Los Angeles Clippers

Front office and bench

Ownership

Steve Ballmer (suspended by the NBA for one year since September 2, 2026; interim governor: John Gibson)

President of Basketball Operations (interim)

Trent Redden since 2026

General Manager (interim)

Mark Hughes since 2026

President of Basketball Operations (suspended six months)

Lawrence Frank since 2017

Assistants

• Jeff Van GundyLead assistant coach
• Brian ShawAssistant coach
• Larry DrewAssistant coach
• Dahntay JonesAssistant coach
• Jay LarranagaAssistant coach
• Jeremy CastleberryAssistant coach
• Shaun FeinAssistant coach

The direction

What the franchise says and what its moves show

A franchise in forced transition: without Kawhi, without its owner and its president for months and unable to use future first-round picks, the interim front office admits it can't trade for a star. The plan hinges on next summer's cap space and internal growth, with Keaton Wagler as the big young bet alongside Darius Garland and Brandon Ingram. Even before the case, they had already changed direction in February by trading James Harden and Ivica Zubac.

Building around

Keaton Wagler Darius Garland Brandon Ingram

What they have said

• He apologized to fans for not speaking sooner and acknowledged that, without the ability to use future first-round picks, the plan relies on next summer's cap space and internal growth.

  Interim president of basketball operations Trent Redden · Clippers Media Day (AP / USC Annenberg Media) · September 2026

• Wagler will have room to make mistakes and learn through minutes.

  Head coach Tyronn Lue · Culver City Observer · September 2026

What the data points to

• Seller Very likely

  • Brandon Ingram is the kind of veteran a contender asks for in February.
  • They are no use to this project in the medium term.
• Losing does not help Very likely

  • It does not own its 2027 first-round pick: if it loses, someone else celebrates.
  • It has to compete every night even without the roster for it.
• Will hit free agency with cap space Likely

  • It has 139.8 M committed for next season: about 36.7 M under the cap (estimated).
  • Expensive free agents can only go to teams with space or via sign-and-trade.

Moves

Summer 2026

• NBA penalty (September 2) for circumventing the salary cap in the Kawhi Leonard case: a $30M fine, forfeiture of five first-round picks, a one-year suspension for Ballmer and six months for Lawrence Frank.
• Kawhi Leonard traded to Toronto (completed September 14) for Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick, 2031 and 2033 first-round picks, a 2027 first-round swap and two seconds.
• Draft: Keaton Wagler (No. 5, the Pacers' pick), Baba Miller (No. 36) and Narcisse Ngoy (No. 57, staying in college).
• Rui Hachimura signs (two years, $28M) from the Lakers.
• Max Strus arrives from Cleveland in a five-team trade, and Johni Broome from Philadelphia.
• Bradley Beal (two years), Jordan Miller (three years) and Kobe Sanders (four years) re-sign; Yuki Kawamura signs.
• Departures: Nicolas Batum (retired), Bogdan Bogdanović (Houston), John Collins (Detroit) and Bennedict Mathurin (New Orleans).
• Brandon Ingram will miss the start of the season with a partial Achilles tear repaired in May.

Latest

• Oct 17 Two-way contract Signed G Cam Christie to a two-way contract. Waived Gs Miye Oni, Jahmyl Telfort and Blake Wesley.
• Oct 6 Waived Waived G Fletcher Loyer.

The roster

15 NBA contracts · 2026-27 salaries

Strengths and weaknesses

Today's roster, facet by facet (league rank)

• Defense 21st
• Rim protection 27th
• Three-point shooting 17th
• Playmaking 27th
• Scoring 25th
• Rebounding 30th
• Offensive impact 24th

Roster holes

• Needs a quality bigIts best big ranks below 100% of the league.
• Weak in reboundingWith today’s rotation it ranks 30th in the league in rebounding.
• Weak in rim protectionWith today’s rotation it ranks 27th in the league in rim protection.
• Only 1 center in the rotationOne injury leaves it without a backup in the paint.

Contracts and extensions

Expiring this season

• Kris Dunn 31 years old · paid 5.7 M Salary coming off the books
• Derrick Jones Jr. 28 years old · paid 10.5 M Salary coming off the books
• Brook Lopez 37 years old · paid 9.2 M Salary coming off the books
• Gradey Dick 22 years old · paid 7.1 M Restricted free agent Re-signing him would cost about 9.3 M a year
• Max Strus 29 years old · paid 16.7 M Salary coming off the books

With an option next summer

• Brandon Ingram40.0 M · can leave early

Bargains (produce far above their salary, for several years)

None.

Pricey but short (paid more than they produce, but ending soon)

• Darius Garland42.2 M · 2 years
• Brandon Ingram40.0 M · 2 years

Money and picks

Payroll 188.9 M Cap 165.0 M Tax 200.4 M 1st apron 209.0 M 2nd apron 221.7 M

Payroll

188.9 M · over the cap

Distance to each line

tax: 11.5 M below · 1st apron: 20.1 M below · 2nd apron: 32.7 M below

Next summer

139.8 M committed · 36.7 M in cap space

First-rounders it can trade

None · holds 2 other teams’ firsts and 4 swaps

Radar and possible trades

Who could ask about its players

• BOS → Kris Dunnexpiring contract, produces above his salary
• CLE → Kris Dunnexpiring contract, produces above his salary
• MIA → Jordan Millersigned through 2028-29, produces above his salary
• TOR → Kris Dunnexpiring contract, produces above his salary

A trade that works under the CBA

Trade pieces

Assets

Jordan Miller (worth 5.0 M more than his salary), Kris Dunn (worth 13.6 M more than his salary)

Contracts that weigh

Brandon Ingram (overpaid by 19.3 M)

To match salaries

Max Strus (16.7 M), Derrick Jones Jr. (10.5 M), Brook Lopez (9.2 M)