The Clippers are one of six teams that managed to secure an interview with Kevin Durant, which is why they have to be considered a possible landing spot despite not having enough cap space to sign him outright. As such, many believed that was a sign Doc Rivers was willing to move one of Chris Paul, Blake Griffin or DeAndre Jordan to make room for Durant. Yet it now appears that’s actually not the case.
The Clippers are reportedly pitching a totally far-fetched ‘Big 4’ scenario to Kevin Durant
Doc Rivers is bringing all three of Blake Griffin, Chris Paul and DeAndre Jordan to pitch Kevin Durant on taking a pay cut to join all three in L.A. Here’s why that pitch has almost no chance of working ... this year.
Instead, Rivers has invited all three Clipper stars to the pitch meeting with Durant, in which he hopes to convince the former MVP into taking less money to be a part of a “Big Four,” according to ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne and Arash Markazi.
That plan is certainly bold, but it’s also, frankly, ridiculous.
Sure, any team that starts Paul, Durant, Griffin and Jordan has the talent to contend for a championship, but the Clippers would be so capped out after adding Durant that they would essentially have to field the equivalent of eight D-Leaguers next to their four stars. And that’s assuming Durant does in fact decide to leave money on the table when there are other teams offering him a better chance to contend while not asking him to take a pay cut.
The numbers just don’t work for the Clippers. On their own, Paul, Jordan and Griffin will make $65.5 million next year, plus the Clippers must accrue a $500,000 surcharge for every roster spot under 13, per NBA rules. Durant’s max contract is expected to start at around $26.6 million dollars, and the salary cap is projected to be set at around $94 million.
Even if the Clippers are somehow able to salary dump every other player under contract in trades with other teams (J.J. Redick, Paul Pierce, C.J. Wilcox and rookie Brice Johnson) and renounce their rights to all of their own free agents (Jeff Green, Jamal Crawford, Cole Aldrich, Austin Rivers and others), the Clippers would only be able to offer Durant around $4 million less than what he could get on another team in his first year. The raises in following seasons are calculated using the salary from the first year, so that’s a lot of money over a multi-year contract. If Durant takes a one-year contract, the Clippers would not have the right to exceed the cap to re-sign him next year.
Even if for some strange reason Durant is willing to leave so much money on the table, they wouldn’t have anyone to start at shooting guard. It’s hard to see actual NBA players signing for the veteran’s minimum on a year in which a competent role player will get tens of millions of dollars per year. That’s one top-heavy team.
To properly fill out the Clippers’ roster, Durant would have to take a massive, massive pay cut. Given that reality, there’s just no way Durant hears that pitch and truly believes it’s his best option. If he’s willing to sacrifice some money, he could allow another of his suitors to sign him while keeping their depth intact. If he wants to play for the Clippers, he can ask Rivers to trade one of the other stars to make room.
So why is Rivers even going through this if it has almost no chance of working?
The best explanation is that he’s not pitching Durant on forming a “Big Four” this season. Rather, he’s laying the ground work for next season, as Markazi suggested.
As we noted, it’s financially smart for Durant to sign a two-year contract with a player option for the second year, giving him the ability to enter free agency again next summer. The cap is expected to rise even more in 2017-18, which gives the Clippers time to maneuver their cap sheet to more easily fit the four stars together. Paul and Griffin can opt out next offseason and take a small pay cut as well, so Durant is not the only one who has to do it.
Given the Clippers’ salary-cap complications this year, the most likely scenario is that they’re simply getting a jump on recruiting Durant for 2017 with this meeting. If that’s the idea, pitching a “Big 4 + pay cut” scenario actually isn’t a bad plan.
But if they really think a pitch that involves Durant taking a huge pay cut this year is going to land them one of the top talents in the league, they are in for a rude awakening.
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