NBA Off-Season Rumors: Clippers Could Waive Teodosic If He Opts In

According to Orazio Cauchi of Sportando, the Clippers are not planning on keeping Serbian point guard Milos Teodosic for the second season of his contract.

Teodosic played a full professional European career before coming to the NBA at age 30 last summer, and had a lingering plantar fascia injury significantly hamper an otherwise successful rookie campaign. Teodosic has a team option for $6.3 million next season, and if he opts in, the Clippers have until July 15th to waive him and only owe him $2.1 million before the full value of his contract becomes guaranteed.

Sportando reports that, according to a source, the Clippers will opt to waive Teodosic if he opts in. The source cites concerns surrounding Teodosic’s health and age, with the Clippers having doubts about Milos’ ability to recover from the plantar fascia injury that cost him 37 games last season and preferring to add a younger player to their guard rotation instead.

It’s worth noting that this report should be taken with a grain of salt. There are only a select few names in NBA journalism whose anonymously sourced reports can be considered fact, and I’m not familiar with Orazio Cauchi’s writing or connections. Furthermore, Sportando as an outlet has a spotty reputation with reporting and breaking news, oftentimes being hit-or-miss. Still, there is some credibility in Sportando, especially when dealing with European news (which suggests this leak didn’t come from the Clippers’ organization, but someone on the Milos side of things).

Ultimately, I’ll consider this report to be a rumor, an unconfirmed rumbling about a direction that the team is considering. Ultimately, this path makes sense for the Clippers, even though Milos’ shooting and infectious passing made him somewhat of a fan favorite in his rookie season. Teodosic is 31 years old and suffering from a chronic foot injury. He doesn’t defend well and likely has little to no trade value. And he’s on a roster with far too many guards, competing not only for minutes but for roster space with veterans who have more trade value (Patrick Beverley, Avery Bradley), and younger players in their prime (Austin Rivers), and prospects (Jawun Evans, Sindarius Thornwell, Tyrone Wallace, and any rookie that the Clippers may pick in this week’s NBA Draft).

With just 15 roster spots, the Clippers can hardly afford to carry 8 guards into the season, and with the team’s current trajectory (not contending for a championship in the next couple of seasons), the team should at least consider waiving Milos ahead of the July 15th guarantee date to save some money and free up that roster spot.