After being hit with one of the biggest penalties in NBA history as a result of the league’s salary cap circumvention investigation Clippers opened their media day by apologizing to their fans, Ben Golliver writes for ESPN.
“Our fans deserve to hear from us before this, and we apologize for that.» interim president of basketball operations Trent Redden said. “We listened to the thoughts, concerns and felt the emotions of our fans. They mean everything to us. Their pain at this time is real and we feel it and hear them and our employees who are proud to be a part of this organization. We hope to fulfill our promises to them, build their trust and move forward.”
Redden added that the head coach You are Lou will remain a key voice in personnel decisions and the coach’s opinion will be crucial as the team embarks on a rebuild.
For his part, Liu reiterated his faith in the rejected Steve Ballmer and his desire to stay with the Clippers, notes Andrew Greif of NBC News (via Twitter).
“My loyalty (to Steve) to the endLiu said.
We have more from the Clippers:
- Darius Garland made all-stars and played on teams with big aspirations, but for the first time he’s going to be The Guy Janis Carr writes for the OC Register. He knows that means that in addition to his on-court responsibilities, he’ll have to take on a bigger load as a mentor and tone-setter for the rest of the group, a role he’s already embraced by assembling a team for a “Call Of Duty” tournament and taking rookie Keaton Wagler under his wing. “I’m trying to instill confidence in Keaton“, he said.”He just needs to survive all the hardships. Everybody’s going to make mistakes in 82 games, so I just want him to carry that (confidence) with him, wear it on his sleeve and remember that it’s always going to be better for him and (the other rookie). Dad Miller.”
- The discovery what Brandon Ingram would miss the start of the season with a partial Achilles tendon tear, a blow to the team’s hopes of a strong start, but he is already getting light work in preseason, writes ESPN’s Anthony Slater. Before the team’s first practice at the University of Hawaii on Tuesday, Ingram went through shooting and defensive drills with assistant coach Jeff Van Gundy. He then watched the team go through a full-contact practice.
- There are many questions facing the team as they begin the next era of Clippers basketball. Carr writes. That includes who will be the center of the future, or whether Brandon Ingram can help replace him Kawhi Leonard more than just scoring in isolation, how Wagler handles the pressure of a top-five pick and more.
