Western Notes: Pierce, Knight, Morris, Jackson

Paul Pierce has re-emerged as a starter for the Clippers, save for his game off for rest Saturday, and his basketball IQ is helping fuel a resurgence for a team that struggled to start the season, even with Blake Griffin injured, as TNT’s David Aldridge examines in his Morning Tip column for NBA.com. Pierce enjoyed his time with the Wizards last season, but the chance to play in his hometown was too enticing for him to pass up the chance to sign with the Clips in the summer, as he tells Aldridge.

“I think that I looked at the team and I thought that they really had the chance to win the championship, and for me, on top of that, my family,” Pierce said. “It was a combination of things.”

The Clippers have won six straight have only a Wednesday game at Portland before a five-game homestand that begins Saturday. See more from the Western Conference:

• The Suns erred when they put Brandon Knight and Markieff Morris in leadership positions and should have made retaining Goran Dragic a greater priority, Bleacher Report’s Kevin Ding argues.
• Players on D-League teams affiliated with Pacific Division clubs dominate the list of 10-day contract candidates that Cody Taylor of Basketball Insiders compiled. Elliot Williams (Warriors), Earl Clark (Suns), Erick Green (Kings), Terrico White (Suns), Darington Hobson (Warriors) and Vince Hunter (Kings) are among the names on Taylor’s list. We went in-depth on 10-day contracts earlier today in advance of Tuesday’s start of the 10-day signing period.
• Former NBA second-round pick Pierre Jackson has signed with the D-League, where the Jazz affiliate holds his rights, a source tells Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). Jackson impressed in the D-League during the 2013/14 season but suffered a torn Achilles tendon the following summer. The Sixers, who picked him 42nd overall in 2013, have signed him each of the past two offseasons, but he’s failed to appear on Philly’s regular season roster.