of the Portland series — averaging 16.5 points, 5.5 assists, and 4.5 caroms.

Rivers is not ever going to be a starter in the league, but he can possibly carve out a long career as a key reserve. He would benefit at least another year of tutelage under his father.

Tom West of Fansided believes the Clippers should also do everything they can to re-sign Aldrich. Aldrich is a good shot-blocker and an outstanding rebounder – averaging one board every three or so minutes for his career. While limited offensively, Aldrich is very efficient. The 27-year old earned the veteran minimum last year and will likely get a modest increase next year.

It is unlikely Prigioni, Ayres and Green will be back. There is also question whether Johnson and Mbah a Moute will return as well, though the Clips may bring them back as it is unlikely there will be a huge market for their services.

In other news, J.J. Redick said on The Vertical Podcast,with Crawford, that he would like to play five more years and finish his career with the Clippers. The 32-year old, who is one of the best shooters currently in the NBA, will be a free agent after next season and would like a four-year contract.

[Photo by Craig Mitchelldyer/Associated Press]

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