Pacific Notes: Rondo, Rivers, Lakers

The reports that Kings point guard Rajon Rondo is already butting heads with coach George Karl are not true, and are simply the result of Rondo having fun with members of the media, Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee relays (via Twitter). Jones insists that there are no issues between the strong-willed pair. The rumors of a disconnect between the point guard and coach began as a result of comments that Rondo made to Manny Vieites of Cowbell Kingdom in which Rondo said in response to a query about his relationship with Karl, “It’s not been going too well. We got into a couple of arguments the last couple of days, but hopefully we continue to talk and get better.”

Here’s more from the Pacific Division:

• Austin Rivers believes that his career has been righted since arriving in Los Angeles to play for the Clippers, as well as his father, Doc Rivers, writes Jonathan Abrams of Grantland. “I was just myself,” Austin said of his time with the Clippers during the 2014/15 season. “I stopped thinking. I stopped trying to show everybody I could play. I don’t need to show anybody anything. Just go be myself, and if I do that, then I can really show how good of a player I can be. I almost was mad at myself. I was so pissed that for the past two years, I’ve been putting so much pressure on myself, just for no reason.”
• Despite several key additions during this past offseason, the Lakers still are significantly behind the rest of the pack in the Western Conference playoff picture, opines Amin Elhassan of ESPN.com in his season preview for the franchise.
• The Suns are experimenting with utilizing 6’9″ power forward Cory Jefferson at the center position, a move that may aid him in making the regular season roster, Zach Buchanan of The Arizona Republic writes. “He’s that guy who puts pressure on the basket and on the rim and it opens a lot of things up,” coach Jeff Hornaceck said. “He sets screens and, defensively, he can come from the weak side and block shots. He’s a little outsized for maybe that position, but he handles it pretty well.”