The Los Angeles Clippers were expected to take a large step backwards this season with Paul George leaving and Kawhi Leonard out to begin the year. The playoffs seemed like a pipe dream. Instead, they exceeded even the most optimistic expectations by winning 50 games.
Unfortunately, their playoff journey ended in the opening round where they lost to the Denver Nuggets in seven games. They can now turn their focus to the offseason, and the Clippers have some choices to make with their upcoming free agents. Let’s predict whether they will stay with or leave the team.
Stay Or Go? Predicting What Happens With Clippers Free Agents
Nicolas Batum (Player Option) – Stay
Remarkably, Nicolas Batum’s contracts have added to over $200 million in his career. As he continues the latter stage of his career, expect him to exercise his $4.9 million player option for 2025-26. A 17-year veteran, Batum will turn 37 years old on December 14.
Batum still played a large role for the Clippers in 2024-25. He played the most minutes off the bench for LA in the playoffs, before staring Game 7. In his 78 regular season games, the 6-foot-8 forward connected on 43.3% of his three-point tries.
Amir Coffey – Leave
After spending his first six seasons with the Clippers, Amir Coffey may decide to move on from the only NBA team he has known. While he averaged a career-best 9.7 points this season and shot 40.9% from beyond the arc, he was not part of the postseason rotation.
Coffey just completed his three-year deal that was worth $11 million. He struggled in last year’s first round loss to the Dallas Mavericks shooting just 31.8% from the field.
James Harden (Player Option) – Stay
Named an All-Star for the 11th time this season, James Harden has a player option for around $36.35 million for 2025-26. Even if he declines, expect the Clippers to look to bring him back. He saw his scoring average increase by more than six points from 2023-24 as LA let George walk and were without Leonard for the beginning of the season.
Now 16 years deep into his NBA career, Harden will turn 36 years old on August 26. With the Clippers easily outpacing their preseason expectations, the team will likely want to hold on to Harden and hope that Leonard can play for closer to a full season.
Ben Simmons – Leave
It is widely known that Ben Simmons is now nowhere near the player that was a perennial All-Star with the Philadelphia 76ers. He joined the Clippers in early February after he was waived by the Brooklyn Nets.
During the playoffs, LA utilized Simmons often as a backup center behind Ivica Zubac. He didn’t receive much playing time though seeing the court for 42 total minutes over the first five games, scoring just four points. He didn’t see any action in the final two outings. Simmons only averaged 2.6 points in his 18 regular season games after joining the team. Perhaps the Clippers bring him back in a defensive, ball-handling role off the bench, but it will be interesting to see if Simmons can net much more than a minimum-salary deal with a team.
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