Clippers Make Decisions On Williams, Wallace, Plumlee, Ireogbu: What it Means

The Clippers announced Saturday their decisions on their training camp contracts, trimming their roster to 14 ahead of the NBA regular season opening next week. Teams can carry up to 20 players through camp, but must cut their roster to 15 players by opening night. Because of their precarious luxury tax situation, the Clippers will only carry 14 on their roster this season; another minimum-salary contract would potentially cost them dozens of millions of dollars over the coming years.

So, it was obvious from the days that C.J. Williams, Tyrone Wallace, Marshall Plumlee, and Ike Ireogbu were signed that they would not make the opening night roster. However, they did have a chance to compete to earn favor with the Clippers’ front office, potentially earning a two-way contract, a spot on the Agua Caliente Clippers’ roster, or a future opportunity with the team.

Early Saturday afternoon, the Clippers reached an agreement with the Salt Lake City Stars to acquire the returning rights to Tyrone Wallace. Wallace was selected 60th overall by the Jazz in the 2016 draft but did not earn a contract with the team and instead played for the Salt Lake City Stars last season. This trade (in which the Clippers gave up the returning rights to Aaron Craft and their 2nd round pick in the 2018 NBA D-League draft) ensured that if Wallace ends up in the G-League this season, he’ll be with ACCO. The Clippers then released Wallace from their NBA roster. So long as he clears waivers, he will be a normal G-League player for Agua Caliente this season.

The Clippers opted to give their second two-way contract to C.J. Williams, a 27-year-old wing who played for the Texas Legends in the D-League last season. This will allow Williams to play for Agua Caliente despite Texas controlling his returning rights, as well as play with the Clippers before and after the G-League season begins and ends, in addition to a maximum of 45 days during the G-League season.

Plumlee and Ireogbu will both be new to the G-League if they play this season, so the Clippers will have to try their luck at selecting them in the 2017 NBA G-League draft. The Clippers have two first-round picks thanks to a trade last month, although they also traded their 2017 second-round pick to acquire LaDontae Henton. Plumlee played for the Knicks last season while Ireogbu is a rookie.