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Clippers 2023-2024 Season Preview: Amir Coffey
Our player preview series of the 2024 Clippers continues with Amir Coffey, who has some on- and off-court issues to resolve if he wants to crack the Clippers’ rotation.
Basic Information
Height: 6’7”
Weight: 210 pounds
Position: Shooting Guard/Small Forward
Age: 26
Years in NBA: Four
Key Stats: Averaged 3.4 points, 1.1 rebounds, and 1.1 assists in 12.5 minutes per game across 50 games in his fourth season with the Clippers.
Contract Status: Signed a three-year, $11M contract before the 2022-2023 season. He is in the second year of that deal and will make $3.66M.
Expectations
Before getting to his on-court play, it must be acknowledged that Amir Coffey got himself in trouble this offseason. Specifically, he was arrested on suspicion of carrying a concealed weapon in July. He has since been charged with two misdemeanors and will appear in court at some point in September. Without doing too much legal prognosticating, we can say that it is likely that Amir will be able to resolve these charges in a way that allows him to be prepared for training camp.
Even if Amir is ready for camp, though, this incident is likely to put another dent in his hopes to get rotation minutes this season. He is already deep on the depth chart; he’s 26, so the Clippers should prioritize giving opportunities to younger players (like Kenyon Martin Jr, Brandon Boston, or even Jordan Miller); and we know he has been in trade conversations, given he was almost on the way to Boston in exchange for Malcolm Brogdon. Adding off-the-court issues to this mix of considerations means the Clippers have even more incentive to move on.
Finally, setting all of the above aside for the moment, the Clippers are likely going into this season expecting Amir to do exactly what he did last season: play garbage time, absorb minutes when others are injured or resting, and contribute during practice as a scout player. Last year, Amir only played more than 15 minutes 18 times, and most of those games came early in the season when Kawhi Leonard was out rehabbing his knee and ankle. If all goes as planned (that is, Kawhi and the core rotation stay healthy), Amir will have another season of playing the “filler” role.
Strengths
Amir Coffey’s greatest strength is his basic competence: He knows how to fit within an offense, he’s a decent shooter, and he’s big enough to play and guard several positions. He also clearly has some intangible skills: He has survived within the Clippers’ organization for four years after going undrafted, which is hard to do, and has ingratiated himself enough with the front office to earn a “real” NBA contract after a series of two-way deals. As mentioned above, Amir’s recent mistakes might weaken the ties he has created within the organization, but he should get credit for creating an NBA career for himself.
Weaknesses
Although Amir is described as a “decent shooter” above, it should be noted that his splits from last season were pretty bad. He shot 38.6% from the field, 27.5% from three, and 77% from the free throw line. Those splits dropped from 45.3/37.8/86 the year before. To be fair, much of that drop off is likely because Amir played significantly fewer minutes last year, so he was never able to get in rhythm.
Amir also put on some weight going into last season, which in theory made sense: It would allow him to extend his range from shooting guard and small forward to the modern “four” (what used to be called “power forward”). In reality, however, it made him slower and less able to stay in front of guards on the defensive end or burst by opposing defenders.
Summary
In sum, Amir Coffey should focus, first, on getting through his legal issues. Second, Amir should look at the depth chart and determine if he has a better shot of cracking the SG, SF, and/or PF rotation as the third-option. His answer to that question might require him slimming down and returning to his more-agile self. Nonetheless, the Clippers likely are not expecting much from Coffey other than absorbing insignificant minutes, and he remains a likely candidate to get traded.
Clippers 2023-2024 Season Preview: Amir Coffey
Kenneth Armstrong