Terance Mann

Eastern Notes: Bridges, Thibs, Robinson, Grimes, Mann, Bradley

Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau met with forward Mikal Bridges prior to Wednesday’s victory over Portland to clear the air over their recent public comments about the starters’ minutes, according to Ian Begley of SNY.tv, who says sources described the meeting as “productive.” Mike Breen of MSG Network first stated on Wednesday’s broadcast that the two men had talked before the game.

Bridges said on Wednesday that he felt like the Knicks’ reserves should play a little more to help reduce the starters’ workloads. The 28-year-old suggested that he had spoken to Thibodeau about the subject, but the veteran coach later denied having that conversation and defended his minutes distribution.

As Stefan Bondy of The New York Post writes, the minor off-court drama hasn’t impacted Bridges’ play on the court. In three games since Jalen Brunson went down with an ankle sprain, Bridges has averaged 23.3 points per game on 62.8% shooting, including 33 points on 13-of-21 shooting in Wednesday’s overtime win.

Here’s more from around the Atlantic:

  • Knicks center Mitchell Robinson is still on a minutes restriction after returning from ankle surgery two weeks ago, but the big man dropped some weight during his recovery process and is pleased with how his leaner physique has aided his mobility on the court, Bondy writes in a subscriber-only New York Post story. “I got to be honest, though. For me to come back from an ankle injury, I kind of move really well,” Robinson said. “Coming back from an ankle injury after 10 months? I move pretty damn good.”
  • Sixers guard Quentin Grimes spoke to Grant Afseth of Sportskeeda about his experience playing alongside Luka Doncic in Dallas, what it was like being traded last month, and why he’s “really happy” in Philadelphia even though the team has won just two of 15 games since the trade deadline. Grimes will miss Friday’s game vs. Indiana due to an illness, according to the latest injury report.
  • Hawks guard Terance Mann will face his former team on Friday for the first time since being traded last month, but he tells Law Murray of The Athletic that he hasn’t had a chance to reflect on the five-and-a-half years he spent with the Clippers. “I haven’t yet, no, I haven’t yet,” Mann said. “I’ll probably do that after the season. You know, just sit back, hang out with the guys, reflect. Hang out with Zu (Ivica Zubac), Amir (Coffey), James (Harden), Kawhi (Leonard), all those dudes. Talk and just reflect.” Mann added that his agent informed him before last month’s deal about the possibility that he’d be sent to Atlanta and he felt “great” about the opportunity. “They’re expecting a lot more from me,” Mann said. “They’re expecting me to shoot the ball off the dribble, catch and shoot, make plays when I get to the paint. Get to the paint. They just want me to be who I am. And I really appreciate Coach Q (Quin Snyder) for that.”
  • After Tony Bradley signed a second 10-day contract with the Pacers on Thursday, head coach Rick Carlisle told reporters, including Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files, that the big man is an “ideal” third center for the team right now. “In practices and in simulated stuff in the gym, he’s been terrific,” Carlisle said. “Smart, great hands, defensively has a really good feel for what we’re doing here.”

Southeast Notes: Magic, Johnson, Hawks Injuries, Snyder, Adebayo

Almost nothing is going according to plan for the Magic this season, The Athletic’s Josh Robbins writes. Orlando’s loss to the Bulls on Thursday was the fifth loss in a row for the team, which has been left searching for answers.

As recently as last season, it seemed like the Magic was following a trajectory similar to that of the Thunder or Rockets. All three teams added to their cores with the top-three picks in the 2022 draft, and the tandem of Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner led the Magic to the fifth seed in the East last season, where they were able to push the Cavaliers to seven games.

But now, the Thunder are the top team in the West with Houston firmly in the playoff picture. As Robbins writes, a season with promise is in danger of falling apart as the Magic sit in ninth place this season and will have to win at least one play-in game (and possibly two) to earn a first-round date with the Cavs or Celtics.

It’s a different year,” Banchero said. “It’s almost the end of this season, so we’re a different team. Teams, I think, are seeing what our weaknesses are and they’re attacking it, and we’ve had trouble adjusting.

Injuries and three-point shooting are the biggest reasons for the tougher year, Robbins writes. Defensive ace Jalen Suggs is out for the season while Banchero and Wagner both had long-term absences in the first half. That trio has only shared the court for 97 total minutes. With Suggs out for the foreseeable future, the Magic will need to figure out how to get into a groove without him. They’re 9-20 this season when the former Gonzaga standout isn’t available.

Additionally, the Magic have missed the production they received from Moritz Wagner off the bench. He’s not only their statistically best three-point shooter, but he also gives them optionality at center, which the team is sorely missing. The Magic rank last in the league in three-point percentage.

The message at the end was we’ve got to fight our way out of this funk,” coach Jamahl Mosley said. “That’s exactly what it is. It’s a funk, and we’ve got to fight our way out of it.

We have more from the Southeast Division:

  • Rising Hawks forward Jalen Johnson, who is out for the season due to a torn labrum, is confident he’ll be ready for the start of the ’25/26 season, per The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Lauren L. Williams. “When you’re in the league, you’re constantly learning about your body, how things may need to tweak here and there,” Johnson said. “So, I’m still learning things, learning new things. I got a great staff around me who provides great insight on things like that. So I just been trying to take knowledge from a lot of people, other athletes and stuff like that as far as you know, maybe what they do, I mean their preparation. But I’m confident in what I do, and I know I’ll get back to 100%.
  • Hawks guard Vit Krejci, out since Feb. 10 due to a lumbar fracture, was upgraded to questionable for the team’s Saturday game against the Pacers, Brad Rowland of Locked On Hawks tweets. Krejci is averaging 6.9 points per game while shooting 38.4% from three in 39 games (15 starts) this season. Meanwhile, impressive trade deadline acquisitions Caris LeVert (knee inflammation) and Terance Mann (quad contusion) are in danger of missing a game for the first time since arriving in Atlanta. Both players are questionable for Saturday’s contest.
  • Hawks head coach Quin Snyder returned to the bench on Thursday against the Pacers after missing one game due to illness, ESPN reports. Snyder missed that game due to the flu and assistant Igor Kokoskov took his place. “His level of experience makes you very comfortable in those situations,” Snyder said of Kokoskov.
  • Bam Adebayo is working his way up the Heat’s all-time rankings, recently surpassing Rony Seikaly for the most double-doubles in franchise history. Impressively, Adebayo is already fourth in all-time scoring for the Heat and has a shot to move into second place as soon as next season. He’s already No. 2 among the Heat’s all-time leading rebounders and, according to the Miami Herald’s Anthony Chiang, isn’t shy to let current leader Udonis Haslem know he’s coming for his record. “He’s been texting me every spot,” Haslem said. “Every spot he comes up the chain, he texts me.

Southeast Notes: Hawks Bench, Poole, Hornets, Green, Smith

The Hawks are receiving strong contributions from their bench since adding Caris LeVert, Terance Mann and Georges Niang at the trade deadline, Lauren Williams of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes. That trio helped Atlanta defeat Miami on Monday and combined for 50 points on Friday. On Wednesday, the bench – LeVert, Mann, Niang, and Clint Capela – scored 45 of the Hawks’ 109 points.

I feel like we can keep getting better,” Capela said of Atlanta’s second unit. “Once again, defensively, we’re able to get stops and run get easy buckets for everybody, myself included Caris, Terance, Georges. I mean, I feel like, those are the guys that know how to play, they’ve been in this thing long enough to know how to play, and I’ve started feeling better playing with them.

In the eight games since the newcomers arrived, Niang is averaging 14.0 points per game while shooting 41.7% on 7.5 three-point attempts per game, LeVert is recording 15.3 PPG, and Mann is averaging 8.4 PPG while shooting 57.9% from beyond the arc.

Yeah, I think that’s the thing that’s kind of bringing us together, is our communication and our experience,” LeVert said. “We’ve all played a lot of basketball. So, I think just getting on the same page has been a lot easier.

Williams adds that the Hawks still need to find a solution for replacing some of Trae Young‘s play-making production when he sits and that Vit Krejci should be considered an option for alleviating that concern.

We have more from the Southeast Division:

  • Jordan Poole is enjoying a strong second season in Washington after his production dipped in his first season there. As Varun Shankar of The Washington Post writes, Poole is averaging career highs in points (21.0), assists (4.8) and three-point percentage (37.0%). Poole didn’t start in 12 games last season but now he’s a full-time starter and is second on the Wizards in minutes per game.
  • The Hornets are going through a tough stretch — they won just two games in February and have lost five in a row. Still, coach Charles Lee is optimistic that the team is growing through the adversity, Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer writes. “I thought just as a group, we competed at a much better level,” Lee said after their most recent loss, a 103-96 game against the Mavericks on Thursday. “To judge a man to see how he gets knocked down and to see how he responds, the group definitely responded today.
  • Josh Green returned to American Airlines Center for the first time as a member of the Hornets on Thursday. He had “weird feelings” in his return to face the Mavericks, with whom he spent the first four years of his career, according to Mavs.com’s Eddie Sefko. “It’s been different for me,” Green said. “Being a younger guy in Dallas and then to come here and being a veteran, it’s definitely been a shift. It’s fun. I’ve enjoyed it. Looking back at my time in Dallas, my first couple years were some of my really toughest times, not playing, not getting many minutes. Having guys like Dwight [Powell] and Maxi [Kleber] were great leaders for me. And it’s motivated me to be the best [mentor] I can be for guys.
  • Roster deadlines are approaching and – as we wrote last weekend – the Heat could conceivably make a two-way contract switch, since Dru Smith is out for the season. However, Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald hears that the front office is leaning toward keeping Smith on his two-way deal to avoid another team claiming him and getting the chance to re-sign him in restricted free agency this summer. Asummiing he remains in Miami, Smith could be re-signed to a two-way deal or to a standard contract. He established himself as part of the team’s rotation before his unfortunate injury.

Southeast Notes: Heat, Hawks, Smart, Poole

As Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald writes, Nikola Jovic‘s hand fracture will necessitate changes to the Heat‘s rotation going forward, since Jovic had been playing significant minutes off the bench, including 31.9 MPG in his past 10 healthy games. Head coach Erik Spoelstra provided a first look on Monday vs. Atlanta at what the new rotation might look like, with Kyle Anderson and Jaime Jaquez taking on the minutes that would have gone to Jovic, Chiang notes in a second story.

Jaquez, who has been out of the rotation as of late, logged just seven minutes, while Anderson played 28, the most of any Miami reserve. The veteran forward contributed 14 points and five rebounds while getting to the foul line 10 times — he was a +2 in a game Miami lost by 12 points.

“He gave us some really good minutes,” Spoelstra said of Anderson, per Chiang. “I played him probably a handful more minutes than I anticipated. But he was doing some really good things out there.”

The other major change Spoelstra made to his rotation on Monday was to remove struggling guard Terry Rozier, who received his first DNP-CD of the season. Alec Burks played extended minutes in place of Rozier, but didn’t exactly give the Heat a boost, making just 1-of-12 shots from the field in 27 minutes.

“It’s just one of those things right now,” Spoelstra said in addressing the decision not to play Rozier. “We’re searching. It’s not an indictment on anybody necessarily. I feel for the guys that haven’t been able to play — Jaime the couple games before this and Terry. It’s not anyone’s fault. We’re all in this together. But we do need to find something. So, I’ll continue to use the depth of our roster, however we feel like we need to.”

Here’s more from around the Southeast:

  • Dyson Daniels registered at least seven steals in a game for the third time this season and trade deadline acquisitions Caris LeVert, Georges Niang, and Terance Mann combined for 41 points off the bench in the Hawks‘ win over Miami on Monday. LeVert (13.7 PPG), Niang (15.2 PPG), and Mann (.571 FG%) have all played well since arriving in Atlanta, helping the team retain a firm hold on a play-in spot despite sending out De’Andre Hunter and Bogdan Bogdanovic at the deadline. “It makes it way easier whenever you have guys like Caris and Georges who are aggressive, and whenever they get the ball,” guard Trae Young said after the win, per Lauren L. Williams of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (subscription required). “They’re not hesitant at all. And even T-Mann hit a big three.”
  • The Wizards held an opponent under 100 points for the first time all season on Monday in a win over Brooklyn. As Noah Trister of The Associated Press writes, it’s likely not a coincidence that the team accomplished that feat in Marcus Smart‘s second game as a Wizard. “There is some people that kind of probably slept (on me). I haven’t played in a couple years consistently, and they probably forgot about me — which is cool. I’m used to it,” Smart said. “I still do what I do.”
  • Wizards guard Jordan Poole is averaging career highs in points (21.0), assists (4.8), and steals (1.4) per game, as well as three-point percentage (37.1%). Head coach Brian Keefe is a major reason for Poole’s resurgence, as Josh Robbins details for The Athletic. Sources tell Robbins that Poole advocated for Keefe last spring when the front office decided to name him the team’s permanent head coach after he finished the 2023/24 season with the interim label. “I know how good and genuine a person he is off the court, so when he coaches us hard and he’s pushing us on the court, I know that’s because he just wants the best of us,” Poole said of his coach.

Hawks Trade Bogdanovic, Second-Rounders To Clippers For Mann, Hyland

FEBRUARY 7: The trade is official, according to press releases from both teams. In order to make room on their roster to complete the deal, the Hawks have waived forward David Roddy.

Within the Clippers’ announcement of the trade, president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank spoke glowingly about Mann, lauding him for “what’s he’s meant to our organization” and the “imprint” he left on the team. Frank also said the club is grateful to Hyland and hopes he gets the opportunity to play more regularly as a result of the deal.

General manager Landry Fields said in the Hawks’ statement that the club is grateful for the “passion and heart” Bogdanovic played with, adding that Mann is “someone we’ve liked as a player and person for a long time.”


FEBRUARY 6: The Hawks are trading Bogdan Bogdanovic to the Clippers for Terance Mann and Bones Hyland, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania (Twitter link).

In addition to receiving Bogdanovic, the Clippers will obtain three second-round picks. According to The Athletic’s Law Murray (Twitter link), those second-round picks are Minnesota’s in 2025, the Clippers own in 2027 and a protected 2026 Grizzlies selection.

The Grizzlies’ 2026 second-round pick will be sent to the Clippers if it lands between 31-42, according to Murray (Twitter link). The 2027 pick sent back to the Clippers is their own that was originally moved in the 2023 five-team trade that ultimately saw Dillon Brooks land with the Rockets.

The trade of Bogdanovic was anticipated by several reporters in the weeks leading up to the deadline. In recent days, his name was brought up in rumors involving Brandon Ingram before the latter was sent to Toronto.

A career 38.0% three-point shooter, Bogdanovic is having a bit of a down year for the Hawks, shooting just 30.1% from deep and averaging 10.0 points per game after recording 16.9 PPG last year. The Clippers are hoping he’ll round into form for a team with playoff aspirations.

In addition to rolling the dice on Bogdanovic, the Clippers wil open up a roster spot by moving two players out in exchange for one. That will help make the team a player in the buyout market while being $2.4MM below the tax.

The Clippers are also able to shed some future salary by moving off Mann’s contract, which is guaranteed through 2027/28. Bogdanovic’s contract is guaranteed for $16.02MM next year, but he has a team option for the same amount in 2026/27.

As noted by ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link), the Clippers increase their available second-round picks from one to four in this move as well.

While Bogdanovic and Hyland both came up in external trade rumors this season, there wasn’t much reported activity regarding Mann heading into the deadline. However, as NBA insider Jake Fischer reports (Twitter link), the Nuggets were another team that had serious interest in acquiring Mann.

The six-year NBA vet spent his entire career with the Clippers to this point after he was the 48th overall pick in the 2019 draft. His minutes have declined this season and he’s averaging just 6.0 PPG in his reduced role.

Hyland, the 26th overall pick in the 2021 draft, was traded to the Clippers originally at the 2023 deadline. However, he didn’t break into the rotation and is out after about two seasons. Still just 24, Hyland is a strong three-point shooter (36.4% career average) and scorer (9.7 points per game), giving the Hawks an upside swing if he sticks around.

As a result of their three reported deals today, which send out De’Andre Hunter, Bogdanovic and Cody Zeller, the Hawks will remain out of luxury tax territory.

Clippers Notes: Leonard, Jones, Mann

Clippers star Kawhi Leonard has yet to make his season debut due to a right knee injury. After participating in the non-contact portions of practices last week, the 33-year-old forward was a full participant in Wednesday’s practice, including contact drills, according to head coach Tyronn Lue (Twitter link via Brad Turner of The Los Angeles Times).

While it’s obviously a positive sign that Leonard has progressed to the point where he’s able to do contact work, he will remain out for the team’s three-game road trip, which starts Thursday in Dallas and ends Monday in Memphis. Leonard will travel with the team, however, per Lue.

Here’s more on the Clippers:

  • Los Angeles will have multiple days off after Monday’s game, with the team’s next contest coming vs. Golden State on December 27. Law Murray of The Athletic predicts that Leonard will make his season debut on that date, given his current rate of progress (Twitter link). If that comes to fruition, the veteran forward will have missed the first 30 games of the 2024/25 season.
  • Derrick Jones is ahead of schedule in his return timeline, as the 27-year-old was a limited practice participant on Wednesday, per Murray (Twitter link). Los Angeles announced eight days ago that Jones, who is recovering from a right hamstring strain, would be reevaluated in two weeks, but he’s officially questionable for Thursday’s matchup with the Mavs, tweets Turner. A free agent addition over the offseason, the high-flying Jones has started all 25 games in which he’s appeared this season.
  • Another injured Clipper, swingman Terance Mann, was able to do some “shooting and some ball-handling stuff” in Wednesday’s practice, according to Lue (Twitter link via Murray). As Murray notes, Mann had surgery to repair a broken finger on his non-shooting hand a couple weeks ago and is set to be reevaluated next week. Murray suggests Mann could return in a couple weeks during another three-game road trip (Dec. 30 – Jan. 2).

Clippers’ Terance Mann To Undergo Surgery On Broken Finger

Clippers swingman Terance Mann will undergo surgery to repair the fractured middle finger on his left hand, a team source tells Law Murray of The Athletic (Twitter link).

The 6’5″ wing incurred the injury during a 127-105 Tuesday victory over the Trail Blazers.

Mann, 28, is expected to be reassessed in three weeks, Murray adds. Murray notes that the ailment afflicts his non-shooting hand.

The Los Angeles Times’ Broderick Turner tweets that Mann is scheduled to go under the knife on Thursday.

Across 23 healthy bouts this season, including 11 starts, the Florida State product is averaging 6.3 points, 3.1 rebounds, 1.7 assists, and 1.0 steals per night, with a .438/.340/.667 shooting line.

Despite not having All-Star forward Kawhi Leonard available for a single game this season while the former two-time Finals MVP deals with right knee inflammation, L.A. has gotten off to an impressive 14-9 start. Former MVP James Harden has been playing more like his Rockets-era self, while guard Norman Powell is scoring at a career clip.

Mann remains a solid two-way wing for the club, though he has yet to take a leap this season in line with the improvements of Harden or Powell. To wit, this season’s numbers are actually below Mann’s career averages of 8.0 PPG, 3.6 RPG and 1.9 APG.

Turner adds that Clippers forward Kobe Brown is set to be reevaluated in two weeks as he recovers from a herniated disc injury.

Injury Notes: Cavs, Durant, Mann, George, Embiid, Reaves

Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell (shoulder) and Darius Garland (head) appear to have avoided major injuries after suffering scares in Tuesday’s win over Washington, writes Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com (subscription required).

While Garland, who took a hit to the back of his head in the third quarter and sat out the rest of the game, may have to clear the NBA’s concussion protocol before he can play again, head coach Kenny Atkinson sounded optimistic about his status.

“He looked fine in the locker room,” Atkinson said of Garland, per Fedor. “Doesn’t look like anything that’ll hold him out. He gave me the thumbs up, and I don’t think he’ll miss any time at all. I think he’s fine.”

Here are a few more injury updates from around the NBA:

  • Suns star Kevin Durant exited Tuesday’s win over San Antonio shortly before halftime and didn’t return due to a sprained left ankle, per ESPN’s Michael C. Wright. Head coach Mike Budenholzer told reporters after the game that Durant had yet to undergo an MRI and that he didn’t have any information yet on whether the veteran forward will miss time. “I think he stepped on somebody’s foot in transition, and I think at halftime it stiffened up,” Budenholzer said. “We will have to evaluate him again in the morning, see how he feels coming out of it, see how he does overnight. I don’t really know a whole lot more than the report at halftime.”
  • Clippers guard/forward Terance Mann fractured the middle finger on his left hand in Tuesday’s win over Portland, according to the team (Twitter link via Mark Medina of Sportskeeda). The Clippers indicated that Mann will be reevaluated on Wednesday, so we should have more information on his outlook once that evaluation has been completed.
  • After playing a season-high 37 minutes and scoring 29 points in Tuesday’s win over Charlotte, Sixers forward Paul George will sit out Wednesday’s game vs. Orlando, tweets ESPN’s Tim Bontemps. That’s no surprise, given that it’s the second night of a back-to-back and George has dealt with a knee injury this season. As for Joel Embiid, the Sixers’ star center has also been ruled out for the Orlando game, but he’s getting back on the court and starting his ramp-up process, says Bontemps.
  • Lakers guard Austin Reaves, who has missed the past two games with a left pelvic contusion, was a partial participant in today’s shootaround and is still considered questionable to play in Wednesday’s game vs. Miami, tweets Dave McMenamin of ESPN.

L.A. Notes: Davis, LeBron, Koloko, George, Dunn

One of J.J. Redick’s most significant changes since taking over as head coach of the Lakers has been making Anthony Davis the “hub” of the offense, write Dave McMenamin and Matt Williams of ESPN. Davis is seeing more touches than ever, which has resulted in a dramatic increase in his production. He’s averaging 30 points and 10 rebounds through nine games while shooting 55% from the field, joining Wilt Chamberlain as the only Laker to reach those marks.

“He’s done a good job of putting me in spots to be successful,” Davis said of Redick. “My teammates have done a good job of giving me the ball where I’m most comfortable. Obviously they’re encouraging me to try to go get it, but I’m still continuously trying to play the right way.”

Davis’ increased involvement has taken opportunities away from LeBron James, the authors add. Redick is stationing James off the ball more frequently, and his 24.8% usage rate would be the lowest of his career. He’s screening more often and getting the ball off screens as Redick tries to preserve James’ energy as he nears his 40th birthday.

“We’re not going to rely on LeBron James iso fourth-quarter ball,” Redick said. “Like, that’s not who our identity is going to be. So, I think it starts with the thing that was presented to the team on the first day: Here’s our identity offensively; here’s our identity defensively; and then your system should help emphasize those things. And so that’s where we’ve been particularly deliberate.”

There’s more from Los Angeles:

  • Christian Koloko will become the Lakers‘ backup center while Jaxson Hayes is sidelined with an ankle injury, tweets Jovan Buha of The Athletic. Koloko has only appeared in two games since being medically cleared to return to the NBA, but he’ll have a larger role until Hayes is reevaluated in another week or two. “Disappointed. Feel for Jaxson, especially after the last two games he had for us,” Redick said.
  • On his Podcast P show, Paul George clarified comments he made about Clippers fans during a recent visit to Los Angeles (Twitter video link). “I did not call Clippers ‘the B team,’” he stated. “I said it felt like the B team because everywhere you go in L.A., people say, ‘You should be a Laker.’ That wasn’t minimizing. … I was a Clipper. That’s who I chose to play for. I wasn’t comparing them or saying they were underneath the Lakers. It’s just how L.A. interprets that or how L.A. treats players that are in L.A.”
  • The Clippers made a change to their starting lineup tonight in Houston, replacing Terance Mann with Kris Dunn, per Law Murray of The Athletic (Twitter link). Coach Tyronn Lue said after the game that he plans to continue using the new lineup (Twitter link).

Clippers Notes: Lue, Harden, Leonard, Mann

There are six new players on the Clippers‘ roster and six players who are 25 or younger. Head coach Tyronn Lue finds himself doing more teaching in training camp and he doesn’t mind the change, he told Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times.

“I love it,” Lue said. “It gives me something to do. The young guys, just teaching. The new guys, teaching, understanding spacing, understanding how to execute offensively, what we’re looking for first, second, third option. So, it’s been good.”

Lue added that he doesn’t expect everyone to absorb the lessons immediately.

“I have patience,” Lue said. “You gotta have patience with a group. You can’t get frustrated, but the guys are picking stuff up very well. But I like to teach, make sure we’re in our right spots, let them understand why we’re doing certain things and why you got to set the screen here instead of there, why you gotta be here making the pass instead of there. So, it’s a lot of teaching, but it’s good.”

We have more on the Clippers:

  • With Paul George in Philadelphia, James Harden becomes the second option behind Kawhi Leonard. Leonard said the veteran guard shares the same mentality that he has. “The relationship has been great,” Leonard told The Athletic’s Law Murray. “He came in last year wanting to win and saying that he wanted to sacrifice and do the things we needed to do to win games. So going into this year, he has the same mindset. You just want another guy on your team that is like-minded and is just willing to do anything that it takes for us to win. I think it’s a good relationship so far. We can be transparent to each other about how we’re playing, good or bad. So I think it will be good moving forward.”
  • The breakdown on Terance Mann‘s extension looks like this — he’ll make $15.5MM in 2025/26; $15.5MM in 2026/27; and $16MM in 2027/28, Spotrac contributor Keith Smith tweets. It’s a fully guaranteed deal with no options, Smith adds. Mann signed the extension on Oct. 2.
  • In case you missed it, P.J. Tucker is on indefinite leave from the team. Get the details here.