Los Angeles Clippers Rumors
“Right now, it doesn’t seem like seeds matter,” said Leonard, the reigning NBA Finals MVP who will try to win a second consecutive championship but with a different team. Leonard added, “I mean, just like tonight, we played Denver. We’re not traveling there or pushing through that altitude that they’re used to playing to at home. Also fans. But the little things like that, you know, just traveling to that different city and trying to establish yourself and see what routine you can make out there, those are pretty much the difficulties of ballgames in the playoffs [that aren’t in the bubble].”
Andy Bernstein: Yeah. I was with you in Maui (when you took the job with the Clippers). Why did you do it? You never really said why you took that job. Jerry West: First of all, Steve Ballmer, if you’re around him, he’s infectious, OK? He’s the most straightforward guy. He doesn’t beat around the bush. He’s just there. OK? And I’m just too competitive even to this day to sit around. I just am too competitive. And obviously, you know, when someone wants you that feels pretty good. They still feel that you have something to give. And obviously, I wasn’t wanted in some other places. It was just a good feeling. And this place has got a lot of basketball people there. This is one of the most formulative teams in basketball, by far. I wouldn’t trade our top 10 guys for any team member. Not one. I just think we’re that deep.
Some of the things that have been done there in a short period of time are pretty remarkable. There are probably five years left here for this team to be really good because all of these players are going to be in their prime. And when I look at other teams aging, their players, look at the age of players, we should be here for a while in Los Angeles.
And how fun would it be for the Clippers and Lakers to play? Would it be for bragging rights of the city? It might be bragging rights for a season if the Clippers would win, but the Lakers’ history and the people they’ve had playing here, that’s never going to go away. But from now on when (the Clippers) have a new building here, they’re going to have their own group of fans. They’re going to be completely different than the Laker fans. And that’s what I think makes life so interesting. Let’s hope the best team wins, and I think we have the best team.
Patrick Beverley was sitting in the back of the LA Clippers’ bus on the way to practice Tuesday when he couldn’t hold the pain and grief in any longer. Tears began streaming down Beverley’s face. It has been just over three weeks since Beverley lost one of his best friends, Davaris Davis, who was shot and killed in Chicago on July 20.
“I cried on my way to practice on the back of the bus, man,” Beverley told ESPN. “It makes me just want to hurry up and win my championship — understanding that I have to go through every process and phase [to get] that while being fortunate to be out here with my teammates — and then get back home to my homies, get back to my friends. “I am tired of losing people. You know? It hits home for me. I have to deal with the reality when I get back, [but until then] comforting my friends, being a leader right here, being a leader of my crew back home in Chicago.”
For the first time since briefly leaving the Clippers and the NBA campus on July 21, Beverley spoke to ESPN about the death of his close friend and how the loss has made him want to try to do more for at-risk youth in his home city of Chicago. Police said Davis, 31, was shot in the abdomen and arm, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
Patrick Beverley was sitting in the back of the LA Clippers’ bus on the way to practice Tuesday when he couldn’t hold the pain and grief in any longer. Tears began streaming down Beverley’s face. It has been just over three weeks since Beverley lost one of his best friends, Davaris Davis, who was shot and killed in Chicago on July 20.
“I cried on my way to practice on the back of the bus, man,” Beverley told ESPN. “It makes me just want to hurry up and win my championship — understanding that I have to go through every process and phase [to get] that while being fortunate to be out here with my teammates — and then get back home to my homies, get back to my friends. “I am tired of losing people. You know? It hits home for me. I have to deal with the reality when I get back, [but until then] comforting my friends, being a leader right here, being a leader of my crew back home in Chicago.”
For the first time since briefly leaving the Clippers and the NBA campus on July 21, Beverley spoke to ESPN about the death of his close friend and how the loss has made him want to try to do more for at-risk youth in his home city of Chicago. Police said Davis, 31, was shot in the abdomen and arm, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
Paul George, Damian Lillard clear the air
Before things got any worse, Paul George wanted to make sure things didn’t escalate any further. According to Chris Haynes, that’s exactly what George did. “George recently reached out to Damian Lillard to clear the air,” Haynes said. “Explaining that he had no beef, and clarifying that it was just competitive banter on his part.” Despite how upset Lillard seemed at the Clippers, he was willing to hear George out. “Lillard apologized remarks made by one of his family members, but stated why he said what he said after that loss to the Clippers,” Haynes said.
Chris Haynes: My @NBAonTNT report on Paul George reaching out to Damian Lillard to discuss the back and forth banter that took an ugly turn once family members got involved. pic.twitter.com/DnGv5fG5rb
The job Vaughn has done impressed his former mentor, Clippers coach Doc Rivers. “I think he’s done a terrific job,” Rivers gushed. “Listen, I coached Jacque in Orlando. He played with me for an entire year, so I’m a big fan of his. He was one of those players — similar to Ty Lue and Sam [Cassell] — that you knew when they retired that they would be coaches. So I hope he gets a good shot here.”
Montrezl Harrell back in the Orlando bubble
Montrezl Harrell: I’m back!!!!!!!!
Montrezl Harrell: This for you MA!!!!! IM DIFFERENT BELIEVE THAT!
“The buy in from everyone, especially players, is pretty amazing,” says a league executive. He’s talking by phone, from the NBA’s campus in Orlando where players like LeBron James and Kawhi Leonard are wearing masks and using hand sanitizer. “To watch a whole team, with superstars, walk by and swipe their Magic Bands and have them flash green, which means they filled out symptom surveys that morning, is awesome.” Anyone who has been to Disney knows a Magic Band is a dystopian digital tracking device with a Mickey Mouse logo that you can’t throw away because it is also your room key. Today, it’s a lynch pin of the NBA’s coronavirus strategy, which involves the kind of invasive oversight teams have long sought, andt the Players Association accepts in a pandemic.
Ben Golliver: Blazers’ Jusuf Nurkic on Damian Lillard, w/ a callback to Paul George & the 2019 playoffs: “He’s just taking bad shots, right? Simple as that. Luckily for us he makes most of them.”
“Motherfuckers talkin’ shit. They’re still hurtin’, that’s why,” Lillard said as he exited the interview room. He said it more diplomatically during his Zoom press conference, referring to George and the Thunder, and also a game-winner Lillard hit in 2014 against the Rockets, when Beverley played for Houston, which sent Portland to the second round and Beverley’s team home for the summer.
Mark Medina: Clippers will sit Patrick Beverley (left calf) and Paul George (rest) tonight vs Brooklyn. Montrezl Harrell is still away from team amid recent death to his grandmother
Rache Nichols: Just another day in the NBA...
6d
Bleacher Report: Dame responds to PG and Pat Bev
Aaron J. Fentress: FINAL Clippers 122 Blazers 117 Blazers fail to take advantage of the Clippers being without Kawhi Leonard and lose a tough game in which Damian Lillard struggled down the stretch, missing two FTs and a three-point attempt that would have tied the game. #RipCity
Casey Holdahl: “They still hurt, that’s why.” — @Damian Lillard
Jovan Buha: Paul George says he was on a minutes limit tonight.
LA Clippers guard Lou Williams, who has been named Sixth Man of the Year three times — including each of the past two seasons — is a finalist for the award yet again, and is joined by teammate Montrezl Harrell and Oklahoma City Thunder guard Dennis Schroder. Williams and Jamal Crawford are the only three-time recipients of the award.
Andrew Greif: Clippers star Kawhi Leonard (injury management, left knee soreness) will NOT play today vs. Portland. Decision was just made. This is the same approach to back-to-backs the Clippers have taken all season with Kawhi. Clippers play Sunday, as well.
Mirjam Swanson: Trail Blazers Coach Terry Stotts on facing a Clippers team without Kawhi: “Obviously, he’s an MVP. he’s a defensive player, he’s a scorer, he’s a key to their team, so it goes without saying that they’re a better team with him — the thing for us … (against Denver) 1/
