Category: Los Angeles Clippers Blog

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Blake Griffin says he is happy on Pistons

The 9-7 Detroit Pistons are the East’s 5th seed through Friday’s games. Power forward Blake Griffin is leading the team in scoring at 25.3 points per game, and he’s second in rebounds at 10.4 per game, but surprisingly he’s leading the squad in assists, dishing 4.8 per contest. While that’s a very low assist average to lead an entire NBA team, it’s still impressive on Griffin’s part. For more on him, mostly on his transition from the Clippers to Pistons, here’s the LA Times:

Yes, he chose to sign a five-year contract worth more than $170 million to remain in Los Angeles with the Clippers. Yes, the Clippers balked less than eight months into the deal and sent him to the Pistons. Yes, there are things Griffin misses in Los Angeles. He wishes he was closer to his children on a full-time basis. He misses some Clippers fans and people in the organization.

But being in Detroit instead of playing for the Clippers, Griffin is fine with it.

“Yeah, I’m glad it happened,” Griffin told the Los Angeles Times. “I’m not saying I don’t miss certain people. There were some awesome fans that I got to know and I felt like I was very close with them. And there are some people you miss over there, but it was just time for a fresh start.

“I’m glad to be here.”

Griffin, who turns 30 in March, is really happy — it’s something everyone says when you ask about him. Detroit and the surrounding suburbs are more like his native Oklahoma than Los Angeles, so he’s more comfortable. Teammates say he’s thriving in a role of being the lead voice in the locker room. Staffers say he’s been terrific to deal with. Others love that he seems to know everyone in the organization by name. The mood swings that at times in Los Angeles could be volatile haven’t been an issue.

The Pistons seem good, but definitely not great, and will need more consistent play from guys other than Griffin and Andre Drummond if they want to raise their status as an actual East contender. Griffin, this season, is doing his part.

Clippers 8-1 at home so far this season

The Clippers have been a success so far this season, especially when playing as the Home team — they are 8-1 when hosting the contest. Here’s the Daily Breeze reporting:

Their eight consecutive wins since that opening-night loss to the Denver Nuggets represent the best current home winning streak in the NBA.

“You always hear people say, you have to take care of home,” said Avery Bradley, whose late-game steal against the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday secured the victory to elevate the 12-6 Clippers to first place in the Western Conference. “We say it before every game.” …

The Clippers’ early success hasn’t been without drama. Their three overtime victories — all at home — are the most in the NBA.

They rank second in the NBA in “clutch wins,” or those defined by NBA.com/stats as games played within a five-point margin in the final five minutes of regulation, with nine. (The Philadelphia 76ers have 10.)

The West is incredibly close up top, but through Friday’s games the Clippers, via tiebreaker rules, are the No. 1 seed in the conference.

Boban Marjanovic scores 13 points in 16 minutes for Clippers

Whenever Boban Marjanovic makes an appearance on the court, it’s a fun event. And it needs to happen more often, because he has a habit of scoring around a point per minute when he gets to string a bunch of minutes together. At least, that’s what it feels like. Normally we’d go check the stats and give an exact number, but in this case just enjoy the magic of the Boban and read what happened yesterday. Here’s the OC Register reporting:

Trust him, Coach Doc Rivers told his Clippers before Friday’s game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, they’ve got stuff worth sticking to.

In a 108-92 victory against the Thunder – who were without superstar guard Russell Westbrook, who continued his recovery from arthroscopic right knee surgery – the Clippers looked secure in their sets until they didn’t … and then they did again when it mattered most.

The coalescing that needed to hurry and happen for the Clippers (1-1) to close out games was found Friday, at least, with a lineup that featured Luc Mbah a Moute, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Lou Williams, Boban Marjanovic and Tobias Harris, whose 14 fourth-quarter points led the late charge before 14,816 fans at Staples Center…

After being mostly stymied in three minutes of first-half action, Marjanovic entered the game late in the third quarter to cause some of the havoc Clippers fans have come to love from him.

The 7-foot-3 center plucked five rebounds off the rim and scored 13 points in 15 minutes, picking up for Gallinari, who cheered enthusiastically from the bench alongside fellow starters Bradley and Patrick Beverley.

Clippers trade Wesley Johnson to Pelicans

The New Orleans Pelicans have acquired forward Wesley Johnson from the Los Angeles Clippers in exchange for center Alexis Ajinca.

In a subsequent transaction, the Clippers then waived Ajinca.

“Wes is a versatile player and a consummate professional who impacts the game on both ends of the court, and brings a strong, positive presence to the locker room,” said Frank. “We want to thank Wes for his contributions to the Clippers organization, and wish him, and his family, the best of luck in New Orleans.”

Johnson, 31, averaged 5.1 points and 2.9 rebounds in 17.8 minutes across 222 appearances (52 starts) in three seasons with L.A. The eight-year NBA veteran holds career averages of 7.2 points and 3.2 rebounds in 22.7 minutes through 571 games (321 starts) with the Clippers, Minnesota Timberwolves, Phoenix Suns and Los Angeles Lakers. The Corsicana, Texas native was originally drafted by the Timberwolves with the 4th pick in the first round of the 2010 NBA Draft. The 6-foot-7 forward played his first two years of collegiate basketball at Iowa State before transferring to Syracuse.

Ajinca, 30, holds career averages of 5.3 points and 3.9 rebounds across 293 appearances in seven NBA seasons with Charlotte, Dallas, Toronto and New Orleans. A native of Saint-Etienne, France, the 7’2”, 248-pound center was selected 20th overall by Charlotte in the 2008 NBA Draft.

Clippers waive Jawun Evans as opening night approaches

Clippers waive Jawun Evans as opening night approaches

The L.A. Clippers have waived guard Jawun Evans.

“We had a productive and very competitive training camp and preseason, and all of our players deserve to be on the team. As difficult as these decisions can be, we are very proud of this group and excited to begin the season with them,” said Frank. “Jawun is a highly competitive, intelligent player who worked extremely hard this summer and throughout camp. We are grateful for Jawun’s contributions to the Clippers and wish him the absolute best moving forward.”

Evans, 22, appeared in 48 games in his rookie season with L.A., averaging 4.8 points, 2.1 assists and 1.8 rebounds in 16.2 minutes. A product of Oklahoma State, he led the Big 12 in scoring (19.2 ppg), was an AP All-America Honorable Mention selection and was named to the All-Big 12 First Team as a sophomore. He was named the Big 12 Freshman of the Year in 2015-16 and was a McDonald’s and Parade All-American out of Kimball High School in Dallas.

Clippers waive Jamel Artis

The L.A. Clippers have waived guard Jamel Artis.

Artis, 25, spent last season on a two-way contract with the Orlando Magic, appearing in 15 games and averaging 5.1 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 18.6 minutes. The 6’7”, 213-pound guard appeared in 46 games (all starts) for the Lakeland Magic, averaging 19.5 points, 5.8 rebounds and 2.4 assists, while shooting 46.3 percent from the field in 37.5 minutes. A graduate of the University of Pittsburgh, Artis received an All-ACC honorable mention in his final collegiate season.

Clippers sign guard Jamel Artis

Clippers sign guard Jamel Artis

The L.A. Clippers have signed guard Jamel Artis.

Artis, 25, spent last season on a two-way contract with the Orlando Magic, appearing in 15 games and averaging 5.1 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 18.6 minutes. The 6’7”, 213-pound guard appeared in 46 games (all starts) for the Lakeland Magic, averaging 19.5 points, 5.8 rebounds and 2.4 assists, while shooting 46.3 percent from the field in 37.5 minutes. A graduate of the University of Pittsburgh, Artis received an All-ACC honorable mention in his final collegiate season.

Clippers waive forward Desi Rodriguez

Clippers waive forward Desi Rodriguez

The L.A. Clippers waived forward Desi Rodriguez today.

Rodriguez, 22, appeared in two preseason games for L.A., tallying one assist and one steal in 9.3 minutes. The 6’6”, 220-pound swingman appeared in six games for the Clippers in the 2018 Las Vegas NBA Summer league, averaging 7.0 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 21.6 minutes. Rodriguez played four collegiate seasons at Seton Hall University, appearing in 129 games (97 starts) and averaging 12.8 points and 4.9 rebounds, while shooting 36 percent from three-point range in 26.3 minutes. He was named to the Second Team All-Big East as a senior, after averaging 17.5 points and 4.8 rebounds in his final collegiate season.

Doc Rivers discusses the state of the Clippers

Here’s the Daily Breeze reporting what Clippers coach Doc Rivers had to say about his squad as the 2018-19 season approaches:

Instead of teeing it up on a golf course, Doc Rivers spent Wednesday morning on a terrace at the Clippers Training Center, sipping coffee and explaining to reporters why, entering his sixth season as the Clippers coach, he’s so excited about the challenge that his job presents.

“I could’ve stayed in Boston and been safe, but you want the challenge, and I looked at the Clippers as the ultimate challenge,” said Rivers, who was joined Wednesday by Lawrence Frank, the team’s president of basketball operations.

“Historically, we’ve had some shaky (times),” Rivers continued. “But lately we’ve been really good, we just haven’t been the best. And my two goals are, one, to win a title, and two, when you hear that (Clippers) name, you think very positive.

“When you hear free agents and they say, ‘L.A.,’ they’re just not meaning the other team. Five, six years ago, you didn’t hear that, but now … when people say, ‘I want to go to L.A.,’ they mean both teams. And sometimes they mean only our team. To me, that’s a level of success that tells you that we’re doing something right here.”

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Clippers hire writer Lee Jenkins

Here’s the Daily Breeze reporting on the news that the Clippers have hired Lee Jenkins, who for years has been writing for Sports Illustrated:

Clippers hire writer Lee Jenkins

Lee Jenkins, Sports Illustrated’s lead NBA writer for the past eight years, has agreed to join the Clippers’ front office, according to the team, which confirmed the hiring in a news release Monday night. Jenkins will serve as the franchise’s executive director of research and identity; he’ll work with President Lawrence Frank and General Manager Michael Winger.

In the new position – the first of its kind for any NBA team, according to the Clippers – Jenkins will use his extensive reporting background and unique interviewing style to contribute to the franchise’s amateur and professional scouting infrastructure and to “enhance the Clipper experience.”

“Lee has spent his career profiling elite athletes, including most of the top players in the NBA,” Frank said in the release. “Given Lee’s talent, knowledge, and credibility, we hope to blend his approach with our existing evaluation systems and highlight the personalities of our players. He is the NBA’s preeminent storyteller and adding him to the team is a reflection of Steve’s commitment to innovation and building a best-in-class organization.”

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