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2022 Free Agents - Robert Covington

Summary
Covington has been one of the better defensive forwards for a number of years now. While he's not a lockdown defender, he's one of the better off-ball defenders in the league. He has the ability to dig down and get deflections helping, while still being able to recover and contest to shooters. He has had an elite block and steal rate for essentially his whole career, with his steal rate being in the top 14th percentile each season from 2014-2022, and his block rate being the top 10th percentile each season except one from 2016-2022, while still being above-average in his other seasons. He also rebounds well for his position.

On offense, Covington's shot comes and goes but his three-point percentage has generally stayed in the mid-to-high thirties for the majority of his career, which is slightly above average. He doesn't bring that much else to the table offensively, as the majority of his attempts come from outside and he doesn't have much of an off-the-dribble game.

Covington will be 31 years old as a free agent in 2022, so he will likely be looking for one last big contract, but teams may be worried that Covington will struggle to provide a high level of value during the back end of a long contract as he ages into his mid-thirties.
 
Cap Considerations
Covington will be an unrestricted free agent with a $19.5 million cap hold and full Bird rights. Since the Clippers will be operating over the salary cap, they will retain Covington's Bird rights, and have no restrictions on re-signing him. However, the luxury tax could come into play, as re-signing Covington could cost the Clippers tens of millions in luxury tax, depending on his salary and what happens with their other free agents.

Therefore, other teams may have a legitimate shot at signing Covington away from Los Angeles without having to make a big offer. If Covington demands a starting salary of more than the full $10.3 million Non-Taxpayer Mid-Level Exception, only teams with cap space will be able to sign him, unless a sign-and-trade is worked out. It is possible that Covington could be had for the full MLE or slightly less.

Potential Teams: Clippers, Hornets, Hawks, Kings, Jazz

Predicted Contract: 2-year, $25 million with the Clippers

Actual Contract: 2-year, $24 million with the Clippers

Covington ended up signing an extension with the Clippers prior to hitting free agency, and got a very similar contract to what I expected.

Last updated: 5/7/2022

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