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Wizards’ Michael Winger Talks New Role, Clippers Tenure, Beal, More

May 26th, 2023 at 10:37am CST by Luke Adams

Having passed on the opportunity to interview for a general manager role with at least one other NBA team in the past, Michael Winger tells Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times that he had begun to wonder whether he’d get an opportunity to become the lead executive in a front office. That was the impetus for his decision to pursue the job as the Wizards‘ president, a position he officially secured on Thursday.

“Seldom, I think, in pro sports do those opportunities come along where almost all of your boxes, if not all of your boxes, are checked,” Winger said. “And this was I think the rare and supremely fortunate opportunity for somebody like me to check all the boxes: ownership, market, fan base, already a talented team.”

Winger has some familiarity with the Washington area already, as Greif notes. The former Clippers general manager lived in Baltimore during his final year of law school and often visited friends in D.C. during that time.

“I just felt like if I’m ever going to challenge myself, now’s the time and (Wizards owner) Ted (Leonsis) is the right person,” Winger said. “I think D.C. is the right fan base.”

Here’s more from the new Wizards executive on the challenges that await him in D.C. and the six years he spent in Los Angeles as the Clippers’ GM:

According to Winger, he achieved most of his goals with the Clippers over the last six years, having helped turn the franchise into a desirable destination for stars. Of course, there’s one notable goal that will go unresolved. “I would have liked to have won one or more championships in the four years that we’ve had Paul (George) and Kawhi (Leonard), but every team that tries to win a championship and doesn’t wishes that they would have won a championship,” Winger told Greif. “I mean, certainly winning at the highest level would have been awesome. What else? That’s really it.”
Winger added that he still has full confidence that George and Leonard are a “championship tandem” capable of leading the Clippers to a title: “I believe that to my core that those two guys when healthy can absolutely win a championship, so I’m a little sad that I’m not gonna be there when they finally do.”
Most of Winger’s conversations with Leonsis during the interview process focused on a “big-picture vision” for the Wizards rather than on specific roster moves, writes Greif. The plan is to dig deeper into specific plans for the roster once Winger brings in a second executive who will focus exclusively on the Wizards in a GM-type role.
Winger said he’s thrilled about the prospect of having Bradley Beal as the cornerstone of Washington’s roster: “His former coaches, his former teammates, they all have extraordinarily high regard for him, and he is unequivocally a superstar. The hardest thing to do in the NBA is acquire a superstar talent and it’s even harder to acquire superstar talent with his level of character. And so, I think it’s an extremely, extremely fortunate starting point. So to me, that’s really exciting to have somebody like Brad on the team.”
Winger is confident that Leonsis will “put forth both the resources and the patience” to build the Wizards into an organization with a winning culture, pointing to Leonsis’ work with the NHL’s Washington Capitals as proof of his ability to steward a successful franchise. “It’s just a matter of taking some of those principles, injecting the equivalent of the NBA’s nuances into those principles, and hopefully building something that is sturdy, sound, attracts good players, attracts good staff, keeps good players, keeps good staff, and ultimately wins basketball games,” Winger told Greif.

L.A. Notes: Russell, LeBron, Lue, Leonard

May 17th, 2023 at 6:28pm CST by Arthur Hill

After getting badly outplayed in the first half of Tuesday’s series opener, the Lakers made enough adjustments to cut the lead to three points in the final minute, writes Dave McMenamin of ESPN. The Nuggets were able to hold on, but L.A. turned the game around by switching to a bigger lineup. Coach Darvin Ham assigned Rui Hachimura to guard Nikola Jokic, which allowed more freedom for Anthony Davis to roam around and challenge Denver’s shooters.

“You have to switch up matchups at times and you have to switch up coverages,” Ham said. “Gave us a chance to get back into the game.”

While it makes sense to go with that same approach from the start in Game 2, it may not be an easy decision for Ham. Multiple team sources told McMenamin that there’s concern the team could “lose” D’Angelo Russell if he’s moved to the bench after starting every game so far in the playoffs. Russell got off to a terrible start Tuesday, posting a minus-23 in the first half and playing only nine minutes after the intermission. He’s headed to free agency this summer, so Ham’s decision could affect his long-term future with the team.

There’s more from Los Angeles:

The Lakers‘ offense found success by having LeBron James target Jamal Murray after he got in foul trouble in the second half, McMenamin adds. That will likely be the approach again when the series resumes Thursday night. “We’ll be better,” James promised. “We know we didn’t play up to our capabilities in the first half. … But you know we’ll be better in Game 2, that’s for sure.”
Clippers coach Tyronn Lue has two years remaining on his contract, but only one of those is guaranteed, a source tells Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times. That explains why Lue’s representatives reportedly met with the team this week to discuss an extension or an entirely new deal. Greif notes that the contract Lue received when he became head coach lined up with the deals given to Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, who will both be eligible for extensions this summer that could be worth up to $220MM over four years. As Greif points out, the Clippers’ offseason decisions will provide a window into their level of trust in the current foundation of the team.
Leonard hasn’t decided whether to have surgery for the meniscus tear he suffered in the playoffs, but Clippers president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank believes he’ll be ready for the start of next season with or without the operation, Greif adds.

Pacific Notes: Payton, Looney, Suns, Clippers

May 12th, 2023 at 2:00pm CST by Luke Adams

The impact that Gary Payton II is having in the postseason is validating for certain members of the Warriors‘ front office who were adamantly opposed to letting the guard walk in free agency last summer, says Marcus Thompson II of The Athletic.

Payton has entered the Warriors’ starting lineup for the last two games of the team’s series vs. the Lakers and has scored double-digit points in both contests. Besides totaling 28 points on 11-of-14 (78.6%) shooting in those two games, Payton is a plus-28 in approximately 51 minutes of action and has helped the Dubs shore up their defense.

“Gary’s a game-changer and we knew that last year,” Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said. “We don’t win the championship without Gary. So to get him back has completely changed our defense. … And then offensively, he’s so unique with his speed and his ability to finish around the rim. So it’s just, we’re a different team now that he’s back with us.”

Here’s more from around the Pacific:

ESPN’s Kendra Andrews takes a deep dive into how Kevon Looney, who once had his fourth-year rookie scale team option declined, has become such a crucial part of the Warriors‘ rotation.
Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report examines what’s next for the Suns after their second-round exit, noting that the team will need to prioritize improving its depth this summer after having too top-heavy a roster this spring.
Rival executives are curious to see which Clippers veterans may end up on the trade block this summer and are skeptical about the team’s ability to break through and win a title with its current core, writes Steve Bulpett of Heavy.com. “I’m not sure what they can do,” one source told Bulpett. “They’re not going to get value for (Paul George or Kawhi Leonard) in any sort of deals. They just miss too many games, and that’s ruined the culture. It’s ruined the culture of the Clippers. Not knowing from night to night if you’re going to have PG or Kawhi just killed them. They didn’t know who was playing on any given night. It’s a train wreck. They’ve got some really good character guys on their team, but the culture is bad.”
In a pair of mailbags for The Athletic, Law Murray makes the case for why the Clippers shouldn’t blow up their roster this offseason, explores the likelihood of Russell Westbrook and Mason Plumlee re-signing in Los Angeles, considers which young Clippers might be in line for increased roles in 2023/24, and answers several more questions from readers.

Pacific Notes: Warriors, Draymond, Kings, Clippers

April 29th, 2023 at 4:03pm CST by Rory Maher

It seemed as though the Warriors had all the momentum after winning three straight games to go ahead 3-2 in their first-round series against Sacramento, which made their Game 6 home loss Friday night all the more stunning, writes Tim Kawakami of The Athletic.

Kawakami calls the 19-point defeat Golden State’s “most disappointing” performance since the trio of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green started making the postseason in 2013. The locker room was understandably quiet and reflective afterward.

Still, the team remains confident it will be able to rebound and emerge victorious Sunday afternoon in Sacramento for Game 7.

“It’s up to us to go to Sacramento and do everything we did tonight — but opposite,” Thompson said. “And I know we will respond. I just know this team. I know these guys. I’ve played at the highest level with them and I know what we are capable of, and we will respond like the champions we are come Sunday.”

Here’s more from the Pacific:

It’s time for head coach Steve Kerr and the Warriors to re-insert Draymond Green into the starting lineup in place of the struggling Jordan Poole, argues Dalton Johnson of NBC Sports Bay Area, who points to Green’s experience of winning in high-pressure situations and his defensive acumen as reasons why the change should take place.
The Kings made a “series-altering” adjustment in Game 6, according to Anthony Slater of The Athletic. They decided to go smaller and faster, with more shooting around De’Aaron Fox and Malik Monk, who both had terrific games. They went away from Alex Len as backup center and used Trey Lyles at the five, with Terence Davis, Kevin Huerter and Keegan Murray receiving more playing time, while Harrison Barnes and Davion Mitchell played less. “We knew we could run them a little bit and we took advantage of that tonight,” Monk said. “I felt it a little bit more on them. They were a little tired. We’re younger than they are. So we knew we could take advantage of that. We’re going to try to do the same thing Sunday.”
Confirming a recent report from Mark Medina, president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank says the Clippers will “continue to build around” Kawhi Leonard and Paul George despite their injury troubles, as Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN relays. “Kawhi’s a ceiling raiser,” Frank said. “When you study past NBA champions, they have a top-five guy on their team, and Kawhi has shown that when healthy he can be the best player in the world. Paul is an eight-time All-Star now. So we’re going to continue to build around those guys and look for every which way [to improve around them].”
Both Leonard and George are eligible for pricey contract extensions in the offseason, and the Clippers will discuss the matter with their star players when the time comes, per Youngmisuk. “Those guys are great players and they’re great partners and we want to keep them as Clippers for a long time,” Frank said. “And so we’ll look forward to those conversations. And the No. 1 goal is how can we build a sustainable championship team? And those guys have been great partners, so at the appropriate time, we look forward to sitting down with them.”

Clippers Notes: George, Kawhi, Future, Westbrook

April 27th, 2023 at 12:55pm CST by Rory Maher

Despite a disappointing first-round playoff exit that saw Paul George (right knee sprain) and Kawhi Leonard (torn right meniscus) sidelined with injuries, the Clippers remain committed to their star duo, a person with knowledge of the situation tells Mark Medina of Sportsnaut.com.

As Medina writes, both players have missed significant time due to injuries since the Clippers acquired them in the 2019 offseason, but they are under contract through at least 2023/24, with player options for ’24/25. The Clippers still believe George and Leonard are in the prime of their careers and are “enamored” with their ability to play both ends of the court.

Here’s more on the Clippers:

Leonard is still exploring his options with team doctors to determine whether or not he’ll need surgery for his meniscus tear, according to Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times, who reports that the process could take a while. Greif points out that the Clippers will have a challenging offseason because they’re projected to be well over the luxury tax again and three of their veteran forwards (Marcus Morris, Nicolas Batum, Robert Covington) had inconsistent seasons, making them difficult to trade.
Bill Plaschke of The Los Angeles Times believes the Clippers should trade Leonard or George, or perhaps even both, arguing that their inability to stay on the court has made them more detrimental than beneficial. Plaschke considers the Clippers legitimate contenders when both players are healthy and praises the organization as a whole, in particular owner Steve Ballmer, but thinks all of that is ultimately irrelevant when Leonard and George simply don’t play enough games for it to matter.
Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca makes the opposite case, arguing that the Clippers should stick with Leonard because he is perhaps the most dominant postseason performer in the world when healthy. Grange believes Leonard’s desire to win championships is undeniable, pointing to Toronto’s title run in 2019 as evidence.
George, who turns 33 next week, believes he can be productive for several more seasons, writes Law Murray of The Athletic. “I think I got a lot of good years in me, I know Kawhi thinks he’s got a lot of good years in him,” George said before Game 5. “I mean, I’m not going to put any pressure on that anytime soon. The only thing I can do is continue to just work on my game, work on myself and just try to be available as much as possible. … It hurts to not play and watch the guys put it all in the line and not be able to do the same. It’s very frustrating, and it sucks. It really does suck.”
In another article for The Athletic, Murray writes that guard Russell Westbrook made a positive impact on many people within the organization during his few months with the Clippers. His strong playoff showing may convince a rival team to offer him more money in free agency than the Clippers are able to, so retaining him might be difficult unless he’s willing to take a discount, says Murray.

Kawhi Leonard Has Torn Meniscus In Right Knee

April 26th, 2023 at 9:19am CST by Arthur Hill

The right knee injury that Kawhi Leonard suffered during the Clippers‘ playoff series was a torn meniscus, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic.

Coach Tyronn Lue revealed on Monday that Leonard was injured in L.A.’s Game 1 victory and the condition became worse as he played through it in Game 2. The medical staff made the decision to shut him down for the rest of the series, according to Charania.

The torn meniscus is in the same knee where Leonard suffered a partially torn ACL during the 2021 playoffs. That injury forced him to miss all of last season and limited his availability this year.

Leonard was spectacular in the first two games against the Suns, averaging 34.5 points, 6.5 rebounds and 6.0 assists as the Clippers left Phoenix with a 1-1 split. They lost the next three games with Leonard sidelined.

The recovery time from a meniscus tear can vary depending on the severity and the treatment. Two recent examples are Cameron Johnson, who was injured in early November and resumed playing in mid-January, and Collin Sexton, who didn’t return last season after tearing his meniscus in November 2021, but was fully healthy this year.

The Clippers took a gamble when they signed Leonard to a new four-year, $176.3MM contract in 2021. He will make $45.6MM next season, then has a $48.8MM player option for 2024/25. Given Leonard’s injury history, the Clippers’ disappointing playoff record and the financial restraints imposed by the new collective bargaining agreement, his long-term future in L.A. appears to be uncertain.

Tyronn Lue Defends Kawhi Leonard Amid Latest Injury

April 25th, 2023 at 9:01am CST by Arthur Hill

Kawhi Leonard will miss his third straight game as the Clippers try to prevent their season from ending tonight in Phoenix, and coach Tyronn Lue made it clear that Leonard’s absence is unavoidable, writes Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN.

Lue said Leonard suffered a sprained right knee during the series opener, and the injury got worse as he played through it in Game 2. Leonard sat out Monday’s practice while receiving treatment on the knee and has already been ruled out for Game 5.

The Clippers have received criticism for their “load management” policy with Leonard, who played just 52 games in his first season after returning from a partial ACL tear. Lue said that’s not what’s happening now, and Leonard would be ready to play if he were physically capable.

“He’s definitely hurt,” Lue said. “Like this is not load management where he’s taking time off. He’s shown in his past that he’s played through injuries in the playoffs. If it’s something that he can’t play through, then it has to be pretty serious. We’re not talking about he’s sitting out because of load management or he’s tired or nothing like that. It’s an actual thing. What the outside is saying, who cares.”

Leonard was outstanding in the first two games of the series, scoring 38 points in Game 1 as L.A. picked up a win on the Suns’ home court, then following that with 31 points, eight rebounds and seven assists in Game 2. Without him available, the Clippers lost back-to-back games at home and now have to overcome a 3-1 series deficit.

Leonard’s injury comes at an especially bad time, with Paul George already sidelined by a right knee sprain that he suffered in late March. George has been making progress in his recovery and was seen driving hard to the basket Monday, but he’s considered unlikely to return during the first round.

Without his two stars, Lue has been turning to unorthodox lineups in an effort to create difficult matchups for the Suns. The Clippers have used five guards at times as Russell Westbrook and Norman Powell have taken on more of the scoring load, and Lue indicated that he has more tricks ready for Game 5.

“It’s a tough situation to be in, with your two main guys out,” he said. “But I love our guys in the locker room. I’d go to war with these guys any time. That’s the reason I have confidence, because of the guys we have in the locker room, and we are not going to give in. We just (got to) clean up a few things, like we’re right there.”

Injury Updates: Anderson, Leonard, George, Fox, Embiid

April 24th, 2023 at 10:54pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Forward Kyle Anderson has been ruled out by the Timberwolves for Game 5 of the first-round series against the Nuggets on Tuesday, the team’s PR department tweets.

Anderson suffered an eye injury on Sunday when he was struck by teammate Anthony Edwards as the two Timberwolves teammates defended a dunk attempt by DeAndre Jordan. Anderson is averaging 8.5 points, 4.5 assists and 4.0 rebounds in the series, which Denver leads 3-1.

We have more injury-related news:

The Clippers will be without both of their superstars again for Game 5. Kawhi Leonard and Paul George have been ruled for Tuesday’s game as their team faces elimination against the Suns, Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN tweets. Leonard received treatment on his sprained right knee on Monday but didn’t practice, Andrew Greif of the Los Angeles Times tweets.
While Kings star guard De’Aaron Fox was initially considered doubtful for Wednesday’s game against the Warriors due to a fractured index finger on his left hand, there is internal optimism that Fox will try to play, Sam Amick and Shams Charania of The Athletic report. The medical staff will try to figure out if it’s feasible for Fox to play with the injury, which is on his shooting hand. The Kings have confirmed Fox has an avulsion fracture, Marc Stein tweets.
Joel Embiid‘s status for the second-round series remains unclear as he tries to recover from a sprained LCL in his right knee. “I’m told he’s doing better and he’s moving around better,” ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne said on the NBA Today show (video link) regarding the Sixers’ center. “The swelling has subsided … (but) you’re not going to push it with something like that.”

Clippers Notes: Powell, Leonard, Current Era

April 22nd, 2023 at 12:42pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Clippers guard Norman Powell is not backing down from the challenge of replacing injured star’s Kawhi Leonard‘s output in L.A.’s series with the Suns, writes Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times.

Powell started with Leonard out on Thursday, and poured in 42 points in a narrow defeat to Phoenix. Though he couldn’t hope to replicate Leonard’s defensive contributions, he played his role as a scorer admirably. Head coach Tyronn Lue noted that Powell’s work ethic has prepared him for moments like this.

“When you put that kind of work in, every single day, just grinding every single day, you’re going to play well,” Lue said.

There’s more out of Los Angeles:

Leonard’s impact on both sides of the hardwood is hard to replace, Greif notes in a separate piece. Leonard scored or assisted on 45% of L.A.’s offense across the series’ first two games, and had guarded Suns All-Star forward Kevin Durant a team-most 53 possessions through those two bouts.
Although he has already been ruled out for today’s matinee against Phoenix, Leonard has merely been considered day-to-day for Los Angeles. However, it now sounds like his knee sprain injury could keep him out longer than initially anticipated, per Chris Haynes of NBA TV (Twitter video link). “The Clippers are still ruling him day-to-day with a right knee sprain, and what we know is that this injury is not connected to the ACL tear that he suffered two years ago, but it is the same knee,” Haynes said. “So that is worrisome right there. But there is no timetable as of right now, we don’t know when Kawhi is going to return, they’re still putting… hope out there that he could at some point, but it’s not looking good.”
This mid-series Leonard injury represents just the newest impediment to what has been an incredibly disappointing Clippers era, opines Law Murray of The Athletic. Leonard and All-Star Clippers forward Paul George have been beset by injuries at inopportune times for years, and the team has never lived up to the championship expectations it had when the two stars joined forces in the 2019 offseason.

Kawhi Leonard Ruled Out For Game 4 With Knee Sprain

April 21st, 2023 at 7:17pm CST by Rory Maher

Kawhi Leonard will miss his second consecutive game on Saturday due to a right knee sprain, as the Clippers have officially ruled him out of Game 4 of their first-round series against Phoenix, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic.

Leonard reportedly sustained the injury in Game 1, but was able to play through it for the first two games of the series. However, he was ruled out of Thursday’s Game 3, which the Clippers wound up losing to fall behind in the series two games to one, and he will now miss Game 4 as well.

According to John Hollinger of The Athletic (Twitter link), there was optimism that Leonard might be able to return on Saturday, but obviously the team decided to be cautious with its best player. As Hollinger notes, the star forward will have multiple days of extra rest — Game 5 is set for Tuesday in Phoenix.

Leonard had been dominant through two games, averaging 34.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, 6.0 assists and 2.0 steals on .545/.600/.882 shooting in 40.2 minutes.

Norman Powell (42 points on 15-of-23 shooting, five rebounds, three assists) and Russell Westbrook (30 points on 11-of-23 shooting, 12 assists, eight rebounds, three steals) had huge performances in his absence yesterday, but the shorthanded Clippers — who were already playing without Paul George due to his own right knee sprain — lost by a final score of 129-124.

Head coach Tyronn Lue went with an unorthodox lineup of five guards in the fourth quarter of Game 3 (Powell, Westbrook, Eric Gordon, Terance Mann and Bones Hyland), and while the group had a lot of success on offense, it was unable to slow down Devin Booker and defensive rebounding was a struggle. It will be interesting to see Lue if utilizes another extreme small-ball group or tinkers the lineup further for Game 4 with Leonard once again sidelined.