NBA Rumors: Eric Gordon to Draw Interest from Lakers, Suns, Bucks, More in FA

One day after being waived by the Los Angeles Clippers, veteran guard Eric Gordon is already reportedly garnering interest from other teams.

The Los Angeles Lakers, Memphis Grizzlies, Minnesota Timberwolves, Milwaukee Bucks, Phoenix Suns and Portland Trail Blazers are interested in pursuing Gordon in free agency, The Athletic's Kelly Iko reported.

Gordon is looking for an "outlined role with a contender," Ito said.

The 34-year-old guard averaged 11.0 points, 2.1 assists and 1.7 rebounds in 22 games with the Los Angeles Clippers after a midseason trade from the Houston Rockets. The Clippers, who drafted Gordon at No. 7 in 2008, waived him Wednesday instead of guaranteeing his $20.9 million salary for the 2023-24 season.

It was only five months ago that Los Angeles gave up Luke Kennard, John Wall and a protected pick swap, which allowed the Rockets to move up 10 spots in the 2023 first round, to acquire Gordon.

Kennard was leading the NBA in shooting accuracy from behind the arc for the second straight season when he was traded. According to ESPN's Ohm Youngmisuk, the Clippers preferred Gordon's "ability to stretch the floor, defend bigger guards and... attack the rim."

Those qualities were not enough to convince the Clippers to keep Gordon on the roster when considering the impact his contract would have on their tax bill.

Several of the teams interested in pursuing Gordon are similarly cap-strapped. The Lakers, Bucks, Trail Blazers, Suns and Wolves all rank among the bottom 10 NBA teams in terms of cap space, per Spotrac.

These are teams looking for veteran guard depth, however. The Lakers showed "strong interest" in pursuing Chris Paul, per The Athletic's Jovan Buha, and the Suns could be searching for his replacement. The Grizzlies, one of the NBA's youngest teams last season, could be looking for some experienced depth. The Blazers are committed to "building a winner" around Damian Lillard, who wants to play with veterans.

In addition to their tax bill, the Clippers might have waived Gordon to clear room for star guard James Harden. Los Angeles is pursuing the Philadelphia 76ers veteran, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported Thursday.

In 15 seasons, Gordon has averaged 16.0 points per game on a 42.9 shooting percentage. As a free-agency target for teams looking for veteran experience in their guard rotation at a lower cost than Harden, he makes sense.