L.A. Rumors: Stephenson, Rivers, Williams, Bryant

On his third team in three seasons, Lance Stephenson is working to rebuild his reputation with the Clippers, writes Candace Buckner of The Indianapolis Star. After starring in Indiana, Stephenson signed a free agent deal with the Hornets in the summer of 2014. He was quickly branded a disappointment in Charlotte and was traded to the Clippers in June. He has settled into a backup role, averaging 18.5 minutes, 4.9 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.8 assists off the bench. “I’m on a better team,” Stephenson said. “I’ve got a group of guys that are veterans who know how to play the game. They help me out and teach me more about the game. I definitely feel better than when I was in Charlotte.”

There’s more tonight out of Los Angeles:

• The Clippers‘ Austin Rivers has become an effective fill-in when Chris Paul is injured, according to Dan Woike of The Orange County Register. Rivers, who re-signed with the team in July for $6.4MM over two seasons, has been especially effective on defense, where he is holding opponents to 33.1% from the field. “I just want to compete,” Rivers said. “The one lesson I’ve learned from the times I’ve done well starting and the times I haven’t is to just focus on playing hard. When I go in and think I’m playing so many minutes and need to help score, that’s when I don’t play as well. When I go out and just focus on competing, I play really well. That’s just my focus – to play hard and help the team win. You just play.”
• At age 29, Lou Williams has become a mentor to the Lakers‘ younger guards, writes Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Coach Byron Scott praised the job that the free agent signee has done in passing along direction. “The one things we didn’t know we were getting with Lou is he had that natural instinct to be a leader,” Scott said. “Watching him interact with some of our young guys has been great.”
• The Lakers‘ young players are enjoying their role in Kobe Bryant‘s retirement tour, according to Mike Bresnahan of The Los Angeles Times. Bryant has been the focus of intense media attention since announcing earlier this week that this will be his final NBA season. “It’s like Michael Jackson’s coming to town or something like that,” said Julius Randle. “I haven’t seen anything like it.”