Clippers in tight spot with CJ Williams. Sign him, cut him or send him down?

Former NC State guard, CJ Williams has been the story of the season. He’s gone from 3-star prospect to college role player, to overseas journey-man, to now, an NBA starter.

In fact, Williams was coming off a 5 game stretch where he was averaging over 11 points and shooting 55% from the field and 42% from beyond that arc. During that run, he also hit a game-winner over the Hawks.

That successful stretch ended, however, when Williams went down with an ankle injury vs. the Warriors last week.

CJ Williams taken off court after ankle injury. On day 42 of 45 day contract ???????? wishing the best pic.twitter.com/6bmeweTAfd

— BLACK SPORTSCENTER (@VersaceBoyEnt) January 11, 2018

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Now the Clippers must make a decision. Williams was on a 2-way contract, which allows him to be transferred up and down between the G-League and the NBA. According to that type of contract, he is able to spend 45 days with the Clippers and if our count is correct, he’s got 2 days left on it.

That means that the Clippers are in a bit of a tight spot with Williams.

There is no doubt that he is helping their team. There is no doubt they want him on the court for their team. But the final decision may have less to do with basketball and more to do with business.

“If a player hits his 45-day allowance, and the team wants to keep him, there’s a rule built in for that: any two-way contract can be converted to a rest-of-season minimum-salary contract. All you need is an opening on the 15-man roster for that player to move in to, which the Clippers have. Unfortunately, however, a rest-of-season minimum-salary deal carries a cap hit, which a two-way contract does not. And for a team like the Clippers, who are narrowly underneath the luxury tax threshold, that’s a big deal. Adding a minimum-salary deal would put the Clippers into taxpayer territory, where the penalty for every dollar spent over the tax line is $1.50. Williams’ salary would be a pro-rated amount of the rookie minimum ($815,615) but his cap hit for tax purposes would be a pro-rated amount of the 2-year veteran’s minimum ($1,471,382). That means that a rest-of-season deal for C.J. Williams would cost the Clippers about $400,000 in salary (pro-rated rookie minimum), and $900,000 in luxury tax payments (the pro-rated cap hit, minus the $120,000 in space the Clippers have below the luxury tax line, multiplied by 1.5 for the tax penalty).” (ClipsNation)

So what do the Clippers do? As of now, CJ Williams salary isn’t counted towards the cap, which has been a huge bonus for this team. However, with the 2-way contract expiring, they have to weight the cost/benefits of keeping him up vs. taking another route.

That other route could be cutting him.

“If the Clippers aren’t convinced that they’ll be able to get underneath the tax by the deadline, and they are adamant about staying under this season, then one can see how they’d decide to cut him. With his 45 days running out, and the team super shorthanded (they’re playing a 9-man rotation), they can’t really afford to have a two-way contract spot sitting unused. So, they could choose to release C.J., and let him become a free agent, where multiple teams would surely be interested after seeing what he’s done for the Clippers this year (they could also trade C.J.’s contract to a team that is willing to convert him to a rest-of-season deal, if another team is willing to give up a second-round pick for him). If cut C.J., it would likely be on January 14th or the morning of the 15th, so that they can sign a replacement two-way player before the January 15th two-way contract deadline.” (ClipsNation)

Another option could be sending him back down…

“This option is probably the last appealing to C.J., and it presents some problems for the Clippers as well, but it’s a safe way to keep him within the organization. When a player hits their 45-day limit, the team is not obligated to either convert or release them. Instead, the Clippers can just choose to not call C.J. up again for the rest of the season, and have him serve the remainder of his two-way contract with the Agua Caliente Clippers of Ontario.

This is kind of a lame outcome for C.J., who would probably be able to land a shot with another NBA team relatively quickly if he became a free agent, but it’s allowed within the parameters of the contract he signed with the Clippers. And for the Clippers, it would mean continuing to use a two-way contract slot on a deal that has very little NBA utility, as they wouldn’t be able to bring him up for any more days.

However, there’s one upside: the Clippers could retain control of C.J. so that he could join the team later on this season. He would play the night of the 15th against the Rockets, and the morning of the 16th re-join ACCO indefinitely. If at any point between now and the trade deadline, the Clippers happen to make a move that gives them additional room underneath the luxury tax line, they could then convert C.J.’s two-way deal to a rest-of-season deal, putting him on the 15-man roster and making him available for the rest of the season. At that point, they would not be able to re-use that two-way contract slot this season.” (ClipsNation)

So, as you can see, there is no real cut and dry, simple option for the Clippers and that’s kind of unfortunate for for CJ Williams since he’s held up his end of the bargain by working his tail off and playing playing great basketball.

We’ll keep you updated on the situation as it unfolds.