Playing Keep or Cut with Each of Los Angeles Clippers' Free Agents

Doc Rivers has his work cut out improving the Los Angeles Clippers' roster this summer. As president of basketball operations, he will be in charge of all roster moves.

His first order of business will be to decide which free agents he would like to re-sign and what price he is willing to pay.

DeAndre Jordan is obviously a keeper, but will Rivers agree to offer him a maximum contract spanning five years?

The remaining free agents all must be weighed based on price, their talent level and how Rivers sees them fitting into his rotations.

Additionally, players Rivers decides not to keep open a roster spot he can use to potentially improve a bench that finished 22nd in the NBA in scoring, according to Hoop Stats.

Cut: Dahntay Jones

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This decision seems rather easy considering Dahntay Jones played a total of 123 minutes during the regular season.

He was signed via a 10-day contract January 14 and then for the remainder of the season February 2. While he did not play much of a role on the floor for the Clippers, head coach Doc Rivers kept him around because of his great attitude, per ESPN's Arash Markazi:

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He's good every day, Rivers said. He's a pro. You can't have enough pros and so he's been really good. He's been through playoffs. Guys like that, Sam [Cassell] was telling a story when we signed him at the end of the year that I told him he was going to win one game for us and I said I ‘don't know when,' but he was talking about the [2008 first-round] playoff game in Atlanta where he got hot and won the game for us and then he went in the locker room and said, ‘I'm done. I've done my job.' That's what a guy like Dahntay [can do]. It could be one stop, it could be one thing, so you just don't know.

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Unfortunately for Jones, I just don't see re-signing him early in the season. The Clippers need talent and production off the bench and must use their roster spots wisely.

Cut: Ekpe Udoh

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Signed early in the season as a back-of-the-roster and practice player, Ekpe Udoh will have the same fate as Jones.

Although he was on the roster all season, he only played in 33 games and logged 128 minutes. He was an emergency reserve big, but Rivers needs talent and production off the bench.

Guys like Udoh and Jones can be found on 10-day contracts. Rivers needs to find another big who can defend power forwards and centers.

Cut: Hedo Turkoglu

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A pleasant surprise, Hedo Turkoglu played more minutes this season (705) than he did the last two combined (581).

His ability to handle the ball on the perimeter and shoot threes allowed Rivers to deploy him with confidence when his other bigs were in foul trouble, hurt or needed a breather.

Turkoglu shot 43.2 percent from deep this past season, but the rest of his game was invisible. He did not contribute much on the glass (1.6 RPG), and his assist numbers (.6 APG) were limited due to his role in the offense. Defensively, he was a liability due to his lack of quickness.

While he proved capable of playing a limited role as a floor-spacing power forward, his roster spot might better be used for a point guard or a wing defender.

Keep: Glen Davis

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Although he could work himself into better condition, Glen Davis seems to have a home and role with the Clippers.

First, Rivers is comfortable with Davis, having coached him previously with the Boston Celtics. Davis knows his role in Rivers' systems, plays hard and has a great attitude.

He is a solid rebounder, despite only pulling down 10.5 percent of the total rebounds available, per Basketball-Reference. Again, if he is able to stay healthy and get himself in better shape, his rebounding can be a tool off the bench.

Davis is likely to sign for the minimum, knows the system and would allow Rivers to bring a younger forward along slowly as the season progresses. This would allow Rivers to bring a younger forward along more slowly and develop him to play Davis' role as the season progresses.

Keep: Austin Rivers

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Although Austin Rivers is offensively challenged, he is the exact type of player the Clippers lack.

He's a young guard, plays with pace, is aggressive and Rivers trusts him. The Reggie Bullock experiment did not work, C.J. Wilcox has yet to see any meaningful minutes, and the Clippers need some youth in the rotation.

He will have to improve his shooting, but Rivers made the Clippers a better team later in the season and during the playoffs. His length and tenacity defensively allowed his father to play him at small forward while also running the point off the bench.

Finally, the Clippers' financial capabilities are limited this summer.

Considering they have Rivers' Bird rights, they can pay him up to $3.1 million next season. Other than those rights, the Clippers will likely have the tax payer's mid-level exception ($3.3 million) and minimum contracts to offer free agents.

The Clippers can't afford to let Rivers leave in free agency.

Keep: DeAndre Jordan

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DeAndre Jordan has developed into one of the league's best centers. His list of accomplishments is quite impressive.

He led the league in rebounding and field-goal percentage the last two years, was named first team All-Defense and third team All-NBA this past season.

Only 26 years old, Jordan continues to improve on both ends of the floor. He is the backbone of Rivers' defensive system, but he is also one of the best finishers in the entire league.

He is young, long, athletic, energetic and worth the five years and $109 million the Clippers can offer him. Much like Austin Rivers, if the team were to lose Jordan, they would have limited options to attempt to replace him.

Clips Nation's Lucas Hann discusses just how important it is for the Clippers to re-sign Jordan:

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If the Clippers let Jordan walk (which won't happen), or Jordan decides that he would like to play for a different team (it won't happen, but it's at least possible), LA will be in a bind. The Clippers would still be well over the cap, meaning that they would not get to use that eight-figure salary on a replacement. Essentially, the choice isn't DeAndre Jordan vs Brook Lopez, LaMarcus Aldridge, or other alternative high-salary big men on the market. The choice is DeAndre Jordan or squat.

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Jordan is the team's top priority, and losing him to another team would be devastating to the franchise.