3 Los Angeles Clippers who won’t be back next season

1. DeMarcus Cousins

With Ivica Zubac out for the last two games of the series against the Suns, Cousins turned back the clock a bit with 27 points over 25 combined minutes in those contests. After being released by the Houston Rockets in February, the former All-Star played 16 regular-season games for the Clippers before getting on the floor for seven playoff games (five against Phoenix).

A run of significant injuries has left the 30-year old Cousins a shell of the player he was in his prime with the Sacramento Kings. He may have an outsized personal estimation of where he is as a player at this point in his career, but that little run against the Suns to end the season shows he still has something left in the tank.

With Zubac and Ibaka healthy and the young Daniel Oturu in the mix at center, Cousins won’t have a role he’d like over a full season with the Clippers next year. The market for him in terms of possible suitors this offseason is an interesting question to consider, along with what kind of contract he might be able to get. The Clippers may simply not be able to compete with that possible market and potential market value, unless Cousins really wants to chase a ring with no regard for his role or his contract.