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Mbah a Moute hoping to stick with Clippers after Kings contract debacle

Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

Things might end up just fine for Luc Mbah a Moute this season. If the Los Angeles Clippers opt to keep a full 15-man roster, he stands a strong chance of making the team, affording him the opportunity to play a reserve role on a championship contender.

Failing that, though, 2015-16 will have started off much worse than Mbah a Moute could have anticipated coming off of what he considered a career year with the Philadelphia 76ers. The 29-year-old leveraged that performance into a contract with the Sacramento Kings - a reported pay cut, but believed to be a guaranteed deal - only for the Kings to void the deal because of what they believed to be a shoulder issue.

The Clippers found no such issue with his shoulder, and the NBPA has reportedly filed a grievance on Mbah a Moute's behalf. While that's sorted out, the combo-forward has no choice but to focus on his camp deal with the Clippers, but he admits to the situation being a challenge.

"My shoulder was never an issue," Mbah a Moute told The OC Register. "I didn't miss a game. I played the whole season without any problems. I had a routine check and the doctor in Philly told me I was fine. I was fine.

"... It was tough because after you come off your best year, you don't expect to be in this situation - career highs and everything in Philly. And even though we didn't have a very good year, I felt I had played really well and kind of raised my value in the league. So finding myself in this situation is sort of a setback. It's just one of those challenges that life throws at you and (you) keep moving."

If the Clippers keep a full roster, it will be either Mbah a Moute or Chuck Hayes who lands the final spot. Mbah a Moute has more utility, but Hayes is a veteran leader and a well-liked pseudo-coach of sorts, so it's not a forgone conclusion head coach Doc Rivers would opt for an additional malleable wing.

The 6-foot-8 Mbah a Moute averaged 9.9 points, 4.9 rebounds, 1.6 assists, and 1.2 steals a season ago, knocking down 30.7 percent of his threes and improving the Sixers' 13th-ranked defense by 3.3 points per 100 possessions when he was on the floor.

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