Clippers Rumors: Eric Gordon to Be FA After LAC Decline to Guarantee $21M Contract

Eric Gordon's second stint with the Los Angeles Clippers may be coming to a close.

ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported Wednesday that the Western Conference team elected not to guarantee his $21 million contract. That means he will be a free agent this offseason and can sign elsewhere.

Los Angeles acquired Gordon via trade from the Houston Rockets this past season, and he appeared in 22 regular-season contests for the team that also drafted him with the No. 7 overall pick in 2008.

He spent the first three seasons of his career with the Clippers and has since played for the New Orleans Hornets/Pelicans and Rockets.

There was a time when the Indiana University product was a high-volume scorer, and he even averaged 22.3 points per game in his third season in the league when he was still with Los Angeles.

That was one of 11 seasons in which he averaged better than 15 points a night.

Yet Gordon averaged just 11.0 points per game during his most recent run with the Clippers and was even less of a scorer in the postseason at 10.2 points a night.

He is 34 years old with plenty of NBA miles on his legs, but he is still someone who can space the floor and perhaps even anchor a secondary unit as a spark off the bench. Gordon connected on 37.1 percent of his three-pointers last season and a blistering 41.2 percent from deep in 2021-22 with Houston.

That shooting is where his value lies as he enters free agency.

Contenders looking for pieces to space the floor around their stars and primary ball-handlers will surely be intrigued with Gordon as a veteran option, and his playoff experience with appearances in 60 postseason games means he should be ready to contribute in crunch time of important games down the stretch of the campaign for whichever team signs him.