The Clippers opening night injury report is now clear, and it is long. The Los Angeles Clippers said Wednesday that Brandon Ingram, Bradley Beal, Max Strus and Yanic Konan Niederhauser will not be ready for the regular-season opener against the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday, October 21, at Intuit Dome. The Press Enterprise’s Janis Carr and beat writer Joey Linn reported the update, and Hoops Rumors and WhyNBA relayed it. The good news is about Kobe Sanders: the team is optimistic he will play.
The roster is also still changing. On Thursday the Clippers signed Miye Oni and Nathan Mensah to Exhibit 10 deals and waived Fletcher Loyer, the team announced, according to Hoops Rumors. Our Clippers vs Nuggets recap covered Wednesday’s win and the Cameron Christie cut. This piece looks ahead to opening night.
Clippers Opening Night Injury Report: Who Is Out
“BI and Yanic doing court work but along with Max Strus and Beale will not be ready for the start of the season,” Carr posted. (“Beale” is her spelling.) “Kobe Sanders is out tonight but the team is optimistic about playing opening night.” Linn reported the same thing.
- Brandon Ingram (Achilles): Hoops Rumors reports he is back doing on-court work but will not be ready for the opener. He is expected to be re-evaluated once the season begins. The partial Achilles tear was found during heel surgery after Toronto’s playoff series against Cleveland, according to Hoops Rumors. On Tuesday, Tyronn Lue said a return was still “going to be a while.”
- Bradley Beal (right knee): ClutchPoints’ Tomer Azarly reported Wednesday that Beal still is not doing five-on-five work and is limited to individual work while the team manages the inflammation, per WhyNBA. Lue: “We don’t know the timetable.”
- Max Strus (right foot): partially torn plantar fascia from the preseason opener in Honolulu. Missing the start was expected.
- Yanic Konan Niederhauser (foot): recovering from foot surgery in March, per WhyNBA. He is now doing on-court work, but there is no return date.
- Jordan Miller (left shoulder): out long term after rotator cuff surgery in August.
Ingram’s absence matters most. He came to the Clippers as the centerpiece of the trade that sent Kawhi Leonard to Toronto, according to Hoops Rumors. Last season with the Raptors he averaged 21.5 points, 5.6 rebounds and 3.7 assists in 77 games and shot 38.2% from three. He has a $41.9 million player option for next summer.
Kobe Sanders Trending Toward the Opener
Sanders has a left hip impingement, per WhyNBA, and has not played this preseason. The Clippers are “optimistic” he will be available on October 21, according to Carr, Linn and CBS Sports. That is optimism, not a clearance. As a rookie in 2024-25 he played 68 games, started 16, and averaged 7.3 points in 19.9 minutes, per CBS Sports. With Beal and Strus out, he would add another guard to a thin backcourt.
Return Estimates and a Source Note
Injury trackers have started listing target dates. Hoops Nightly lists Beal on October 23, Ingram on November 1, Strus on November 2 and Miller on March 1, 2027. Those are tracker estimates, not team timelines. The Beal date in particular is hard to square with Lue saying Tuesday that there is no timetable. Treat all of them as rough guides.
A correction to our recap: we wrote that no reason had been given for Kris Dunn missing Wednesday’s game. WhyNBA and Hoops Nightly both list it as rest, and Hoops Nightly has him day-to-day with a target of October 21.
The Roster Moves
Thursday’s moves look like G League moves. Hoops Rumors expects both Oni and Mensah to be waived in the next few days. That would put each on track for an Exhibit 10 bonus of up to $91,000 if he spends at least 60 days with the San Diego Clippers.
- Miye Oni: 29, a 6-foot-5 guard/forward and the 58th pick in 2019 out of Yale. He played three seasons with Utah and has played in England, Spain and Puerto Rico, the G League and the Basketball Africa League since, per Hoops Rumors. He plays for Nigeria’s national team.
- Nathan Mensah: 28, a 6-foot-9 big man from Ghana. He played 25 NBA games on a two-way deal with Charlotte in 2023-24 and one game for San Diego last season, per Hoops Rumors and The Athletic’s Law Murray.
- Fletcher Loyer: waived for the second time this preseason. The Clippers released him on October 6 and re-signed him on October 13, and he played seven minutes against Denver on Wednesday, per the ESPN box score.
Hoops Rumors reported after the Christie move that the Clippers have 15 players on guaranteed contracts, so the standard roster is effectively full. The open two-way spot is the remaining question. Whether Christie, if he clears waivers, or another player fills it has not been reported.
The Opening Week
The Clippers open with three games in five days: Sacramento at home on October 21, at the Lakers on October 23, and at Oklahoma City on October 25. Without Ingram, Beal and Strus, Darius Garland and Rui Hachimura carry the scoring. Hachimura led the team with 16 points against Denver, and Garland had 14 points and seven assists.
The preseason showed where the extra minutes might go. Lue started Garland, Keaton Wagler, Derrick Jones Jr., Hachimura and Isaiah Jackson in the finale. Baba Miller made his case off the bench with 15 points on 5-of-6 shooting.
Lue’s Tuesday availability, where he discussed Ingram, Beal and Strus, is on the Clippers’ official channel. We embedded it on Wednesday too, because it is still the most relevant video:
Unconfirmed
- Whether Sanders is cleared for October 21. The team is “optimistic.”
- Return dates for Ingram, Beal, Strus and Niederhauser. The tracker dates above are estimates.
- Whether Dunn, listed as day-to-day for rest, plays in the opener.
- Who gets the open two-way spot, and whether Oni and Mensah are waived as expected.
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