Tag: l.a. clippers

3 Ben Simmons destinations (the Cavaliers!) in free agency after his Nets buyout

What do you think about Ben Simmons in Cleveland or L.A.?

After a chaotic NBA trade deadline, the next domino to fall is the buyout market, which is headlined by former No. 1 overall pick Ben Simmons.

According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, the three-time All-Star is finalizing a contract buyout with the Brooklyn Nets. This means that he can become the most intriguing player available to potentially help a contender for the rest of this season.

The problem, however, is that Simmons is paid $40.3 million on his current deal.

NBA BUYOUT MARKET: 26 candidates teams may consider after the NBA trade deadline

While that money will get paid by the Nets, because he made more than the mid-level exception of $12.8 million, he is ineligible to sign with any team in the luxury tax apron.

Unfortunately, then, that immediately disqualifies the following teams: Phoenix Suns, Minnesota Timberwolves, Boston Celtics, New York Knicks, Los Angeles Lakers, Milwaukee Bucks, and Denver Nuggets.

The Golden State Warriors and Dallas Mavericks are also very close to the first apron and could struggle to sign him as well.

He is reportedly seeking a winning environment and stability, per Law Murray. With that in mind, based on the reporting, here are some teams that could still make sense.

Cleveland Cavaliers

After making a splashy move at the deadline to add De’Andre Hunter from the Hawks, the Cleveland Cavaliers are a particularly intriguing option.

Cleveland has the best record in the Eastern Conference and the second-best record in the NBA. While they already have the best offense in the league so far this season, their defense is not quite as dominant.

But if they added Simmons (who is a former NBA steals leader and a two-time First-Team All-Defense recipient) to a group that already has a strong defensive anchor with Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen, they might have an even more exciting group.

L.A. Clippers

Another team that Simmons will reportedly consider is the Clippers, who are hanging around as a potential play-in team in the Western Conference.

While they have not exactly gotten a ton of availability from Kawhi Leonard this season, a defense with Simmons and Leonard is going to intimidate any opponent.

Couple that with Ivica Zubac and Kris Dunn, who are also two of the best defensive players at their position this year, and you suddenly have an elite group on that end of the floor.

Of course, it would also be fascinating to see Simmons play alongside James Harden after the two were famously traded for each other in 2022.

Houston Rockets

As originally reported by ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, the Rockets are another team that is worth watching as a potential team interested in Simmons.

He is expected to meet with the organization, per Chris Haynes, which is noteworthy as Houston has been hesitant to make any changes to their very promising young core.

Houston already has a top-five defense this season even without Simmons, and they get especially good productivity from Amen Thompson and Tari Eason.

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Kawhi Leonard hinted at his upcoming return in a cryptic social media post

This is exciting news for Kawhi Leonard fans.

L.A. Clippers superstar Kawhi Leonard shocked basketball fans with a surprising social media post on Friday afternoon.

Leonard, who has not played for the Clippers yet this season, had a sudden and unexpected tweet. The video, which doubles as an ad for New Balance, shows Leonard listening to a voicemail from a manager-type. She is asking the basketball player to provide answers about his return to the court.

He then approaches a second version of himself, who is sitting alone while fishing. The other Leonard is listening to a sports radio broadcaster, who is announcing news that a potential return is imminent.

In the video, the fishing version of Leonard tells the original version:

“There’s been good days, there’s been bad days. But I keep coming back. It’s the nature of the game.”

For the caption of this admittedly very cool video, Leonard added: “The lips of wisdom are closed, except to the ears of understanding.”

Leonard, who missed all of the 2024 postseason and the Olympics, remains out at least four more games.

He could potentially return on January 4 against the Hawks at the earliest. While there is still no timeline for his return, he is practicing again and is participating in five-on-five scrimmages.

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Inuit Dome has fully revolutionized the t-shirt toss at the Clippers’ new home

This is SERIOUSLY amazing to watch.

The L.A. Clippers had their 2024-25 home debut on Wednesday night, which was the first regular-season game ever played at the Intuit Dome.

It is a special arena for many reasons, including The Wall, but one of the most underrated features is the way that the stadium has revolutionized the promotional t-shirt.

While other stadiums across professional and collegiate sports have used archaic methodologies of t-shirt giveaways by literally tossing them into the crowd, Intuit Dome has taken the technology into the future with how they’re doing it in Inglewood.

INTUIT DOME: Everything we know about the Clippers new $2 billion arena, including ‘The Wall’ and the infinite inventory of toilets

Rather than using cheerleaders and mascots tossing t-shirts into the crowd from the court using either their hands or a cannon, Intuit Dome is using the halo scoreboard.

While we already knew this was coming, it is especially crazy to see it happen during an actual NBA game. Here is more (via ESPN):

“The Halo Board also can measure how loud fans are screaming, utilizing a system that can narrow audio level down to a single seat, according to Zucker. And it has T-shirt cannons at the top ready to launch free shirts to fans seated at the top of the arena.”

Every fan in the arena has an equal chance of getting a t-shirt no matter where they are sitting and the video graphics makes it look like the players are throwing it directly to them.

This is seriously amazing.

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Steve Ballmer joined The Wall at the Clippers’ Intuit Dome and predictably went nuts

The Clippers owner was one of the most enthusiastic fans in the building!

The L.A. Clippers hosted their first regular-season game at the Intuit Dome, their new arena in Inglewood, and it was quite a scene.

After their new home impressed fans during the preseason, it was time to open up shop for games that counted toward the standings. Even though the Clippers fell short to Kevin Durant and the Phoenix Suns, it was hard for KD and others to not notice The Wall.

One of the primary features at the new arena, everyone is going to talk about The Wall whenever they first witness all of its glory.

INTUIT DOME: Everything we know about the Clippers new $2 billion arena, including ‘The Wall’ and the infinite inventory of toilets

During the game against the Suns on Wednesday night, Clippers owner Steve Ballmer sat with the fans in this section.

He was then prominently featured on their massive scoreboard as a method to distract Phoenix:

Ballmer clearly made an effort to create a genuinely fun atmosphere at this NBA arena, and he is personally putting in the work to help give his team a home crowd advantage.

While it might not work every time, the efforts are beyond admirable.

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15 Intuit Dome photos of the new Clippers arena from their home preseason debut

This place looks AWESOME.

The L.A. Clippers have officially moved arenas and will officially play their home games at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood.

After years of sharing a space with the Los Angeles Lakers in downtown, the new basketball arena hosted its first basketball game ever on Monday night. It was just a preseason game but the Clippers defeated the Mavericks, 110-96.

Known for its unique take on a t-shirt cannon as well as an abundance of toilets and a giant scoreboard, there is a lot to love about this new stadium brought to you by Clippers owner Steve Ballmer.

So let’s take a quick review at how it looked during preseason play against Dallas.

INTUIT DOME: Everything we know about the Clippers new $2 billion arena, including ‘The Wall’ and the infinite inventory of toilets

The Clippers lost Paul George for nothing after trading so much (Shai Gilgeous-Alexander!) to originally acquire him

How bleak is it for the Clippers considering what they gave up to get Paul George?

Paul George will reportedly sign with the Philadelphia 76ers, officially marking the end of his tenure with the L.A. Clippers.

The Clippers ultimately paid a premium price to acquire George from the Thunder in 2019. While it was perhaps a necessary gamble because it helped the team also acquire Kawhi Leonard, it is wild to consider just how many assets the front office surrendered in this deal five years ago.

Even the organization released a statement acknowledging as much:

“We traded a lot to pair Paul and Kawhi, and in exchange, we had five seasons of contention. Even though we fell short of our ultimate objective, we appreciate the chances we had with Paul.”

Looking back, Danilo Gallinari was the main piece that made the deal work financially. But he was hardly the most important part of this move.

Some fans may forget that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander began his career with the Clippers. He was drafted at No. 11 overall and played his rookie season in Los Angeles before he was named All-Rookie Second Team.

While he wasn’t yet who he is today, he was the centerpiece of the deal for the Thunder. Knowing what we know now, Gilgeous-Alexander already has more trade value than George. But that wasn’t all that the Clippers gave up to make this happen.

RELATED: The Clippers fumbling Paul George in free agency has to be the most Clippers thing ever

Also included in the deal was a loaded collection of first-round picks, some of which have been more favorable than others. It seems the most valuable was the No. 12 overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, which was used to pick Jalen Williams.

After earning NBA All-Rookie First-Team during his debut campaign with the Thunder in 2023, he had a breakout season with the Thunder last year and has proven himself as one of the most impressive young players in the NBA.

Oklahoma City also received the No. 18 pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, which was used on Tre Mann, who was later rerouted to the Hornets as part of the trade for Gordon Hayward.

Other assets from L.A. in the deal included the No. 26 pick in the 2024 NBA Draft (which was recently used to select Dillon Jones from Weber State).

The Clippers also owned what became the No. 18 pick in the 2023 NBA Draft (used to seelct Jaime Jaquez Jr.), though Oklahoma City turned that into a protected 2025 first-round pick or an unprotected first-round pick in 2026 from the Heat.

That means Oklahoma City is still owed a first-round pick from Miami, the rights to swap picks with the Clippers in 2025, and a first-round pick from the Clippers in 2026.

Meanwhile, the Clippers are left with nothing back in return for George.

They still have Leonard and James Harden on the roster, but the odds of them contending next season do not look strong.

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ESPN blatantly encouraged Joel Embiid to recruit Paul George during an awkward interview

Joel Embiid and Paul George…future teammates in Philadelphia?

Joel Embiid was an impromptu TV panelist before Game 4 of the 2024 NBA Finals and his segment may have raised some eyebrows.

During his appearance on ABC’s NBA Countdown, the 2023 NBA MVP joined a panel that included L.A. Clippers star Paul George as well as Stephen A. Smith, Michael Wilbon, Malika Andrews and Kendrick Perkins.

Embiid spoke about the upcoming game between the Boston Celtics and the Dallas Mavericks. Embiid’s 76ers were eliminated before they had a chance to play against Boston in the postseason.

While he called them a superteam, he made it clear that he doesn’t think this is the start of a dynasty because of tighter restrictions with the new collective bargaining agreement.

Embiid said it “hurts him a lot” to see the Celtics have a chance to play for a title, he said that hopefully the 76ers can find some pieces this offseason so it is him with a chance to win the Larry O’Brien Trophy next season.

Shortly after that, Wilbon agreed that perhaps one more piece is exactly what Philadelphia will need.

Kendrick Perkins didn’t hold any punches, though, and suggested that piece is sitting next to him: Paul George, who has a player option in his contract and could become an unrestricted free agent this offseason.

Philadelphia could create the cap space to sign George if the wing does not agree to a long-term extension with the Clippers.

But seeing it spelled out so plainly on national TV before the NBA Finals was quite a sight.

NBA fans reacted to the segment

 

NBA players paid tribute to Jerry West after the death of the logo, former MVP, and executive

NBA players paid tribute to one of the greatest to ever do it.

Jerry West, the 1969 NBA Finals MVP and 1972 NBA champion, has died. He was 86 years old.

West, who remains the logo of the league, was one of the most accomplished individuals in basketball history. Not only was a 14-time All-Star (earning the nod every year he played) but he was just as successful, if not more so, after his playing career.

He won eight championships as an executive, helping assemble some of the greatest teams to ever step on the court, including uniting Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal on the Los Angeles Lakers.

West was named NBA’s Executive of the Year two times, receiving the honor in 1995 and 2004.

His life touched decades of players and his memory was honored by several around the league who had the opportunity to learn from him on and off the court.

NBA players remembered The Logo

Russell Westbrook argued with a heckler who was bizarrely wearing a balloon hat on his head

This was so intense you might not have noticed the balloon hat.

Los Angeles Clippers guard Russell Westbrook had a heated interaction with a fan at Spectrum Center in Charlotte.

Westbrook, who recently returned from an extended absence due to a left hand injury, approached someone who had attended the game between the Clippers and Hornets.

According to reporter Jeremy Grandison, who captured a video of the exchange, the person at the game was heckling Westbrook during the first half of the game. As a result, the former MVP decided to talk to the fan. It was so intense that you may not notice the fan was wearing a balloon hat.

WARNING: Some language in the video might not be safe for work.

Unfortunately, this happens all too frequently with Westbrook.

We have seen that he gets especially upset when anyone shows disrespect for his name or his family.

But this is the first time that we have seen Westbrook have such a heated back and forth with someone who was wearing a balloon hat on his head.

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James Harden was absolutely mesmerized by this poster dunk from LeBron James

James Harden could not believe what LeBron James had just done.

Even at 39 years old, LeBron James continues to stun his fans and his opponents alike with his athleticism on the basketball court.

During a Lakers victory over the Clippers in Los Angeles on Sunday, the four-time NBA Finals MVP threw down what was likely his most impressive dunk of the season.

LeBron finished with 25 points (11-of-19 FG), eight rebounds and seven assists in the win. But nothing was more memorable than his slam on Paul George during the third quarter, in which he took off from nearly the free-throw line.

Everyone watching the game was blown away by the highlight play but no one had a better view of it than Clippers guard James Harden.

The 2018 NBA MVP (who is a very expressive individual and often has reactions that turn into a meme) seemed like he could not believe what he had witnessed from LeBron on this possession:

Just look at Harden’s reaction and it tells you everything you need to know about how the other players around the league perceive LeBron.

They’re just as stunned as the fans are when they see him defy normal aging conventions in sports.

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