“If we could somehow come up with five in the second unit where they literally could all bring the ball up…”
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“Our sales pitch was winning and the opportunity to play on a winning team with a winning organization”, Rivers said. “We have so many guys that can make plays”, Griffin said. So that will all come together over the course of training camp and throughout the season as well. Their bench is new and improved, with the additions of Josh Smith, Lance Stephenson, Pablo Progoli, Wesley Johnson and Paul Pierce, a 15-year veteran and 10-time All-Star who helped Rivers win a championship in Boston and is the only player on the roster with a ring.
Upstairs in a spacious office, Doc Rivers sits, one of the few people not scrambling around the team’s basketball headquarters. I don’t care if we don’t like how this was done, or we thought there was some injustice. The Clippers’ forward doesn’t seem to be planning on finishing this contract though.
But early in free agency, when players on their radar such as Al Farouq-Aminu and Aron Baynes signed deals out of the Clippers’ price range, there were moments of doubt.
When the Clippers signed Smith, Rivers cited he spoke with Smith about a specified role, increasing the forwards interest in the team going forward – this may be the role that was spoken of. Doc famously mixes things up in his lineups, and now he has some tastier ingredients to work with.
Paul Pierce told the media that he was glad to return to his hometown of Los Angeles to finish his career, but insisted he’s not just here for the novelty.
Here to talk about hoops, Griffin said his offseason workouts consisted of him getting better in every area, focusing on his all-around game.
“I value myself as a communicator and a team builder, and I’m sitting there thinking that I didn’t see this [problem] – not to the degree that it was, anyway – and it pissed me off”, Rivers said.
While Pierce hasn’t gone as far as guaranteeing an National Basketball Association championship for the Clippers this season, that is certainly their expectation and the goal they want to attain.
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“We hope we’re the team that pays them”.
