Clippers forward Terance Mann earned the fifth spot in L.A.’s starting rotation, impressing with his versatility and ability to guard multiple positions, Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN writes. Mann joins Russell Westbrook, Paul George, Kawhi Leonard and Ivica Zubac in the starting five.
Even though the Clippers held a training camp battle for that starting forward spot, their valuation of the fifth-year guard/forward has been sky-high all summer. As noted by Youngmisuk, the Clippers and Sixers continue to hold trade talks surrounding James Harden, but the hold-up between the two teams has long been the potential inclusion of Mann.
Mann said that being involved in speculation all summer was taxing at first, but his veteran teammates helped him learn to shut down the outside noise, according to Andrew Greif of the Los Angeles Times. Being wanted by two teams isn’t all that surprising to Mann, who went from being a second-round pick to a rotation staple, Greif writes.
“[It’s] flattering, but it’s what I worked for,” Mann said. “I’m in the gym every day to make myself better, to make myself a piece in this league that people want and that’s what I strive to just be. I’m not surprised by it.”
Mann’s teammates and coaches are all high on his ability to contribute to winning basketball and the Clippers see keeping Mann and adding Harden as their best route to a championship, Greif writes.
We have more from the Pacific Division:
- After developing into a rotation player over the past four seasons with the Trail Blazers, new Suns forward Nassir Little is acclimating to a new environment. “Just getting accustomed to everything in the organization,” Little said, via Duane Rankin of the The Arizona Republic (Twitter link). “As the preseason went on, I got more and more comfortable and I feel like I’m in a good spot right now.” Little holds career averages of 6.0 points and 3.2 rebounds after being selected with the No. 25 overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft.
- Kings rookie guard Colby Jones came off the bench in the team’s Thursday preseason finale and posted 19 points in a 116-113 victory over the Jazz. According to Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee, the Kings felt they were getting a first-round talent in Jones when they picked him No. 32 overall in the 2023 draft. Now, he has a shot at seeing real action soon at the NBA level “We have a lot of guys we can play,” head coach Mike Brown said. “The neat thing about that is the competition, the real competition. If you’re not getting it done, obviously, there’s somebody else who can come take your spot, and that’s not a threat at all. That’s just what my job is. My job is to put the best five out on the floor based on that situation whenever I can, and if Colby keeps doing what he’s doing, it’s going to be hard to keep him on that bench.“
- After spraining his ankle ahead of training camp, Warriors forward Draymond Green missed all of Golden State’s preseason action. However, ESPN’s Kendra Andrews (Twitter link) reports Green is ramping up his on-court work, participating in 3-on-3 action on Friday for the first time since the injury. Andrews adds that head coach Steve Kerr said Green did well, but there’s more work to be done before he takes the court, including participating in 5-on-5 settings. The Warriors open the regular season on October 24 against the Suns.
Mann is 27 and avg’d 8-3-3 last season. The fact that they’re refusing to include him to get Harden, who despite being a terrible teammate will improve the Clippers drastically in their make or break year is soooooooooo stupid!!
Maybe the Clippers are not all that excited about obtaining Harden and see what they have before going all in for him. Not many teams can take on Harden’s contract so Clippers can wait and see how cheap they can get him.
Exactly.
See what they have …. They’ve progressively gotten worse the last couple season ever since Reggie, Pat and then left from their WCF team. What they have is two often injured SF’s, a past his prime PG that can’t shoot, a bunch of veteran depth and solid centre. Aka only good enough to lose in the first round…
Not that excited about Harden okay cool. It’s not just like he lead the league in assists, and was the co star that helped his team mate win MVP last year.
I understand the get him cheaper line of thinking but end of the day he’s way better than what your giving up which hasn’t got it done so unless you want to keep losing don’t make the deal. We can send him else where for a crap package and move on from him, we don’t have to send him to LA
I actually watched every game the Clippers played last year and Mann’s stats don’t tell the full story of why they covet him. The Clippers didn’t have a hard time scoring last year and don’t really need another scorer. They need guys who can play defense and T Mann does that very well. I think they are willing to take Harden as a bargain but have absolutely no reason to force a move.
Mann does the little things. He can play and guard multiple positions.
He must have some game. It goes both ways. Why do Sixers insist on him being in the trade if he has no value?
I like this lineup. Gives their elite F’s a better chance to impact the game. Hopefully, Lue will give it a real chance. Of course, the KL and PG13 need to stay on the court.