Clippers waive Cam Christie ahead of salary guarantee deadline

Cam Christie’s next season with the Clippers was about to become considerably more expensive. Los Angeles decided to move on instead.

The Clippers announced Wednesday that they have waived the third-year guard, one day before his $2.3 million salary would have become fully guaranteed.

Christie and the team had twice agreed this offseason to push back that deadline. With 15 other players already on guaranteed contracts, there wasn’t much room left for him on the standard roster.

The move clears his non-guaranteed salary from the books. If Christie goes unclaimed on waivers, he’ll become an unrestricted free agent.

That doesn’t necessarily end his connection with the Clippers. Los Angeles has an open two-way spot, so a return under a different contract remains a possibility.

Christie, 21, was selected in the second round of the 2024 draft. He appeared in 55 games last season, averaging 2.8 points and 1.4 rebounds in 8.7 minutes.

The shooting has been a struggle. Across 68 career NBA appearances, Christie has made 36.8 percent of his field-goal attempts and 22.6 percent from beyond the arc.

Those are limited minutes for a young guard, but they haven’t given the Clippers much reason to expand his role. For Christie, the next opportunity will be about finding playing time and making more of it.