The Clippers lay off employees! The 25-year-old forward has just turned 4 months and was abandoned, and the team still has 3 vacancies

On July 9, the NBA official website transaction records were updated, and the Los Angeles Clippers made personnel adjustments: they officially cut off Jordan Miller, a young player who can play two positions. The second round pick last year just turned from a "temporary worker" four months ago, but left the team sadly before the start of the new season. Miller, 25, was the player selected by the Clippers in the second round of the 2023 draft. In the first two seasons of his career, he signed "two-way contracts" most of his time - meaning he can only travel between NBA teams and Development League teams. It was not until March 1 this year that the Clippers converted his contract into a formal NBA contract for four years.

However, this joy of "becoming a regular" did not last long. Miller has quite limited opportunities to get in the NBA. In his rookie season, he only played 8 games for the Clippers, with a total playing time of only 28 minutes. The situation improved slightly last season, with him playing in 37 regular season games, but he averaged only 11.4 minutes, with 4.1 points and 1.6 rebounds.

Development League beast, the NBA is hard to find opportunities

In sharp contrast to the struggles in the NBA arena, Miller has shown strong scoring ability in the Clippers' Development League affiliate team. In his only seven DL games, he averaged 24.9 points per game, while contributing 5.1 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.0 steals, with extremely high efficiency (50.9% shooting percentage, 35.0% from three-point shooting percentage, and 84.4% from free throw percentage). This data sheet fully proves that he has explosive scoring and comprehensive skills.

Clippers have flexible salary space, and subsequent actions have attracted attention

Salary expert Keith Smith's report reveals the spatial considerations behind the Clippers' operation. Currently, the total salary of the Clippers is about $8.9 million lower than the NBA's "No. 1 Luxury Tax Line" (i.e. the first threshold for luxury tax), and there are 3 vacancies on the lineup.

Smith pointed out that the Clippers have several key reinforcement tools:

Remaining full middle class special case: worth about 5.3 million US dollars, which can be used to sign free agents.

Basic salary contract: Use one veteran's basic salary to sign another player.

Second round special case: Using this special case, the Clippers can directly sign their rookie Kobe Sanders, whom they selected at the 50th overall pick in this year's draft, without taking up salary space.

layoffs may pave the way for subsequent signings

to lay off Miller and free up a valuable lineup spot, which is obviously to prepare for subsequent operations. Is the Clippers, which holds flexible salary space and multiple contracting tools, planning to use the middle class special case to introduce an instant combat power? Use basic salary to supplement experienced veterans? Or make sure to sign rookie Sanders smoothly? Miller's departure indicates that the Clippers' management's summer operations are far from over, and fans can look forward to the team's next signing moves.