Last July, Wesley Johnson and Austin Rivers signed contracts with the Los Angeles Clippers that included player options for 2016-17. To no surprise, both players will decline their options and become free agents on July 1. Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated broke the news regarding Rivers on Wednesday, and Brad Turner of the Los Angeles Times reported the Johnson decision.
The Clippers, because of collective bargaining rules, could only pay Rivers $3.11 million for 2015-16 and 3.44 million for 2016-17 if the option was exercised, so it makes financial sense for Rivers to test the free-agent market in July.