The Clippers carry a $193.7 million payroll, above the $165.0 million salary cap but $6.7 million under the $200.4 million luxury tax threshold, with real space before the $209.0 million first apron. The bigger cost sits in the draft column, where the league's ruling against the franchise has already erased two future first-round picks.
The payroll leaves real breathing room below the tax.
Darius Garland's $42.2 million and Brandon Ingram's $40.0 million lead the sheet, followed by Max Strus at $16.7 million, Rui Hachimura at $14.0 million and Derrick Jones Jr. at $10.5 million. Brook Lopez's $9.2 million and Nicolas Batum's $5.9 million both carry team options for this season, giving the front office a lever to trim further if it wants more distance from the $200.4 million tax line.
Next summer's numbers already point higher.
Garland's salary rises to $44.9 million in 2027-28, and Ingram holds a $41.9 million player option for that season. Hachimura's $14.0 million team option, Bradley Beal's $6.7 million player option and Keaton Wagler's $10.2 million extension all layer onto a payroll that is unlikely to shrink before it grows.
The draft sheet has already paid a steeper price than the payroll.
The NBA's September 2 ruling over the club's dealings with Kawhi Leonard stripped the Clippers of their 2029 and 2030 first-round picks outright. What is left is mostly conditional: the 2027 and 2028 first-rounders are swaps, the 2027 second goes to Utah, the 2029 second goes to San Antonio, and the 2030 second is also a swap. There is no clean, unprotected future first in the cupboard.
This week's roster moves barely touched the ledger.
Miye Oni, Blake Wesley, Nathan Mensah and Jahmyl Telfort all left the organization, while Cam Christie returned on a two-way deal worth $2.3 million this season. None of it moves the payroll meaningfully; it is depth-chart management, not cap management, while the real constraint remains the picks already gone.
Are the Clippers over the luxury tax this season?
No. Their $193.7 million payroll sits about $6.7 million below the $200.4 million tax line.
Why does this front office have so few draft picks?
The NBA's September 2 ruling over the Kawhi Leonard-Aspiration matter forfeited the Clippers' 2029 and 2030 first-round picks, and most of what remains is tied up in swaps rather than owned outright.
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Morning · Sun, Oct 18Four Roster Moves in a Day, and a Starting Center Named
Week ahead · Sat, Oct 17A Three-Game Week Starts the Season Short-Handed
Cap watch · Wed, Oct 14Cap Watch: Payroll Clears the Cap, Stays Short of the Luxury Tax
Cap watch · Sun, Oct 11Cap Watch: A $193.7 Million Payroll With Room Before the Tax
Cap watch · Sun, Oct 4Cap Watch: Room Under the Tax, Not Much Left in the Draft Vault