The Los Angeles Clippers had a decision to make on Eric Gordon: Would the team fully guarantee his $21 million salary for the 2023-24 season and bring back a player who fits nicely alongside Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, or would they not do that and waive a guy for whom they traded at the deadline last year? As it turns out, after 22 games, Gordon’s second stint as a member of the Clippers is going to come to an end.
According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, the team has made the decision to not guarantee his deal, thereby waiving Gordon and letting him become an unrestricted free agent this summer.
The Clippers aren’t guaranteeing guard Eric Gordon’s $21 million contract and he’ll become a free agent, sources tell ESPN. Gordon has averaged 16 points on 37 percent three-point shooting in his 15-year career.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 29, 2023
The fact that they gave up Luke Kennard and a pick in the 2023 NBA Draft that turned into Villanova’s Cam Whitmore makes this a little surprising, as does the fact that Gordon can stretch the floor and serve as a dangerous catch-and-shoot option. But as Bobby Marks of ESPN noted, this is actually quite the cost cutting move by the Clippers, because waiving Gordon saves them a whole hell of a lot more than $21 million due to how deep they are into the luxury tax.
The waiver will drop the Clippers projected tax bill from $169M to $59M.
LA is $18M over the $165M tax threshold. https://t.co/fH45jxSJN8
— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) June 29, 2023
Gordon averaged 11 points in 24.9 minutes per game for the Clippers last year while hitting 42.3 percent of his attempts from three.
