NBA Trade Deadline: The Clippers Waive Marcin Gortat and Milos Teodosic

UPDATE: After completing another 2-for-1 trade (Mike Muscala for Michael Beasley and Ivica Zubac), the Clippers had to let go of another player. This time, logically, Milos Teodosic is finally on his way out.

Teodosic has been linked to returning to Europe throughout the season; whether that happens now is unclear. However, the Clippers will be without his services for the rest of the year. They still have a glut of guards, including their three rookies: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jerome Robinson, and Landry Shamet.

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The Clippers waived Marcin Gortat today, as reported by Gortat himself (somewhat cryptically) and then later confirmed by Shams Charania of The Athletic.

After completing a trade with the Grizzlies earlier today that sent out Avery Bradley for JaMychal Green and Garrett Temple, LA was one player over the maximum roster limit of 15. It seemed perhaps most likely that Milos Teodosic would be the odd man out, as Teodosic has not played in 25 games and isn’t even traveling with the team.

However, the axe fell on Gortat, who was in his first year with the Clippers after being acquired in an offseason trade for Austin Rivers. He began the season as LA’s starting center, but saw his minutes decline as the Clippers found more minutes for Boban Marjanovic, Montrezl Harrell, and eventually Johnathan Motley.

Gortat ends his Clipper tenure having averaged 5.0 points and 5.6 rebounds in 16.0 minutes per game. Teammates consistently lauded his screen-setting, and the young bigs — Motley in particular — complimented Gortat’s veteran leadership for helping them acclimate to the NBA. The 12-year NBA veteran will likely try to find a new home after the trade deadline, as first reported by Yahoo!’s Chris Haynes.