The Los Angeles Clippers are not expected to add a veteran center in free agency despite losing Isaiah Hartenstein to the Knicks earlier this month. The Clippers prefer to keep their roster flexibility and they don’t intend to sign any available veteran center this summer.
Per The Athletic’s Law Murray, if the Clippers decide to make such move, they prefer to do it during the season. In a recent article from Andrew Greif of the LA Times, it was reported that the LA franchise currently possess little urgency to fill their final roster spot.
“I do not expect the Clippers to add a veteran center before the end of the preseason, which is the bracket that veteran unrestricted free agents like DeMarcus Cousins and Hassan Whiteside fit into,” Murray wrote.
“For one, those players are both older than 30 years old and have played in more than 500 NBA games. They’re veterans who don’t need to go through training camp.” (h/t Sports Illustrated)
There are a lot of veteran players, who can operate in the back-up role with Murray referring to DeMarcus Cousins and Hassan Whiteside as players that can potentially fill the team’s last roster spot.
There is some reason to believe the Clippers may be closely monitoring the looming trades around the league before finalizing their roster. The aftermath of such trades often results in the availability of certain players who were previously unobtainable.
In any case, the LA franchise can commit later to a potential veteran addition, as they did with DeMarcu Cousins in 2021. The Clippers also often commit to small lineups, so the lack of a backup center does not seem to be a huge concern now.
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