Los Angeles Clippers Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Hornets To Interview Jay Larranaga For Head Coaching Job

April 9th, 2024 at 8:02am CST by Luke Adams

Another veteran assistant has joined the Hornets‘ list of head coaching candidates, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, who reports (via Twitter) that Clippers assistant Jay Larranaga will interview for the top job in Charlotte.

A former professional basketball player in Europe, Larranaga coached the Erie BayHawks from 2010-12, then spent nine seasons as an assistant in Boston under Brad Stevens. Following Stevens’ ascension to the Celtics’ front office, Larranaga made the move to Los Angeles, where he has spent the last three seasons on Tyronn Lue‘s Clippers staff.

The Hornets are getting a head start on their coaching search since Steve Clifford announced last week that he would step down from his role at the end of the regular season. The team has already been granted permission to speak to several assistant coaches around the NBA.

In addition to Larranaga, the Hornets are reportedly interviewing – or have already interviewed – Charles Lee, Jordi Fernandez, Kevin Young, David Adelman, and Lindsey Harding. That list of confirmed candidates may continue to grow in the coming days.

George Plays 44 Minutes In Comeback Win

April 8th, 2024 at 1:44pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Paul George, who holds a $48.8MM option on his contract for next season, poured in 23 of his 39 points against Cleveland during the fourth quarter as the Clippers erased a 26-point deficit on Sunday. George, who has had more than his share of physical issues in recent seasons, showed that he’s feeling good with the postseason looming by playing 44 minutes, including the entire second half, ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk notes. “I wanted to stay in and I just felt we were making a good push,” George said.

NBA’s 20 Postseason Teams Set For 2024

April 7th, 2024 at 5:57pm CST by Luke Adams

The 20 teams that will compete in either the playoffs or the play-in tournament (or both) have officially been set following the Rockets‘ loss to Dallas on Sunday, per the NBA (Twitter link).

There’s still much to be decided in the season’s final week, including exactly which six teams in each conference will secure playoff spots without having to win one or two play-in games. However, with the Rockets’ elimination, we at least know which teams from both the West and East will play beyond the end of the regular season next Sunday.

The Nuggets, Timberwolves, and Thunder have already clinched playoff berths in the West, while the Clippers‘ magic number for a playoff spot is down to 1. The Mavericks are also well positioned to claim a top-six seed following their win on Sunday. They’re followed in the standings by the Suns, Pelicans, Lakers, Kings, and Warriors.

Four of those teams will compete in the play-in tournament for two playoff spots, but the exact play-in participants and matchups remain very much up in the air. Of the Western clubs in the back half of the top 10, only Golden State is a virtual lock to be a play-in team, since the Dubs are currently four games out of sixth place.

Over in the Eastern Conference, the Celtics are the lone club to secure a playoff berth so far and have also clinched the No. 1 seed. They’re followed by the Bucks, Magic, Knicks, Cavaliers, Pacers, Heat, and Sixers, with the Bulls and Hawks well out of eighth place and locked into the No. 9 vs. 10 play-in game.

The East’s playoff race remains tight, with No. 2 Milwaukee and No. 8 Philadelphia separated by only 4.5 games at the time of this writing.

Kawhi Leonard To Miss Fourth Straight Game

April 6th, 2024 at 11:03pm CST by Arthur Hill

Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard will miss his fourth straight game Sunday against Cleveland for treatment and recovery on his right knee, tweets Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN.

Community Shootaround: Who Will Win The West?

April 6th, 2024 at 3:59pm CST by Rory Maher

The Celtics currently hold a 14-game lead for the top seed in the Eastern Conference, making them a very strong favorite to reach the NBA Finals, though that outcome is far from assured.

The standings are much more competitive in the West though. The seedings are still up for grabs, but the top 10 teams are all but secured after Golden State beat Houston on Thursday.

The Timberwolves are currently the No. 1 seed due to a tiebreaker over the defending-champion Nuggets, who hold an identical 53-24 record. The upstart Thunder are one game back at No. 3, followed by the Clippers, Mavericks and Suns.

The Pelicans, Kings, Lakers and Warriors are currently the Nos. 7 through 10 seeds, meaning they’d be in the play-in tournament if the season ended today. Only two games separate Phoenix and the Lakers, however, so things could certainly change between now and April 14, when the regular season concludes.

Each of the top teams in the West has question marks ahead of the postseason, mostly due to injuries. Minnesota may not have Karl-Anthony Towns back before the first round, and the team has only advanced past that stage one time in franchise history. Denver, which went 16-4 in last year’s playoffs en route to its first title in 2023, has been playing without star guard Jamal Murray of late, though he may return soon.

Oklahoma City is young and is not playoff tested, plus MVP candidate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has been sidelined recently with a quad injury. Kawhi Leonard is currently dealing with a knee injury for the Clippers.

The Mavericks have dealt with injuries to rotation players throughout the season, though they’re the hottest team in Conference at the moment. Phoenix’s “big three” has only played in 36 games together in 2023/24. New Orleans, Sacramento, the Lakers and Golden State have all been inconsistent throughout the season.

With so many unknowns, it makes it difficult to pick a favorite. That leads us to our question of the day: Who do you think will advance out of the West and make the NBA Finals? Head to the comments and let us know what you think.

L.A. Notes: Kawhi, Harden, Vanderbilt, LeBron

April 6th, 2024 at 9:02am CST by Luke Adams

Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard missed a third straight game on Friday due to right knee inflammation, with head coach Tyronn Lue telling reporters that the star forward is considered day to day, per Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN.

Appearing on SportsCenter on Friday (Twitter video link), Youngmisuk said the injury is one the Clippers and Leonard have to manage carefully with the postseason around the corner, noting that the affected knee is the same one he underwent surgery on in both 2021 and 2023.

The expectation, according to Youngmisuk, is that Leonard shouldn’t require an extended absence, but since the Clippers are currently in a stretch of five games in seven days, the team may not be in a hurry to bring him back until the schedule lightens up a bit.

Here’s more on the NBA’s two Los Angeles teams:

The Clippers are hoping to get James Harden‘s offensive game back on track, as Youngmisuk said on SportsCenter and Janis Carr outlined for The Orange County Register. Friday’s 15-assist triple-double in a blowout win over Utah was a step in the right direction, but Harden was limited to just 13 points in that victory and made fewer than half of his field goal attempts for a ninth straight game. He’s averaging 12.2 PPG on 33.0% shooting during those nine games.
Lakers forward Jarred Vanderbilt (right midfoot sprain) will be reevaluated early next week in Los Angeles, head coach Darvin Ham said on Wednesday, per Dave McMenamin of ESPN (Twitter link). McMenamin provided an update of his own on Friday, tweeting that Vanderbilt has yet to be cleared for contact drills but went through an individual workout on Friday. The 25-year-old, who last played on February 1, is still working his way toward full sprinting and jumping, McMenamin adds.
Although LeBron James told reporters last weekend that he has “not very long” left in his NBA career, Shams Charania of The Athletic said on ESPN’s Pat McAfee Show (Twitter video link) that people around James and around the NBA expect the Lakers‘ superstar forward to play for at least “one or two more years” beyond this one. Next season would be James’ 22nd, which would tie him with Vince Carter for the most in NBA history.
A year ago, the Lakers began the season with a 25-31 record before finishing on an 18-8 run. They’ve made a similar second-half push this season, writes Jovan Buha of The Athletic, having gone 20-8 since starting 24-25. Due to the competitive nature of the Western Conference, Los Angeles is still in ninth place, so not even a playoff berth is assured, let alone a return to the Western Finals. “We just hope we can go through the same journey in terms of securing a playoff spot and having success — and go even deeper this time,” Ham said.

Injury Notes: Leonard, Barrett, Quickley, Mitchell, Ingram

April 2nd, 2024 at 6:09pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard will miss the team’s game on Tuesday against the Kings due to right knee soreness, according to Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN.

Leonard, who played 37 minutes and scored 23 points against the Hornets on Sunday, returned to Los Angeles on Monday for treatment. His status for Thursday’s game against the Nuggets is uncertain.

The fact that Leonard’s flared up is a troubling development for the Clippers, who are pointing toward to a deep playoff run. Leonard has appeared in 68 games this season, his most since the 2016/17 campaign. Norman Powell will move into the starting lineup in his place, Youngmisuk tweets.

We have more injury-related news to pass along:

RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley are active for the Raptors’ game against the Lakers tonight, Josh Lewenberg of TSN Sports tweets. Barrett hasn’t played since March 11 due to personal reasons and re-conditioning. Quickley has been out since March 17 for the same reasons.
The Cavaliers’ Donovan Mitchell, who has been battling a sore left knee, will miss Tuesday’s game against Utah, Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com writes. It’s the first game of a back-to-back, with Cleveland facing Phoenix on Wednesday. Mitchell has appeared in 51 games this season and is ineligible for postseason awards.
There’s optimism that Brandon Ingram will be back in action for the Pelicans next week, The Athletic’s said Shams Charania during an appearance on FanDuel’s Run It Back program (video link). “Brandon Ingram is going to be reevaluated at the end of the week, that’ll be the two-week mark, and the hope is by that three-week mark next week, he’s going to be back in the lineup,” Charania said. Ingram is working his way back from a left knee bone contusion.

Pacers’ Tshiebwe Named NBAGL Rookie Of The Year

April 2nd, 2024 at 1:44pm CST by Luke Adams

First-year big man Oscar Tshiebwe, who is on a two-way contract with the Pacers, has been named the NBA G League’s Rookie of the Year for the 2023/24 season, according to an announcement from the league.

An undrafted free agent out of Kentucky, Tshiebwe has only appeared in eight NBA games as a rookie, but had a monster season for the Indiana Mad Ants in the G League, where he began the Showcase Cup in the fall by racking up 33 points and 22 rebounds in his first ever NBAGL outing.

Over the course of 33 total Showcase Cup and regular season games, Tshiebwe averaged 16.4 points per contest and pulled down 532 total rebounds, including 201 offensive boards, setting a new team record. He also established a new high-water mark for rebounds per game in a G League season, averaging 16.2 in 23 regular season appearances.

Tshiebwe was busy at All-Star weekend in Indianapolis in February, competing in both the G League Up Next game and the Rising Stars event.

Because Tshiebwe’s two-way contract with the Pacers only covers a single season, he’ll become eligible for restricted free agency this summer, so Indiana will need to sign him to a new contract in order to keep him around beyond 2023/24.

According to the NBA (Twitter link), Clippers two-way guard Jordan Miller was the runner-up in Rookie of the Year voting, with Sixers two-way guard Ricky Council IV placing third.

Miller averaged 20.9 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 2.0 assists in 30.3 minutes per game with a .491/.355/.829 shooting line across 39 total Showcase Cup and G League regular season outings for the Ontario Clippers.

Council, meanwhile, put up 23.8 points per game on .473/.380/.775 shooting to go along with 5.3 RPG and 1.9 APG in 27 Showcase Cup and regular season contests for the Delaware Blue Coats.

Council will also be a restricted free agent this summer, while Miller is on a two-year deal and will remain under contract for 2024/25.

Tyronn Lue's Message Gets Through On Trip

April 1st, 2024 at 7:50pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Tyronn Lue called his team soft after a 3-6 stretch late last month. The Clippers got the message, reeling off three consecutive victories for the first time since early February, Law Murray of The Athletic writes. They’ve defeated Philadelphia, Orlando and Charlotte during the winning streak.

The Clippers will finish off a four-game road swing at Sacramento on Tuesday. “Getting a win however you’ve got to get it is the most important thing, but we’ve still got a lot to build on and get better with,” Lue said. “We’ll take the win. The Philly and the Orlando games were two good games that we needed – two gritty wins, tough wins on the road. And then (Sunday), just sticking with it even though we didn’t do a good job defensively.”

Southeast Notes: Russell, Johnson, Griffin, Gueye, Miller, George

April 1st, 2024 at 5:19pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Magic may take a run at D’Angelo Russell in free agency this summer. The Athletic’s Jovan Buha, who covers the Lakers, has heard that Orlando would be the biggest threat to sign away the combo guard (hat tip to Jesse Cinquini of LakersDaily.com).

“Orlando is the team that — talking to people with the Lakers, talking to people outside the Lakers — Orlando is the team that probably gives them the most concern in terms of a potential suitor,” Buha said.

Russell would give Orlando’s backcourt an offensive boost. He’s averaging 18.1 points and 6.4 assists per game while shooting a career-best 41.9% from deep this season. Russell holds an $18.7MM option on his contract for next season and can become an unrestricted free agent by turning down that option.

We have more from the Southeast Division:

Hawks forward Jalen Johnson will return to action on Monday night against the Bulls, The Athletic’s Shams Charania tweets. Johnson, who is averaging 16.1 points, 8.6 rebounds and 3.5 assists per contest, has been out since March 18 after suffering an ankle sprain against the Lakers. The Hawks currently hold the final spot for the East’s play-in tournament at No. 10 in the conference.
Several other Hawks players still require more time to come back from their injuries, the team’s PR department tweets. AJ Griffin (right high ankle sprain) has progressed to individual basketball activities and will be re-evaluated in seven-to-10 days. Mouhamed Gueye (right UCL sprain) has progressed to full contact workouts, while Onyeka Okongwu (left big toe sprain) has resumed individual basketball activities. He will also be re-evaluated in seven-to-10 days.
Hornets rookie forward Brandon Miller has labeled Clippers forward Paul George the “Greatest Player of All-Time.” Miller got a chance to match up against his idol on Sunday, contributing 22 points, six rebounds and four assists in 40 minutes during Charlotte’s 12-point loss. George paid back Miller with a compliment, according to Roderick Boone of the Charlotte Observer. “He’s got a ton of game, and a ton of talent and I’m in his corner,” George said. “So can’t wait to see him fully blossom and be one of those guys that carried the league for a long time.”