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Reviewing the Clippers 2025 Summer League Roster
The Clippers’ first Summer League is in two days, so it’s time for my annual tradition of reviewing the Clippers’ summer roster and giving brief thoughts on each player.
The
Roster Guys
Yanic Konan Niederhauser – Niederhauser is an archetype of player – athletic big man – that I think generally looks pretty good in unstructured play like Summer League. We all know he’s hyper athletic, and there will therefore be some fun dunks and blocks, but I’ll be watching his positioning on both ends closely. Really, the biggest complaint about Niederhauser I’ve heard from scouts and draft people is he’s not all that competent at basketball fundamentals, so just seeing how he moves on the court and does basic things (box out, set picks, set himself on defense) will be the important check boxes for me.
Kobe Sanders – I already gave some initial thoughts on Kobe when the Clippers selected him in the draft, but I want to reiterate that I think it was a good pick and I like his skillset for the NBA. In Summer League, I am going to be focusing on two things – his defense, and how easily he’s able to get to his spots on offense. Kobe’s athleticism is not great, and if he’s unable to create any separation on offense or stick with perimeter players on defense it won’t be a good sign. If he looks comfortable navigating play on offense and doesn’t look completely cooked on defense I will feel good about his Summer League.
Cam Christie – The 46th pick in the 2024 Draft, Christie barely played in the NBA last year, instead spending nearly all of his time down in the G League. This is understandable for Christie, who is still just 19 years old and was not physically ready for the NBA last year. We all know Christie’s shot is buttery and that he has the size of an off-guard in the NBA. What I want to see is how his year of professional conditioning, strength training, nutrition, and play has done in terms of his physicality on both ends. Can he successfully get all the way to the rim on drives and not get bumped off his spot? Can he hold up offensive players as a defender and not give ground? These are the things I will be watching for in Summer League.
Trentyn Flowers – Despite Flowers being picked up last year by the Clippers as an undrafted free agent, this will actually be his first Summer League appearance, as he had issues with getting out of his NBL contract to play for the Clippers last summer. Considering his age and rawness as a prospect, Flowers had a pretty strong campaign in the G-League, averaging 17.7 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 1.9 assists across 42 games played. He also shot the ball fairly well, with a 38.5% rate from deep on 4.3 attempts per game. In Summer League, I’d like to see Flowers create off the dribble using his athleticism and play sound defense. The defensive side of the ball is where Flowers needs to put in work – like many young wings, he’s not fully up to speed there. Summer League is a tough context to show advanced defense, but I would like to see some nice stops and competent rotations from Flowers as well as his usual scoring prowess on the other end.
Jordan Miller – I’m counting Jordan as a roster player even though the Clippers cut him yesterday, as all indications are that they’d ideally like to retain him in some capacity. Frankly, considering how dominant Jordan was at last Summer League, I don’t really need to see much from him, but I hope he shows out to convince the Clippers (or another team) to give him a deal.
Kobe Brown – I feel pretty similarly about Kobe as I do about Jordan. He hasn’t been as dominant as Jordan at this level, but he’s also 25 years old and has proven himself in Summer League and G-League. Really, I honestly think the Clippers might be doing Kobe a favor by putting him on their Summer League roster to give him another chance to show out – all the reporting seems to be the Clippers are ready to move on from Kobe, and this could be a bit of a showcase. As always with Kobe, I will be watching his three-point shot and how smooth and comfortable he looks from deep.
Patrick Baldwin Jr. – Baldwin Jr. was signed to a two-way deal by the Clippers in March and it seems as though they’d like to keep him around for next year. Baldwin is going into his fourth season in the NBA, and has logged 826 minutes at the NBA level – more than any other player on the Clippers’ roster. A tall (6’9) forward, Baldwin Jr. can shoot but has below-average athleticism and doesn’t do a ton else besides rebound. I’ll be looking to see if he’s any more adept at getting to the rim or at least finding spots in the midrange, since we know the three-point shot is mostly there.
Exhibit
10 Players
Jahmyl Telfort – Telfort is a five-year college player who played his last two seasons at Butler after his first three at Northeastern. A 6’7 guard, Telfort is interesting because his two seasons at Butler were much better than his stint at Northeastern despite playing in a much tougher conference. Telfort is an all-around offensive guard who scored most of his points from two-point range while chipping in reasonable amounts of rebounds and assists. The size is interesting for a guard, as is the production, but Telfort is very old for a prospect (turned 24 in April) and the three-point shot was inconsistent in college. Considering how many guards the Clippers have, I don’t think he’ll get a two-way spot, but who knows.
John Poulakidas – Poulakidas is a senior from Yale who played all four seasons at Yale, including starting and playing heavy minutes the last three. He emerged as an NBA prospect in his senior season, when he averaged 19.4 points per game (leading the Ivy League in scoring) while shooting 40.8% from three (7.9 attempts) and an insane 89.7% from the line (3.2 attempts). Poulakidas has decent size at 6’5, making him a standard off-guard in terms of build, and his best skill by far is his shooting. He doesn’t do a ton else on the court, but if he can hold his own on defense the shooting alone could make him an NBA player. I’ll be curious to see how he’s able to get his shot off against much bigger and more athletic competition than he’s seen previously.
Other
Players
Izaiah Brockington – Brockington, a 6’4 guard, has played a single game of NBA basketball, for the Pelicans in 2024. He played for the San Diego Clippers for part of the 2025 season, and has in general bounced around the G-League as well as other leagues (mostly recently Canada). Brockington is a scorer who can shoot the ball but hasn’t shown a ton of other production. Considering how many guards the Clippers already have in camp, my guess is he’s just there as a favor for the G-League squad, but maybe he shows out. He is already 26, which is a mark against him having much upside, but we will see.
Juwan Gary – Gary is an undrafted rookie who played five seasons in college across Nebraska and Alabama. A long-time starter at the Power Five level, Gary is an older rookie that probably doesn’t shoot well enough (29.4% from three across college career on 2.3 attempts per game) to make it in the NBA at his size (6’6), but he is a solid rebounder and defender who brings energy. He’s another player I’d guess is more of a depth piece and potential San Diego Clipper roster guy.
Zavier Simpson – First off, Zavier Simpson, aka “Captain Hook” is a Michigan legend. He’s therefore automatically the best player on this roster. Second, he legitimately has had the most successful professional career of anyone on this summer league team, earning an All-EuroCup Second Team placement last year for a Romanian team and leading the EuroCup league in assists per game. A small (he’s listed at 6’0 but is not that tall) point guard, Simpson is a classic gritty, undersized point that can run the offense and play defense at the point of attack. He’s played 11 games in the NBA for the Grizzlies and Thunder, but his shot has not been good enough to stick. At age 28 he’s unlikely to make the jump back to the NBA, but maybe the Clippers are interested in him as a Xavier Moon type two-way signing for steady point guard minutes in a pinch. Enjoy the hook shots folks.
Reviewing the Clippers 2025 Summer League Roster
Robert Flom