Cam Christie’s preseason has put the Clippers right back where they probably expected to land: staring at a roster crunch and an uncomfortable decision that feels more and more inevitable.
Los Angeles has 15 standard contracts to manage, and Christie looks like the one on the outside. The team has already tried the long view with him, looping through trial and error and even pushing back his guarantee date so he could use training camp and preseason to make his case. So far, he hasn’t taken advantage of that window.
The numbers from his first two preseason games tell the story. Against the Golden State Warriors, Christie struggled through 28 minutes, finishing with five turnovers and going 2-for-8 from the field.
Tyronn Lue gave him another look by starting him in Toronto, but that night brought only eight points. After that kind of stretch, the path forward for the Clippers feels obvious: waive him.
Heading into his third year, Christie should be showing some clear signs of growth somewhere in his game. That could mean better shooting from deep, cleaner finishing at the rim, stronger defense, or simply a more developed body. Instead, he still looks like the same player who has the tools but hasn’t figured out how to turn them into reliable production.
Scoring was supposed to be one of the calling cards. Instead, he has managed just four made shots across two games, and the issues behind that are hard to miss. He’s having trouble dealing with physical play, isn’t creating enough separation, and still doesn’t seem comfortable moving without the ball.
The defensive side hasn’t offered much of a rescue either. At 6-foot-5 and 190 pounds, Christie’s frame has made it difficult for him to stand out, and the weakness has shown up in the form of limited stop-making, difficulty holding position, and little rim protection.
With that in mind, the case against keeping him is pretty straightforward. Christie doesn’t appear to warrant a guaranteed contract, and even the open two-way spot doesn’t look like the right place to stash him. The Clippers’ experiment with him appears to be over.
He may still have a place somewhere else down the line if he eventually reaches his ceiling, but in Los Angeles, the fit just isn’t there.