The Clippers kept their summer shuffle going by bringing back a familiar name, signing Jason Preston to a training camp contract after moving on from Johni Broome earlier in the week.
Preston’s return comes during a busy stretch for Los Angeles, which has stayed active even as the league’s investigation tied to Kawhi Leonard has cast a long shadow over the offseason. The team’s latest roster move gives Preston another shot with the franchise that once believed enough in him to make him a second-round pick.
Broome’s stay with the Clippers was brief. Los Angeles acquired the stretch big earlier in the summer from Philadelphia in a deal that sent a second-round pick and cash considerations to the 76ers. ESPN’s Shams Charania reported that the move helped Philadelphia stay under both the first and second aprons while signing LeBron James and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.
That partnership ended quickly. This week, the Clippers waived Broome for roster reasons as teams around the league continued trimming down toward the 15-man standard contract limit. Bleacher Report’s Jake Fischer noted that the Clippers were among several clubs needing to make that kind of adjustment, with the Grizzlies also in that mix.
Saturday brought the next step for LA, with Spotrac’s Keith Smith reporting that the Clippers signed Hunter Sallis and Jason Preston to Exhibit 10 contracts.
Preston’s path back to the Clippers has been a winding one. He entered the organization with plenty of buzz, but an injury wiped out his rookie season and slowed everything down from there. In all, he played in 13 games for Los Angeles during his first run with the team.
Now he gets another chance to make a case for himself, at minimum pushing for a two-way spot. The appeal is still easy to see: Preston has the kind of basketball IQ, ball-handling, and playmaking ability that can keep a guard in the conversation if everything clicks. At the very least, the Clippers have reconnected with a player they once saw as worth developing.
In Other News...
Draymond Green Just Sent A Clear Message About His Future Deals
LeBron James unusually small contract with the 76ers this offseason has already started to ripple beyond Philadelphia, and Draymond Green is one of the latest stars paying attention. James paired that deal with a $15 million annual endorsement agreement with Polymarket, a structure that changes the usual conversation around how elite players get paid and where they choose to make up value.
Green recently weighed in on the contract size and made clear he sees the appeal of a similar setup down the line. For a team like Philadelphia, the bigger point is how one of the leagues most recognizable players can reshape the market by leaning into endorsement money and flexibility, a model that could influence how others approach both their next contracts and the business around them. [Read more 🡒]
Joel Embiid Problem Could Decide How Far The Sixers Go
Joel Embiids value to the 76ers is still enormous, but the way Philadelphia uses him on defense may end up shaping the teams ceiling this season. The concern is not whether he can still anchor a defense in the paint, but whether the physical limitations that have started to show are making it harder for him to handle the wider demands that modern offenses keep putting on a center.
For the Sixers, the answer may have less to do with Embiid doing more and more to do with the team simplifying his job. Keeping him closer to the rim, cutting down on his time chasing perimeter players and building the rest of the defense around his strengths could be the difference between surviving the spring and making a real championship push. How well Philadelphia makes those adjustments may tell the story of its season. [Read more 🡒]
LeBron Just Changed Everything For The Sixers And Knicks Rivalry
LeBron James has once again altered the balance of power in the East, and this time the ripple reaches straight through Philadelphia and New York. He confirmed that his original plan was to head to the Knicks in free agency, a move that would have instantly reshaped the rivalry, before the Knicks 2026 championship and long-awaited title breakthrough changed the equation. Instead, James settled on a two-year deal with the 76ers, adding another star to a roster already built around Joel Embiid, Jaylen Brown and Tyrese Maxey.
For the Sixers, the timing matters almost as much as the name on the contract. New Yorks title run ended a 53-year drought and gave the franchise a new layer of momentum, but James decision keeps Philadelphia right in the center of the leagues most watchable Eastern Conference arms race. His mention of Maxey as a key factor only adds to the intrigue, because it suggests the Sixers next chapter is being shaped not just by established stars, but by the guard who may have helped convince one of the games biggest names to change course. [Read more 🡒]