- The Clippers would rather have Kawhi Leonard on the floor, but while he’s recovering from ACL surgery, the team is glad he’s able to serve as a de facto coach on the sidelines, writes Mirjam Swanson of The Orange County Register. “He’s not like the loudest one, but no, he knows what to say, what to do,” Nicolas Batum said of his star teammate. “When he has (something) to say, especially on the side when we play five-on-five … he’ll take guys on the side and tell you what he sees, what he just saw the last previous play.”
The Clippers have waived forwards Moses Wright and George King, the team announced today. Both players signed Exhibit 10 contracts with Los Angeles last month.
An undrafted rookie, Wright spent all four years of his college career at Georgia Tech and had a huge season as a senior in 2020/21, averaging 17.4 PPG, 8.0 RPG, 2.3 APG, 1.6 BPG, and 1.5 SPG with a .532/.414/.658 shooting line in 25 games (35.3 MPG). He was named the ACC Player of the Year and made the ACC’s All-Defensive team.
King, the 59th overall pick in the 2018 draft out of Colorado, spent his rookie season with Phoenix on a two-way contract, but appeared in just one NBA game and has been out of the league for the last two years. He played in Italy and Poland during the 2019/20 season, then spent the ’20/21 campaign in Germany with the Niners Chemnitz.
Both Wright and King played sparingly for the Clippers during the preseason, logging fewer than 10 minutes per game. It’s possible both players will end up on the roster of the Agua Caliente Clippers of Ontario, L.A.’s G League affiliate.
The Clippers will have to make at least one more cut before the regular season begins. Harry Giles and Isaiah Hartenstein are vying for the 15th spot on the roster.
Warriors head coach Steve Kerr wants All-Defensive First Team power forward Draymond Green to shoot more, writes Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle.
Simmons reports that, ahead of Golden State’s 2021 preseason, Kerr told Green that he hopes the former three-time All-Star can average two or three three-point looks a night. “If you’re open, let it fly,” Kerr said. Green connected on just 27.0% of his 2.0 attempts per night during the 2020/21 season. He has not shot better than 31% from deep since the 2015/16 season.
There’s more out of the Pacific Division:
- Suns center Deandre Ayton has expressed his frustration that he has yet to secure a rookie contract extension with Phoenix, per Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic. “I love Phoenix, but I’m really disappointed that we haven’t gotten a deal done yet,” Ayton said. “I mean we were two wins (away) from a championship (last season) and I just really want to be respected, to be honest. To be respected like my peers are being respected.” Several players among Ayton’s 2018 draft class, including Hawks All-Star point guard Trae Young, Mavericks All-Star point guard Luka Doncic, Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and Nuggets power forward Michael Porter Jr., have been signed to maximum contract extensions this summer. The deadline for Ayton to complete an extension is October 18. Although Ayton initially seemed hopeful to get a deal done ahead of the season, reports last week suggested that talks were at an impasse — a separate report indicated that negotiations were still continuing.
- Lakers guard Talen Horton-Tucker had a surgery to address a right thumb tear, and is set to miss at least the next four weeks of action, per Jason Anderson of the Sacramento Bee (Twitter link). It was reported that Horton-Tucker injured the ulnar collateral ligament in his right thumb earlier this week. This is a significant blow for the Lakers’ perimeter depth. The club has high hopes for Horton-Tucker this season, having inked him to a three-year, $32MM contract during the summer.
- Clippers forward Marcus Morris and big man Serge Ibaka are set to rejoin the club for their first full-contact practices following injuries suffered during L.A.’s 2021 playoff run, per Andrew Greif of the Los Angeles Times. “This will be his first opportunity to change ends of the floor, play with some contact, trying to get acclimated to what we are trying to do,” head coach Tyronn Lue said of Morris. “Serge is a great man, he’s happy all the time, I think he’s almost back,” starting center Ivica Zubac said of reserve Ibaka.
- Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue, who said on Monday that he has been impressed by Justise Winslow‘s passing ability, confirmed that he views the former lottery pick as an option at point guard, per Mirjam Swanson of The Orange County Register. “I know he played a little point guard in Miami and with our point guard situation, with Jason (Preston) going down, he’ll be playing a little backup point,” Lue said. “He been playing the four, he’s been playing the five. … so we just gotta keep learning the plays, different positions and I think he’s gonna be really good for us.”
The Clippers have signed guard Terance Mann to a two-year contract extension worth $22MM, according to Marc Spears of ESPN.
Under the agreement, Mann’s $1.9MM option for 2022/23 becomes fully guaranteed and he will make $10.576MM in 2023/24 and $11.423MM in 2024/25, tweets Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times. A second-round pick in 2019, Mann will earn $1.782MM this season.
The 24-year-old swingman is coming off a productive second season in L.A., averaging 7.0 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 67 games. He took a major step forward in the playoffs after Kawhi Leonard was injured, including a 39-point performance in a close-out win over the Jazz in the second round.
“It is with tremendous honor and pride that I sign this extension with the Clippers,” Mann said. “The faith and commitment in my development and contribution thus far will provide me the motivation I need as I continue to be a pivotal part of our championship run. I want to thank the front office for this opportunity to remain a part of the Clipper Nation. I would also like to thank my coaches and teammates for believing me and allowing me to grow both on and off the court.”
If Mann hadn’t signed an extension, the Clippers would’ve faced a difficult decision on his team option next summer, since exercising it would’ve put him on track for unrestricted free agency in 2023 — turning it down would’ve allowed the team to negotiate with him as a restricted free agent, but would’ve meant he received a significant pay increase one year earlier.
As a result of the extension agreement, L.A. will get Mann at a bargain rate for an extra year and won’t have to worry about holding off rival suitors in 2023.
Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue expressed confidence that rookie guard Jason Preston will succeed once he gets past his rehab, Mirjam Swanson of The Orange County Register writes.
- Clippers guard Terance Mann is poised to have a breakout season with the team, Andrew Greif of the Los Angeles Times opines. Mann is coming off a season where he averaged seven points and 18.9 minutes per game, shooting 51% from the floor and 42% from behind-the-arc.
- Clippers coach Tyronn Lue wants one of his veteran point guards to be on the floor at all times, Andrew Greif of the Los Angeles Times tweets. Lue will stagger the minutes of Reggie Jackson and Eric Bledsoe to make that happen.
- A Staples Center spokesperson claims that Los Angeles’ new ordinance mandating that people must be vaccinated to enter a wide range of indoor venues in the city does not apply to the arena, Andrew Greif of the Los Angeles Times tweets. According to the spokesperson, the Staples Center is covered by a previous county health order. Whether or not the new ordinance applies to the arena, it shouldn’t have an impact on the Lakers or Clippers at this point, since both teams are expected to be fully vaccinated when the regular season begins.
Clippers rookie guard Jason Preston underwent surgery on his right foot on Thursday in Los Angeles, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link), who hears from sources that Preston is expected to miss a “significant” portion of the 2021/22 season.
The team confirmed the procedure, announcing in a press release that Preston had ligaments in his foot repaired. He’ll miss an “extended” period of time and has no timetable for a return.
It’s a tough blow for the Clippers and for Preston, who was the 33rd overall pick in the 2021 draft and signed a three-year contract with two fully guaranteed seasons. He reportedly sustained the injury in a group workout prior to the start of training camp.
A 6’4″ guard, Preston played his college ball at Ohio University, where he averaged 15.7 PPG, 7.3 APG, and 7.3 RPG in 20 games (34.6 MPG) as a junior in 2020/21. The Clippers are high on his passing skills, per Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN (Twitter link), and thought he had made strides since playing for the team in Summer League, according to Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times (Twitter link).
Preston joins Kawhi Leonard as the Clippers players who are expected to miss a substantial chunk of the season.
New York and San Francisco won’t be the only NBA cities with local COVID-19 vaccine mandates in place this season. According to Christopher Weber of The Associated Press, the Los Angeles City Council voted on Wednesday to approve one of the country’s strictest vaccine mandates. The ordinance will bar unvaccinated individuals from many indoor venues – including sports arenas – unless they receive a medical or religious exemption.
According to Tim Bontemps of ESPN (Twitter link), L.A.’s vaccine mandate – which goes into effect in November – will include the same non-resident performer exemption that is included in New York’s and San Francisco’s executive orders. That means, for NBA purposes, the mandate will apply to players on the Lakers and Clippers, but not to visiting players.
Fortunately for the two Los Angeles teams, no players currently on their rosters appears likely to be impacted. Both the Lakers and Clippers indicated during training camp last week that their rosters will be fully vaccinated for the start of the 2021/22 season. Still, the mandate is worth keeping in mind when the L.A. clubs are signing free agents or considering potential trades.
Here’s more out of Los Angeles:
- Big men Isaiah Hartenstein and Harry Giles, who are with the Clippers on non-guaranteed contracts, are fighting to earn the team’s final roster spot, and head coach Tyronn Lue has made it clear what he wants to see from them, writes Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times. “Defensively, (are) they able to pick up our defense foundation and what we’re trying to do, being in the right spots, being a rim protector?” Lue said on Wednesday. “And offensively just being able to roll, get to the dunker (spot), understand what we’re trying to do offensively, and be able to execute. I think it’s our biggest thing.”
- Lakers head coach Frank Vogel would like to settle on a starting lineup for the regular season and not change it from game to game, tweets Jovan Buha of The Athletic. Finding that starting five remains a work in progress, with Trevor Ariza‘s ankle injury taking one option off the table.
- Now that Pau Gasol has officially retired, the Lakers confirmed this week that they intend to retire his No. 16 jersey, tweets Kyle Goon of The Orange County Register. The team has yet to announce when that ceremony will take place.
- The Lakers are no longer suffering from the post-bubble burnout they experienced last season after such a quick turnaround between their 2020 championship and subsequent training camp, Goon writes for The Orange County Register. “There isn’t that ‘I can’t believe we’re starting training camp already’ cloud over us (now),” Vogel said. “That was real and it stayed with us throughout the year.”