The Clippers still have solid role players in center Ivica Zubac and guards Terance Mann, Norman Powell and Russell Westbrook, who reportedly is on the trading block.

The Clippers also made a nice recovery from losing George by agreeing to a deal on Monday with Nicolas Batum for $9.6 million over two years, said people not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.

They got younger and more athletic by agreeing to deals with forward Derrick Jones Jr., 27, and guard Kevin Porter Jr., 24.

They drafted 6-foot-6 guard Cam Christie, 18, in the second round and got younger in the process.

The Clippers still have the talents of wing Amir Coffey, guard Bones Hyland and forward Kobe Brown.

After using most of the $12.9 million mid-level exception on Jones' three-year deal for $30 million, the Clippers have about $3 million left to spend from that exception.

They used the biannual exception to sign Batum to his two-year deal.

With 14 players on the roster, the Clippers have one spot available and probably are in need of a backup center after Mason Plumlee and Daniel Theis became free agents. They have the NBA minimum salary left to spend on a player.

They have two two-way players on the roster in guards Jordan Miller and Xavier Moon.

So, the Clippers will keep putting a roster together and hope they remain competitive.

"We will miss Paul," Frank said in his statement. "At the same time, we're excited by the opportunities we've now been afforded, including greater flexibility under the new CBA [collective bargaining agreement]. Kawhi is an all-NBA player and we believe T Lue is the best coach in the league.

"We will field a highly competitive team this season, and moving forward, use our organizational advantages to bring top talent to Intuit Dome."

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