Los Angeles Clippers Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Pacific Notes: Iguodala, Kawhi, Powell, Morris, Martin

February 24th, 2025 at 4:11pm CST by Rory Maher

Andre Iguodala‘s No. 9 jersey went into the rafters of the Chase Center on Sunday, making him the seventh Warriors player to have his jersey retired, writes Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. The four-time champion dedicated much of his speech to thanking staff members, but made sure to express his appreciation to fans and former teammates as well, including two-time MVP Stephen Curry.

“None of this would have happened without all of you, the fans,” Iguodala said.

“We haven’t really had time to reflect, Steph, you made the world turn. That is not something you say lightly. You truly changed the game of basketball. It was beautiful. … I understood my role. I understood the genius of Draymond [Green], the genius of Klay [Thompson], the genius of Kevin Durant. … Shaun Livingston and I … we had this unique team that understood, had this precious ultra-talented assassin. Steph, none of this happens without you.”

Curry called it “weird and surreal” to attend the ceremony, noting that it’s been “hard to fill that void” in the locker room since Iguodala retired.

“I think we all can feel it but this isn’t just about a number going into the rafters,” Curry said of Iguodala. “This is about a player who changed the course of our entire franchise. … You were the first one to choose us, and that meant the world. For a team that knew we were good but didn’t know how to get to that next level, you unlocked so much confidence, so much IQ, so much maturity to what we did.

“You sacrificed ego for excellence, which for us is the Warriors way.”

Here’s more from the Pacific:

Key Clippers starters Kawhi Leonard (left foot soreness) and Norman Powell (left patellar tendinopathy) will be sidelined for Monday’s contest in Detroit, tweets Law Murray of The Athletic. It’s the second straight absence for Leonard and third for Powell, who was previously listed as having left knee soreness. As expected, Ben Simmons will also be sidelined with what the team called left knee injury management — he has yet to play both ends of a back-to-back this season (the Clippers lost at Indiana on Sunday).
Veteran forward Markieff Morris was an afterthought in the blockbuster trade that saw Luka Doncic land with the Lakers, but head coach JJ Redick says he’s been a valuable leader in the locker room, according to Khobi Price of The Southern California News Group (subscriber link). “He’s been awesome,” Redick said. “It’s very valuable to have a guy like that, a voice, an older voice, someone who’s seen it all in the NBA, someone who’s won a championship. Obviously that helps as well. He’s been great on the bench with talking with guys, making sure our bench energy is good. I told him the other day, we see it and we appreciate it and we all just value what he’s doing right now from that aspect in leadership.”
Suns head coach Mike Budenholzer says there’s no timetable for Cody Martin to return from a sports hernia injury, per Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic (Twitter video link). “He’s putting work in. I think he’s making progress, but I don’t have an update on his expected return time. I think we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it,” Budenholzer said. Martin, who was acquired from Charlotte at the trade deadline, last played on January 24. The 29-year-old wing was doing some shooting drills prior to Saturday’s game, Rankin adds (via Twitter).

L.A. Notes: Doncic, Goodwin, Leonard, Bogdanovic

February 23rd, 2025 at 9:01am CST by Arthur Hill

After a bumpy start to his Lakers career, Luka Doncic looked more like himself in Saturday night’s win at Denver, writes Jovan Buha of The Athletic. Beyond his 16-point first quarter outburst and the familiar stat line of 32 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists, and four steals that he put up in the battle of two of the West’s top teams, Doncic was more animated than he has been at any time since being traded.

“He was super dialed in,” LeBron James said. “He was very locked in on what he wanted to do out here on the floor tonight. Once he started hitting those step-back threes and got to yelling and barking, either at the fans or at us or himself. … He was just dialed in on what he wanted to do and how he wanted to execute his game plan individually.”

Coach J.J. Redick told Doncic before the game that he wanted to see “at least one blackout episode” where Doncic screams “at no one in particular.” Along with his unique talents, that fiery competitiveness is what has made Doncic one of the best players in the world. Doncic handled the ball more often on Saturday, Buha notes, repeatedly targeting Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic in the pick-and-roll. Redick added that the plan moving forward will be to keep the ball in Doncic’s hands as much as possible.

“I think Luka needs to be the guy that controls the offense,” Redick said. “And (James) and (Austin Reaves), because we’re gonna stagger everybody, they’re gonna have their times to be on the ball. But all three of those guys are very intelligent basketball players, and we can create mismatches. We can get teams in the blender.”

There’s more on the Lakers:

Jordan Goodwin has been productive since signing a two-way contract with the Lakers earlier this month, and Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report suggests they may want to convert him to a standard deal by the end of the season to make him eligible for the playoffs (Twitter link). L.A. would have to open a roster spot first, with Pincus pointing to Cam Reddish as the most likely player to be released. Goodwin can be on the active roster for up to 19 games after signing on February 7, so the Lakers have some time to make a decision.
The Clippers added Kawhi Leonard to their injury report for today’s game at Indiana with soreness in his left foot, marking his first new injury of the season, tweets Law Murray of The Athletic. Leonard and Norman Powell are both listed as questionable, while Ben Simmons is expected to play today and sit out Monday’s contest at Detroit, according to Murray.
Simmons has quickly developed a chemistry with Bogdan Bogdanovic even though they’re both new to the Clippers and haven’t played together before, Murray adds (Twitter link). Bogdanovic said building the on-court relationship was easy because of their respective talents. “We are basketball players at the end of the day, so we just play,” he said. “It’s tough when you’re joining a new team, definitely tough because you have to learn plays, you have to learn tendencies of the guys, but we are both new so that’s kind of making the job a little bit easier.”

Clippers Notes: Post-Deadline Expectations, Powell, Rotation, Zubac

February 22nd, 2025 at 9:37am CST by Tristan Tucker

The Clippers retooled their rotation at the deadline, bringing in Bogdan Bogdanovic, Drew Eubanks, Patty Mills and MarJon Beauchamp via trade while also adding Ben Simmons from the buyout market. With the new-look roster comes rejuvenated expectations for the stretch run of the season, writes Janis Carr of The Orange County Register.

“It’s good for us to start over, I think offensively,” head coach Tyronn Lue said. “[We need to] just to get better and do the things we need to do that’s necessary to win games. Just be better at executing what we’re trying to do. It’s going to take a little bit of time as far as rotations and how we play guys together and things like that. But from a basketball standpoint, I’m kind of excited about it.”

Bogdanovic and Simmons in particular have logged big minutes since arriving in Los Angeles, while Eubanks is also expected to play a modest role. Both Bogdanovic and Simmons have been effective off the bench. Simmons reportedly was deciding between the Clippers and the Cavaliers as he negotiated a buyout agreement with Brooklyn, ending up with Los Angeles in a sizable role.

“I’m excited man, I mean Ben brings a skill set that we don’t have other than myself, his passing ability and his speed pushing the ball in the offense to get guys involved,” teammate James Harden said.

The arrival of five new players isn’t the only reason the Clippers are operating under a renewed identity. Star Kawhi Leonard returned from an offseason knee injury and only topped the 30-minute mark for the first time on Feb. 6, Carr notes.

“I think every team needs to, wants to come out the All-Star break and be playing with [a high intensity],” Harden said. “If we want to get to where we want to go, the time is now. We added some shooting, we added some defense and obviously with a healthy Kawhi we’ve got a chance to compete with anybody. So, I think for us, it’s just finding out how we want to play and attacking it.”

We have more on the Clippers:

Guard Norman Powell was added to the Clippers’ injury report on Thursday with left knee soreness and went on to miss the contest against Milwaukee (Twitter links via ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk and The Athletic’s Law Murray). It marked Powell’s 10th missed game of the season. The Most Improved Player candidate will have to play at least 20 of the team’s remaining 27 contests to qualify for award consideration.
The absence of Powell and the ongoing integration of the newcomers had Lue searching for the right combination in the rotation on Thursday, Murray writes. Kris Dunn and Derrick Jones Jr. are cycling in and out of the starting lineup while Amir Coffey earned a starting nod on Thursday in Powell’s place. Additionally, Murray opines that the team will need to optimize lineups involving Simmons. Lineups featuring both Simmons and Ivica Zubac struggled against Milwaukee.
In the same story, Murray notes that Zubac has been less involved in the fourth quarter than in the rest of the game as of late. The Clippers’ starting center didn’t attempt a field goal in the fourth against the Bucks, the fifth time in six games that’s occurred. Zubac said he’s “trying to figure it out” when it comes to his role in the offense in the fourth.

Patrick Baldwin Jr. Joins San Diego Clippers

February 18th, 2025 at 3:57pm CST by Luke Adams

The San Diego Clippers have acquired former NBA first-round pick Patrick Baldwin Jr. from the G League player pool, the team announced today in a press release.

Baldwin, 22, was selected 28th overall in the 2022 draft by Golden State and spent his rookie year with the Warriors before being traded to the Wizards during the 2023 offseason in the Chris Paul/Jordan Poole deal.

Baldwin didn’t see much playing time in either Golden State or Washington — to date, he has appeared in 91 total NBA regular season games, averaging 3.7 points and 2.0 rebounds in 9.0 minutes per night. The 6’9″ forward posted a .401/.366/.658 shooting line across those 91 contests.

After originally appearing on track to be sent to the Bucks as part of the Kyle Kuzma/Khris Middleton trade earlier this month, Baldwin was rerouted to San Antonio when more teams got involved in that deal, turning it into a four-team trade. The Spurs waived Baldwin shortly after acquiring him.

Today’s announcement from the Clippers‘ G League affiliate suggests that Baldwin signed an NBAGL contract shortly after becoming an unrestricted free agent. Since no team held his G League rights, he was subject to the waiver process — San Diego either put in a claim or waited until after he cleared waivers and then added him to the team’s roster.

While Baldwin’s minutes at the NBA level have been limited, he has seen a little more action in the G League, including in seven outings for the Capital City Go-Go this season. He averaged 15.0 PPG and 6.0 RPG on .488/.349/.571 shooting in those seven games (27.2 MPG).

Pacific Notes: Durant, Edwards, James, Harden

February 16th, 2025 at 5:46pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Suns got off to an 8-1 start but it’s been a rocky ride since that point. They entered the All-Star break with a 26-28 record, 11th in the Western Conference. At All-Star media day on Saturday, Kevin Durant gave his take on why they’ve faltered, as The Arizona Republic’s Duane Rankin relays.

“We started well,” he said. “I feel like we definitely could be playing better. I feel like there’s a couple factors. We had some guys in and out of the lineup. We’re not rebounding well, turning the ball over. I think just fundamental stuff I think we’ll be better. If we fix that coming out of the break, I think we’ll have a better chance to win some basketball games.”

Durant believes the club will finish strong, citing the recent additions of Nick Richards and Bol Bol to the starting five.

“We made a couple lineup changes, too, that will help us out, adding more size to our starting lineup, so that may help, as well,” Durant said. “Our last few games, we’ve just been playing a better brand of ball. Even though we lost two, I feel like we’re just playing a better brand of ball, a more sustainable brand with the lineup switches like that.”

We have more from the Pacific Division:

The Timberwolves reportedly made a last-ditch attempt prior to the trade deadline to engage in talks with the Suns regarding Durant. Fellow Western Conference All-Star Anthony Edwards couldn’t believe the Suns even entertained offers for Durant, according to Rankin. “Yeah, I was super surprised,” Edwards said. “Didn’t think Phoenix would be trying to trade him.”
LeBron James will become the third player in NBA history to appear in an All-Star Game after turning 40. James will also be making his 21st appearance in the game and he’s humbled by the opportunity. “Special thanks to my fans that voted me in their portion,” the Lakers forward said, per Khobi Price of the Orange County Register. “The coaches, the players who had anything to do with me being a part of it. It’s always special and very humbling and I don’t take it for granted being an All-Star. It’s something that, when I was a kid, I always watched the All-Star Game and had the opportunity to do and I always wanted to be on that floor. But it’s always special. I’m pretty happy about it.”
James Harden is making his first All-Star appearance since 2022. The Clippers guard was confident he could reach that level again, he told Dan Woike of the Los Angeles Times. “I never doubted it,” Harden said. “It was me just, you know, finally being healthy and getting back to my zone. Getting back to who I am and here I am.” Harden is averaging 21.5 points, 5.8 rebounds and 8.6 assists per game this season.

Community Shootaround: Most Improved Player

February 16th, 2025 at 11:07am CST by Rory Maher

According to the latest betting odds (link via Kevin Rogers of VegasInsider), there are two clear frontrunners to be named 2024/25’s Most Improved Player: Pistons guard Cade Cunningham and Clippers wing Norman Powell.

Cunningham is the current favorite for the award, but Powell is a close second. Tyler Herro, Amen Thompson, Trey Murphy, Christian Braun, Evan Mobley, Jalen Williams, Dyson Daniels, Victor Wembanyama and Max Christie are among the other players in consideration, but it would be genuinely shocking if anyone from that group wins, given the current odds.

Griffin Wong of DraftKings recently weighed in on what is seemingly a two-man race, making the case both for and against Powell and Cunningham. While Wong believes that Powell has “clearly” shown more individual improvement, he thinks voters — 100 members of the media — will ultimately choose Cunningham, given the recent history of selecting rising young players and Detroit’s dramatic turnaround from a season ago.

A 10-year veteran, Powell is posting career-best numbers in virtually every major statistic in 2024/25, including points (24.2), rebounds (3.6), assists (2.2), steals (1.3) and minutes (33.6) per game. In 45 appearances, he has posted an extremely efficient shooting slash line of .496/.428/.819, good for a career-high true shooting percentage of .633. He is the leading scorer on the West’s No. 6 seed (the Clippers are 31-23).

At 31, Powell would be the oldest player to ever win MIP. That distinction currently belongs to former Magic guard Darrell Armstrong, who was 30 when he won the award in ’98/99.

Cunningham, 23, is also posting career-best numbers in several statistics in ’24/25, averaging 25.4 PPG, 6.3 RPG and 9.3 APG on .455/.351/.850 shooting (.551 TS) in 50 games (35.5 MPG). After finishing with the NBA’s worst record (14-68) last season, the Pistons have already more than doubled that meager win total and currently hold a 29-26 record, good for the No. 6 seed in the East.

Obviously, Cunningham has far more impressive rebounding and assist totals, and he’s Detroit’s best player. But as Wong writes, the first-time All-Star has been a far less efficient scorer than Powell, who also has better on/off numbers. According to Wong, Cunningham’s improvement was more or less expected — he was the No. 1 overall pick in 2021 — whereas Powell’s has been much more surprising and arguably more impactful to winning. Neither player is great defensively, so Wong views that as essentially a wash.

We want to know what you think. Should Cunningham, Powell or another player be selected as this season’s Most Improved Player? Head to the comments section to share your thoughts.

Pacific Notes: Simmons, Bamba, Lakers, Tucker, Suns, Fultz

February 15th, 2025 at 2:45pm CST by Luke Adams

As we detailed on Friday, Ben Simmons‘ debut with the Clippers on Thursday went about as well as it reasonably could have, earning him praise from head coach Tyronn Lue.

Lue wasn’t the only one impressed by the former No. 1 overall pick, who registered 12 points, eight rebounds, six assists, and three steals in his first game for his new team. Simmons’ Clippers teammates spoke after the game about the immediate impact he made on the court, per Law Murray of The Athletic.

“It’s easy to play basketball with smart players,” forward Nicolas Batum said. “That’s why he was the No. 1 pick, that’s why he was an All-Star in the NBA, because he’s a unique player, a very good basketball player. He just needs the right system, the right person to get his confidence back. And I’ve been there. I’ve been in his shoes five years ago. I think he came to the right spot to get it.”

While Batum was never an All-Star like Simmons, his stock was at an all-time low when he joined the Clippers in 2020 due to the perception that he was overpaid on his previous contract, a five-year, $120MM deal with Charlotte. Batum has rebuilt his value in recent years, primarily due to his strong play with the Clippers, and there’s optimism that Simmons can do the same.

“He did everything we asked him to do: Rebound, defend, push the ball in transition, create for others, attack the rim,” center Ivica Zubac said after Thursday’s win over Utah. “When they doubled James (Harden), he was really good flashing in the middle and play-making from there. It was great, man. It was all that we expected and more. I think he played great, and I think he’s going to be huge for us.”

Here’s more from around the Pacific:

If Alex Len had gone through with his initial plan to join the Pacers rather than pivoting to the Lakers, free agent big man Mohamed Bamba likely would’ve been a top target for Los Angeles, Jake Fischer said on a Bleacher Report live stream on Thursday (YouTube link). “I heard this from multiple sources,” Fischer said. “That if Alex Len did go forward and sign with the Pacers, Mo Bamba would have been very prominently considered by the Lakers to fill a spot in that depleted center rotation.” Bamba remains available in free agency for now.
During that same Bleacher Report live stream, Fischer suggested that the Suns are one team to watch for P.J. Tucker if the veteran forward is bought out by the Raptors, which is expected to happen. Tucker has played in Phoenix before, was coached by Mike Budenholzer in Milwaukee, and is a Texas alum like Suns star Kevin Durant. Still, Fischer is skeptical that the 39-year-old Tucker will draw significant interest on the buyout market or play a major role for a playoff team this spring.
Injuries have limited Markelle Fultz‘s availability and slowed his development since he entered the NBA as the No. 1 overall pick in 2017, but the Kings‘ newest addition said this week that his health isn’t a concern right now, according to Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee. “This is the best I’ve ever felt since being in the league,” Fultz told Anderson. “I never had the opportunity to take my time and get healthy, so being able to do that last summer has been great for me. I’m super excited for this opportunity and I’m thankful for it.”

Projected NBA Taxpayers For 2024/25

February 14th, 2025 at 4:13pm CST by Luke Adams

Ten NBA teams are still operating in luxury tax territory in the wake of last Thursday’s trade deadline, but this season’s total projected luxury tax payments – and the clubs projected to be taxpayers – have declined significantly in recent weeks.

As of January 23, a total of 14 teams projected to be taxpayers, Bobby Marks of ESPN (Twitter links) observes, with the 16 non-taxpayers on track to receive about $17.8MM apiece, which would have been the largest payout in NBA history.

But the Cavaliers, Pelicans, Clippers, and Sixers all ducked the tax line with their pre-deadline moves, while a few other teams remained in the tax but took steps to significantly reduce their end-of-season bills. Milwaukee, for instance, had been projected to pay about $74.8MM in tax penalties, but has since reduced that figure by more than half, according to Eric Pincus of Sports Business Classroom.

Here are the current projected tax penalties, per Pincus’ data:

Phoenix Suns: $152.26MM
Minnesota Timberwolves: $84.85MM
Boston Celtics: $53.45MM
Los Angeles Lakers: $52.53MM
New York Knicks: $36.45MM
Milwaukee Bucks: $32.66MM
Denver Nuggets: $20.36MM
Golden State Warriors: $12.36MM
Dallas Mavericks: $6.39MM
Miami Heat: $4.18MM
Total: $455.49MM

These numbers will fluctuate a little before the end of the season. For instance, the Lakers recently increased their projected bill when they signed Alex Len to a rest-of-season contract, and the Warriors will need to make multiple roster additions in the near future, which will cause their bill to rise. Various contract incentives that go earned or unearned could also impact the end-of-season tax figures.

Based on the current figures from Pincus, each non-taxpayer is projected to receive a payout of about $11.4MM. That figure is determined by cutting the total league-wide tax penalties in half, then dividing them evenly among the non-taxpaying teams (in this case, 20 clubs).

As significant as the Suns’ tax penalty projects to be, especially for a team currently flirting with .500, it won’t be a single-season record — Golden State has actually exceeded $152.26MM in tax payments in each of the past three years (2022-24).

Assuming these are the 10 teams that finish the season in tax territory, the Celtics, Nuggets, Warriors, Clippers, Lakers, Bucks, and Suns would all be subject to repeater penalties in 2025/26 if they’re taxpayers again next season.

Ben Simmons, Bogdan Bogdanovic Impressive In Clippers Debuts

February 14th, 2025 at 8:03am CST by Arthur Hill

Ben Simmons had an impressive debut with the Clippers in Thursday’s win at Utah, delivering 12 points, eight rebounds, six assists and three steals in 27 minutes off the bench. Coach Tyronn Lue praised the former All-Star for fitting in quickly in his first game with his new team, relays Law Murray of The Athletic (Twitter video link). “I thought he did a great job, just reading the game, his IQ, making the right play, aggressive to the basket,” Lue said.
Bogdan Bogdanovic, who was acquired in a trade with Atlanta, made his Clippers debut on Wednesday, per Anthony DeLeon of The Orange County Register. The veteran shooter described the experience as “a new journey” and said he’s excited to play alongside Kawhi Leonard and James Harden.

Pacific Notes: Durant, Lakers, Clippers, Harden, Simmons

February 12th, 2025 at 7:52am CST by Luke Adams

Facing Memphis on Tuesday, Suns forward Kevin Durant became the eighth player in NBA history to surpass the 30,000-point threshold over the course of his career. He entered the game with 26 points to go and accomplished the feat late in the third quarter, finishing the night with 34 points.

Durant joined LeBron James, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone, Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, Dirk Nowitzki, and Wilt Chamberlain in the exclusive 30,000-point club.

“A true honor to be in the same category as those players who helped shaped the game and push the game forward,” he said after the game, a loss that dropped the Suns below .500 (link via ESPN.com). “That’s always been my goal, to get the most out of myself every day and the most out of my career.”

Nowitzki, who ranks sixth on the league’s all-time scoring list with 31,560 points, told Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic that he’s fully expecting Durant to bump him down to seventh sooner or later.

“He’s 36 now…and he’s got, what, 1,500 more (points) to go,” Nowitzki said. “That’s obviously a season for him and he looks great, he moves great. I still see him on the perimeter crossing guys over, he’s got that slow cross, going to the basket. He doesn’t seem like he’s lost a step. I think he’s going to play at least a couple more years. I do think he’s going to catch me, but well deserved. Like I said, to me, he’s one of the purest scorers of all time.”

Here’s more from around the Pacific:

Ranking all 30 NBA teams based on their moves at the trade deadline, John Hollinger of The Athletic places the Lakers atop his list due to their acquisition of Luka Doncic. After trading for Doncic, there was “literally no other move” the Lakers could have made on Thursday that would have moved them out of the top spot, Hollinger writes. That includes their decision to rescind a deal for Mark Williams, which Hollinger actually views as a “dodged bullet,” since he thinks there could be more appealing targets on the trade market for L.A. this summer.
Hollinger also places the Clippers at No. 3 on his trade deadline rankings and lauds them for their work last week, which included moving off bad contracts, getting out of the luxury tax, and coming out ahead in terms of draft picks.
James Harden‘s numbers in 2024/25, including 21.3 points per game on 39.5% shooting, are the worst of any of his All-Star seasons, but the impact his leadership has had on the Clippers has made it a special season for the former MVP, writes Law Murray of The Athletic. “The way he’s leading us this year, on and off the court, the way he’s setting everyone up, it’s incredible,” center Ivica Zubac said. “One of the best teammates ever. I think every player in the league would love to play with him.”
Ben Simmons, signed by the Clippers off the buyout market, is looking forward to a fresh start, telling reporters on Tuesday that he feels “wanted” in Los Angeles, according to Anthony De Leon of The L.A. Times. “I just want to compete, regardless of all the bulls–t said online,” Simmons said, noting that the Clippers view him as a point guard, which is his preferred position. “I’m here to do that, and playing alongside some of these great players … Everyone’s just going to push each other to be better and expect greatness.”