LA Clippers News, Rumors 2014: Doc Rivers, Blake Griffin, Chris Paul

LA Clippers News, Rumors 2014: Doc Rivers, Blake Griffin, Chris Paul
Los Angeles Clippers head coach Doc Rivers talks to J.J. Redick during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Orlando Magic Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2014, in Los Angeles. The Clippers won 114-86. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Zachary Stieber
12/9/2014
Updated:
12/9/2014

The Los Angeles Clippers are on a tear, winning eight in a row, as the news and rumors heat up.

Check out the latest buzz below.

Rivers Critiqued in GM Role

Doc Rivers has been coaching for a long time, but just recently became a general manager as well.

But Rivers dismissed to ESPN the idea that there’s any discernible difference, except for the ultimate decision. 

“There really is no actual difference in the two roles except when you do disagree. And Danny [Ainge] and I would disagree at times. At times he would say, ‘I need to do this, can you go with me?’ Or, ‘You know what? I’ll go with you.' And it’s almost the same,” said Rivers, who is in his second season as Clippers head coach and president of basketball ops.

“[Clippers executives] Kevin Eastman, Dave Wohl and Gary Sacks -- it’s no different. They‘ll come in and say they like a deal, and I’ll say ‘I don’t like it.’ They‘ll sit there and say they really like it and, ’You should do it.‘ One day, I’ll go with you and one day I'll disagree. The only difference now is if I really disagree, I get my way.”

The broadcaster said “onlookers around the league” are wondering whether Rivers can do both jobs, and gave him a chance to respond.

“Let me say this: As a player -- and I was a player once -- when the deal’s down, do you think the players actually think it’s the coach and the players, then management, or do you think the players think it’s the coach and the management?” was Rivers’ rhetorical question.

“I mean, come on. It’s always the same. It’s the same with even contracts. When a player doesn’t get his contract, do you think he blames Danny Ainge or do you think they blame the coach? Most of the time, they blame the coach more because they think the coach didn’t go to bat for them. You can tell them all day, ‘Listen, guys. It was ownership. The only problem I have now is it’s tough to blame ownership. You could say ownership didn’t want to pay you last year. Now, it’s hard to say. Now you have to say, ’I think ownership would pay, but we don’t want to pay.'”

Rivers also said that he’s designing things based on the San Antonio Spurs model.

However, Rivers has been criticized for his “uninspiring” filling out of the roster, and in particular the deal over the summer that saw the team send Jared Dudley and a conditional 2017 first-round pick to Milwaukee for Carlos Delfino and Miroslav Raduljica and a 2015 second-round pick.

“As dump deals go, it didn’t stack up well at all,” said a rival executive, one who’s mildly optimistic about Rivers’ prospects as an exec. “To give up a first and take back two guys to stretch -- maybe it’s the best they could do, but it’s a bad deal.”

Griffin’s Court Date Set

Blake Griffin’s court date in the alleged misdemeanor battery case has been est.

Griffin allegedly struck a man inside a nightclub in Las Vegas in October.

A status check will be held on January 12, the next step in determining whether Griffin will face trial.

“I told the court that I had been talking to the prosecuting attorney and we agreed to set a date for the status check,” Griffin’s attorney, Richard Schonfeld, told the Los Angeles Times.

“I have completed my independent investigation and will be prepared to present it to the court.”

A conviction can carry a sentence of up to six months in jail.

Griffin has declined to comment, but Rivers told reporters that he trusts Griffin and supports him.

“This will work out,” he said.

Top Clippers Highlights so Far

Blake Griffin, right, shoots a buzzer-beating three-point basket over Phoenix Suns' P.J. Tucker in overtime of an NBA basketball game Monday, Dec. 8, 2014, in Los Angeles. The Clippers won 121-120 in overtime. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Blake Griffin, right, shoots a buzzer-beating three-point basket over Phoenix Suns' P.J. Tucker in overtime of an NBA basketball game Monday, Dec. 8, 2014, in Los Angeles. The Clippers won 121-120 in overtime. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

 

The Clippers have righted themselves after a rocky start, and Bleacher Report took the opportunity to note the top highlights of the year so far.

At number 3 is Gillian Zucker’s hire as president of basketball operations by new owner Steve Ballmer.

“She’s now the only female not named Jeanie Buss to serve as president or chief executive of a major U.S. professional sports organization. This wasn’t just history-making move. It makes sense. Her track record demonstrates as much. The former NASCAR and MLB front-office stalwart isn’t afraid of a challenge,” it said.

“She was comfortable enough to fire back at Dale Earnhardt, Jr. when he criticized Southern California racing fans. That same attitude will serve the Clippers well as they reinvent their organization following a tumultuous offseason in the wake of an ownership change.”

The second top highlight was locking down the Houston Rockets on November 28 during their road trip. They held James Harden to 16 points.

The number one highlight so far is Griffin’s game winning three-pointer on Monday night.

The shot, which hit the rim and got a lucky bounce, meant the Clippers beat the Suns 105-104 in double overtime.

Clippers Escape Suns in OT

Blake Griffin stepped back and lofted a 3-pointer that bounced off the rim. Everyone in the arena was spellbound, watching the ball go straight up before it dropped through at the buzzer, stunning the Phoenix Suns and the crowd.

Griffin took off running and his teammates leaped in celebration of a 121-120 overtime victory Monday night, their eighth in a row.

“When I shot it, I thought it was off, short, flat,” Griffin said, “but I got a lucky bounce.”

Griffin finished with a season-high 45 points — two off his career high — while making 15 of 17 free throws.

“He was the big cat tonight,” said teammate J.J. Redick, who added 17 points.

Chris Paul had 20 points and 10 assists, and DeAndre Jordan had 10 points and 14 rebounds in a game featuring rat-a-tat offense from both teams.

Griffin’s buzzer-beater exhilarated his teammates.

“I feel like I hit the shot,” Jordan said, smiling. “I held my breath until it went all the way through the basket. After it hit the rim and went up, I knew it was going in. I felt the basketball gods were on our side.”

Redick wasn’t so sure.

“I thought it was an airball when he shot it,” he said. “It was one time all season when I'll go to the offensive glass.”

Eric Bledsoe had a triple-double of 27 points, a career-high 16 assists and 11 rebounds for the Suns.

“I’m mad we didn’t get the ‘W,’” he said. “Stats don’t mean nothing. At the end of the day, I go out there to play the game the right way.”

Markieff Morris scored 21 points, including back-to-back 3s in overtime that rallied the Suns from a two-point deficit to a four-point lead.

Goran Dragic added 17 points for the Suns, who had six players in double figures. Bledsoe tied his career high in rebounds against his former team. The Suns lost their second straight and fourth in six games.

In the 5-minute extra session, Morris hit a wide-open 3 that put the Suns ahead 117-116, after Griffin scored the Clippers’ first four points.

Bledsoe was called for goaltending, leading to a basket by Redick that left the Clippers trailing 120-118. The Suns committed a shot-clock violation with 5 seconds to go, setting up Griffin’s game-winner from the right wing.

It was the Clippers’ closest game after winning their last five by an average of 21.4 points.

“As far as wins, this was better than all of them (the previous five) because this was one we clearly could have lost,” coach Doc Rivers said.

Griffin ran off nine points in a row in the third, when the Clippers built a 12-point lead — their largest of the game. His fast-break dunk in the first left Suns coach Jeff Hornacek shaking his head on the sideline.

___

TIP-INS

Suns: Phoenix had no offensive rebounds in the first half against a team that is averaging the fewest in the league. ... G Isaiah Thomas (bruised right ankle) sat out.

Clippers: The guard trio of Jordan Farmar (back spasms), Reggie Bullock (right ankle sprain) and Chris Douglas-Roberts (sore right Achilles) remained out. ... Julius Erving attended the game.

Former Clips Owner on List of Notable Quotes

Donald Sterling, center, and V. Stiviano, left, watch the Clippers play the Los Angeles Lakers during an NBA preseason basketball game in Los Angeles on Monday, Dec. 19, 2010. (AP Photo/Danny Moloshok)
Donald Sterling, center, and V. Stiviano, left, watch the Clippers play the Los Angeles Lakers during an NBA preseason basketball game in Los Angeles on Monday, Dec. 19, 2010. (AP Photo/Danny Moloshok)

 

“I can’t breathe!” — the exclamation made by a black man, Eric Garner, while being placed in a police chokehold — was chosen as the most notable quote of the year in an annual list released by a Yale University librarian.

It was one of several quotes chosen for the list released Tuesday that reflect tumult over race in America in 2014, particularly in the criminal justice system.

Fred Shapiro, an associate director at Yale Law School’s library, said he had already completed the list without Garner’s quote but revised it as protests grew following a grand jury’s decision last week to not indict a white officer in his death. Garner had gasped “I can’t breathe” on July 17 as he was being arrested for selling loose, untaxed cigarettes.

Also making the list was “Hands up! Don’t shoot!” — a chant of demonstrators protesting the shooting death of Michael Brown, an unarmed black 18-year-old killed during a confrontation with a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri.

Another quote that sparked conversations about race was made by former Los Angeles Clippersowner Donald Sterling to his mistress, V. Stiviano. An audio recording of the comment, in which he took issue with her “associating” with black people, led the NBA to ban Sterling.

The original “Yale Book of Quotations” was published in 2006, and Shapiro has updated it with an annual list of the top 10 quotes.

“These are not necessarily quotes I agree with or quotes I think are eloquent or admirable,” he said. He said quotes are chosen because they are famous or important or reflect the spirit of the times.

Here’s the list:

1. “I can’t breathe!” — Eric Garner, videotaped exclamation while being held by a policeman in New York, July 17.

2. “Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee.” — Bridget Anne Kelly, an aide to New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, in an email to David Wildstein quoted in The New York Times, Jan. 9.

3. “Hands up! Don’t shoot!” — Chant of demonstrators protesting the shooting death of Michael Brown, Ferguson, Missouri, August.

4. “Mr. Commissioner, we found out by one phone call. You guys have a whole legal department. Can you explain that?” — TMZ reporter Adam Glyn questioning NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell on why the NFL had not been able to view video of the Ray Rice incident, at a news conference on Sept. 19.

5. “It bothers me a lot that you want to broadcast that you’re associating with black people.” —Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling, in a remark to V. Stiviano on an audio recording quoted in Los Angeles Times, April 27.

6. “We came out of the White House not only dead broke, but in debt.” — Hillary Clinton, ABC News interview, June 9.

7. “I grew up castrating hogs on an Iowa farm, so when I come to Washington, I'll know how to cut pork.” — Iowa Senatorial candidate Jodi Ernst, campaign advertisement quoted in National Journal, March 25.

8. “I would call attention to the parallels of fascist Nazi (Germany’s) war on its ‘one percent,’ namely its Jews, to the progressive war on the American one percent, namely the ‘rich.’ ... I perceive a rising tide of hatred of the successful one percent.” — Venture capitalist Tom Perkins, letter to the editor, Wall Street Journal, Jan. 24.

9. “We have always conducted our relationship privately, and we hope that as we consciously uncouple and coparent, we will be able to continue in the same manner.” — Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin, statement on Paltrow’s website announcing their separation, March 25.

10. (tie) “Isn’t it a bitch? I mean, ... this vice president thing?” — Joe Biden, response to student body vice president at Harvard College, Oct. 2.

10. (tie) “Great nations need organizing principles, and ‘Don’t do stupid stuff’ is not an organizing principle.” — Hillary Clinton, Atlantic Online interview, Aug. 10.

10. (tie) “Every time I get an opponent — I mean, every time I get a chance — I’m home.” — Kansas Senator Pat Roberts responding to questioning about whether he actually resides in Kansas, KCMO radio interview, July 3.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.