John Collins

Clippers Rumors: Zubac, Collins, Paul, Sanders, Lue, Bogdanovic

There have been “mixed signals” about whether the Clippers would seriously entertain the idea of discussing a trade involving standout center Ivica Zubac this season, according to Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints, who hears that no player on the roster has generated more interest from teams around the league than Zubac.

If the Clippers ultimately decide they’re willing to explore moving Zubac, the expectation is that they’d seek at least two first-round picks, sources tell ClutchPoints. Siegel wonders if the Celtics, who have a hole in the middle, could make a play for Zubac using Anfernee Simons‘ expiring contract, noting that L.A. had interest in Simons before he was traded from Portland to Boston. However, that sounds like mere speculation at this point.

One thing that seems clear, according to Siegel, is that the Clippers are open to making a deal involving John Collins and his expiring $26.6MM contract. L.A. acquired Collins from Utah in a three-team trade over the summer, but he has yet to make the sort of impact the team had hoped for. His scoring average of 11.9 points per game is his lowest since his rookie season in 2017/18, and he’s knocking down just 31.6% of his three-point tries while averaging a career-worst 4.9 rebounds per game.

Here’s more on the Clippers:

  • Keith Smith of Spotrac and a panel of ESPN insiders explore potential next steps for the Clippers and Chris Paul after their surprising divorce. As Smith observes, if the Clippers waive Paul within the next two or three weeks, it would be a strong signal that the team plans to promote Kobe Sanders from his two-way contract to a standard roster spot sooner rather than later. L.A. would need to add a replacement for Paul within 14 days of waiving him and doesn’t currently have enough room below its first-apron hard cap to sign a free agent to a minimum-salary contract. Converting Sanders, who could get a rookie minimum deal that wouldn’t be subject to tax variance, would be the only viable path to filling the 14th roster spot right now if Paul is cut.
  • Paul “called out” teammates, coaches, and president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank during his brief stint as a Clipper, a league source tells Broderick Turner of The Los Angeles Times. According to Turner’s source, Paul apologized, but “everyone was fed up.” Turner adds that there’s no guarantee Paul will end up signing with another team once he’s officially let go by L.A., given his age, his declining production, and his “powerful” voice in the locker room, which not every team would welcome.
  • Amid rumors that head coach Tyronn Lue and Paul weren’t on speaking terms in recent weeks, Frank told reporters today that Lue is a “hell of a coach” and that he’ll remain in his current position “for a long time,” per Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press (Twitter link).
  • The Clippers initially stated that Bogdan Bogdanovic was considered day-to-day due to his left hip contusion, but the veteran guard will miss a seventh consecutive game on Wednesday as a result of the injury, tweets Law Murray of The Athletic. Bogdanovic last suited up on November 20.

Clippers Notes: Struggles, Powell, Harden, Zubac

The Clippers went just 2-13 in November, making it one of the worst months in franchise history, writes Law Murray of The Athletic. As Murray observes, the Clippers have had 13 or more losses in a month in the past, but none of the other versions of the team that achieved that ignominious feat had the sort of expectations entering the season that this one did.

Injuries have resulted in the Clippers relying on certain players more than they wanted to, Murray notes, with John Collins and Kris Dunn having entered the starting lineup in recent weeks despite head coach Tyronn Lue determining before the season that he preferred having both players coming off the bench.

Many of the Clippers’ offseason additions also haven’t worked out as expected. Center Brook Lopez and point guard Chris Paul have very much shown their age and have fallen out the rotation, while shooting guard Bradley Beal suffered a hip injury that will sideline him for the rest of the season.

A defense anchored by Ivica Zubac was one of L.A.’s strengths last season, when the team finished third in defensive rating. However, the Clippers have plummeted to 27th in that category this season, according to Murray, who writes that the club doesn’t get back on defense, doesn’t defend three-pointers or rebound well, and doesn’t force turnovers.

Here’s more on the struggling Clippers:

  • The Clippers’ December began the same way their November did — with a loss at the hands of the Heat, led by former Clipper Norman Powell. Powell scored a team-high 30 points on 12-of-18 shooting and was a +33 in his 32 minutes on the court, as his former club fell to 5-16 on the season. “I would have never guessed that they were going to be 5-16 and where they’re at right now,” Powell said after the game, per Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press.
  • As Reynolds details, after the Heat opened the second half on a 9-0 run on Monday, Lue pulled his entire starting five just 86 seconds into the third quarter. Four of those five players eventually got back into the game, but James Harden – who had five turnovers and was a -39 in 20 minutes – didn’t return. According to Reynolds, Lue entered the post-game interview room almost immediately after the game ended, didn’t see anyone there, and left, so there wasn’t an opportunity to ask him about the lineup decision.
  • As bad as the season has gone for the Clippers, they’re in a decent position to pivot away from their current roster if they’re not able to turn things around in the coming weeks, writes Yossi Gozlan of The Third Apron (Substack link). While the Clippers don’t control several of their own draft picks in the next few years – including, most notably, the 2026 first-round pick they owe the Thunder – they also don’t have any long-term salary obligations on their books and could probably extract solid value for some of their veterans on the trade market. Zubac, in particular, would be a very popular target, given his age (28) and team-friendly contract (three years, $58.7MM).

Kawhi Leonard Expected To Return On Sunday

Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard is expected to return to action on Sunday vs. Cleveland, reports NBA insider Chris Haynes (Twitter link).

Leonard has been sidelined since November 3 while dealing with right ankle and foot sprains. He has missed nine games during that time and has been ruled out of a 10th on Saturday vs. Charlotte. Based on Haynes’ reporting, it sounds like the 34-year-old will suit up for the second game of the Clippers’ weekend back-to-back set, barring a setback.

Leonard got off to a strong start this season, averaging 24.3 points, 5.7 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 2.5 steals per night on .505/.400/.963 shooting through six games. The Clippers, who were 3-3 in those games, have struggled mightily without Leonard, losing eight of nine contests since he went down.

As disappointing as L.A.’s start has been, the team certainly isn’t out of the playoff race in the Western Conference. The 5-10 Jazz currently hold the 10th spot in the standings, so it wouldn’t take much for the 4-11 Clippers to get back among the play-in teams.

Defensive ace Kris Dunn initially started in Leonard’s place. Following injuries to Bradley Beal and Derrick Jones Jr., the Clippers have also inserted John Collins and Kobe Sanders into their starting five, so one of them – likely Sanders – figures to move back to the bench when Leonard returns.

Clippers Notes: Beal, Leonard, Collins, Harden

Bradley Beal‘s season-ending hip fracture isn’t related to any other injury he has experienced, Clippers president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank told reporters on Wednesday (Twitter link from Mark Medina).

Beal underwent a right knee scope in May and saw limited action during training camp. He had been on a minutes restriction all season before suffering the hip injury in Saturday’s game against Phoenix. Frank said the injury occurred on this play with 9:12 remaining in the second quarter.

“He did everything he (was) asked. He’s a high character guy. I feel horrible that he’s dealing with this,” Frank said. He added that doctors are “extremely optimistic he’ll make a full recovery” and said the time off will help him get over lingering “knee inflammation.”

In an interview with Medina for Essentially Sports, agent Mark Bartelstein also expressed optimism about Beal’s future and said his client had been making progress with the knee issues.

“It’s devastating for him. He’s put so much work into his body and recovered from the scope this past summer,” Bartelstein said. “He was actually going to have his minutes restriction lifted. So everything was trending in the right direction. He was going to be able to get back to play his normal minutes. Then to have this happen is devastating. There’s no way around it.

“But the good news is that he’ll have a full recovery. It’s going to take a while, just as it takes a while for these fractures to heal. But talking with all the doctors, he’s going to have a full recovery. He should do great with the surgery. We got to put all of our energy and focus toward the rehab, which is what we’re going to do.”

There’s more on the Clippers:

  • Kawhi Leonard is dealing with a “significant” foot sprain as well as the right ankle sprain that was reported over the weekend, per Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. Frank said Leonard is making progress and will join the team for its upcoming road trip, where doctors will monitor his condition to determine when he can resume playing. “We will have a better feel for it next week,” Frank said.
  • With John Collins making his second straight start tonight, Lue talked about how he expects Collins to fit into that role (Twitter video link from Law Murray of The Athletic). “Just understand spacing the floor, especially when you’re on the floor with (Ivica Zubac) and James,” Lue said. “There’s not really a lot of room in that paint area, that 15-foot area.”
  • James Harden blames a lack of consistency for the team’s 3-7 start, saying that lineup changes from game to game have made it difficult for the players to establish any rhythm together, writes Janis Carr of The Orange County Register (subscription required). “Some guys haven’t played ever, some guys are just being put in the rotation,” Harden said. “Some guys are new here, their first 10 games. That’s a lot that goes into it, so I don’t think we can pinpoint and put our fingerprint on one thing. I think it’s a variety of things that’s happening that hopefully we can come to a halt very soon.”

Injury Notes: Beal, Giddey, Harris, Adebayo, Curry

The Clippers are concerned that Bradley Beal could miss extended time with a left hip injury, head coach Tyronn Lue told reporters prior to Monday’s game vs. Atlanta (Twitter link via Justin Russo). Beal is currently undergoing tests to determine the severity of the injury, which was initially described as left hip soreness, tweets Tomer Azarly of ClutchPoints.

According to Kellan Olson of ArizonaSports.com (Twitter link), Beal said on Friday in Phoenix that he’s been dealing with an unspecified injury since last season, when he was a member of the Suns. The 32-year-old has battled a variety of health issues over the past several years, having played between 40 and 60 games each of the past six seasons.

In other Clippers news, John Collins received his first start with his new team on Monday. Lue said he plans to stick with Collins in the starting lineup “for a while,” per Russo (Twitter video link).

We’ve been struggling rebounding the basketball, and career, statistically, he’s been a really good rebounder,” Lue said of the Collins, who will be an unrestricted free agent next summer if he doesn’t sign a veteran extension.

Here are a few more injury-related notes from around the NBA:

  • While Josh Giddey missed Monday’s loss to San Antonio, head coach Billy Donovan said the Bulls don’t have any long-term concerns about his right ankle sprain, as Jamal Collier of ESPN relays. “We don’t feel like it’s anything too severe with his ankle,” Donovan said. “He didn’t have really much swelling after the game [Saturday]. He got some [treatment] yesterday and was just a little bit uncomfortable today at shootaround.” Giddey is considered day-to-day, according to Donovan.
  • Pistons forward Tobias Harris is making progress from his high right ankle sprain, but there’s still no official timetable for his return, head coach J.B. Bickerstaff said on Monday (Twitter links via Hunter Patterson of The Athletic and Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press). Harris, who missed his fifth straight game tonight against Washington, will be a free agent in 2026.
  • Five-time All-Defensive big man Bam Adebayo was ruled out for the third consecutive Heat game on Monday vs. Cleveland, notes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald (via Twitter). The 28-year-old forward/center was diagnosed with a sprained left big toe on Thursday after undergoing an MRI. Adebayo is considered day-to-day.
  • Warriors superstar Stephen Curry (illness) was out again on Sunday during the win over Indiana, but he’s not on the injury report ahead of Tuesday’s game at Oklahoma City, as Anthony Slater of ESPN tweets. The 37-year-old guard contracted the illness last week and wound up missing three games, Slater writes for ESPN.com.

Clippers Notes: Beal, Collins, Sanders, Paul

The Clippers signed Bradley Beal to replace the scoring punch they lost when they traded Norman Powell to Miami, but physical issues have prevented Beal from filling that role early in the season. He missed his second straight game with back soreness Tuesday night, and L.A. managed only 79 points in a loss to Golden State. The offense looked stagnant as the Clippers recorded just 10 assists for only the second time since Tyronn Lue became head coach, writes Law Murray of The Athletic.

“We are missing a key component, which is Bradley Beal, who gives us a shooter, a guy who can play-make, a guy who can handle the basketball as well,” Lue said. “You add to the mix, it does make us better.”

Beal began the season on a minutes restriction while recovering from arthroscopic surgery on his right knee and was limited to 11 total points in the team’s first two games. Bogdan Bogdanovic is taking Beal’s place in the starting lineup, but he’s off to a terrible shooting start, connecting at 11.1% from the field and averaging just 1.0 PPG.

The malaise on offense is affecting several players, including offseason addition John Collins, who was limited to five points Tuesday night on 2-0f-6 shooting.

“Sometimes, it’s like that ball’s not moving as much. It’s a little bit sticky sometimes,” Collins said. “Another side of that is getting stops. Maybe we get stops and get in transition, get easy buckets. That just helps slow the game down a little bit. … A little bit of stagnation on our end. Gotta make it work.”

There’s more on the Clippers:

  • While he’s off to a slow start, Collins has added a new dimension to the team as a mobile 6’9″ forward who can score, notes Janis Carr of The Orange County Register. Having the extra size on the front line creates mismatches for opponents. “We get a big player like John on the floor, alongside Kawhi (Leonard) and teams have a nightmare as far as matching up,” Lue said. “You want to put a smaller guy on John, or a smaller guy on Kawhi? … (Collins’) versatility on both sides of the basketball is a huge thing for us.”
  • Second-round pick Kobe Sanders is week-to-week with a sprained right knee, a source tells Murray (Twitter link). There’s hope he can return in December, but Murray notes that he’s already the team’s second injured two-way player, joining Jordan Miller, who’s sidelined with a hamstring issue.
  • In an interview with Marc J. Spears of Andscape, Chris Paul says he feels fortunate to be back with the Clippers this late in his career and he hasn’t decided whether he’ll keep playing beyond this season.

Pacific Notes: Kings, Christie, Westbrook, Hayes, Collins

Within a story breaking down the Kings‘ decision to sign Russell Westbrook, Sam Amick of The Athletic says that “hordes” of opposing scouts have been attending Sacramento games during the preseason, since teams around the league anticipate that the Kings will be sellers at February’s trade deadline.

Westbrook is among several players on the Kings’ roster who will have something to prove this season, according to Amick, who notes that head coach Doug Christie falls into that category too.

As Amick details, citing league sources, the new contract that Christie signed in the spring when he was named the team’s permanent head coach is only guaranteed for two seasons, with a third-year team option. And his salary is only about $2MM annually in those first two years, followed by a significant increase if his option is exercised. In other words, Christie will have plenty of motivation to show during the next couple years that he deserves to keep his job.

We have more from around the Pacific Division:

  • Malik Monk, who played with Westbrook in Los Angeles, is excited to have his former teammate join the Kings, as Sean Cunningham of KCRA News relays (Twitter video link). Referring to Westbrook as “probably one of the best teammates I had,” Monk added that he thinks Westbrook can hold his own as an undersized power forward and defend opposing fours, which would help the club while Keegan Murray (thumb surgery) is sidelined.
  • After teaming up with Luka Doncic as members of the Lakers, center Jaxson Hayes wants to do so in international basketball competitions too. Hayes told reporters this week that he’s working on getting Slovenian citizenship in the hopes of representing the country in future competitions, per Eurohoops. A spokesperson for the Slovenian Basketball Federation confirmed that discussions are ongoing about adding a naturalized player at the center spot, but declined to offer specifics or confirm that Hayes is the player in question. “We are aiming to secure this player for a longer period to ensure the team’s stability in the coming years,” that spokesperson said.
  • Speaking to Law Murray of The Athletic about the offseason deal that sent him from Utah to Los Angeles and his expectations for the coming season, John Collins said the Clippers were “one of the first teams” he thought of when his name began to pop up in trade rumors. His head coach and teammates also expressed excitement about the fit. “It’s great. We get a big player like John on the floor, alongside Kawhi (Leonard), teams have a nightmare as far as matching up,” Tyronn Lue said. “You want to put a smaller guy on John, or a smaller guy on Kawhi? … (Collins’) versatility on both sides of the basketball is a huge thing for us.”

L.A. Notes: Doncic, Lakers, Lopez, Clippers

Getting the Lakers into peak physical condition appears to be head coach JJ Redick‘s primary goal entering the season, writes ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. Redick refers to it as being in “championship shape,” and notes that the directive is not only aimed at star Luka Doncic, though Doncic is one of the more visible examples of the fitness push.

As McMenamin writes, remaking his body through dieting and rigorous exercise routines has been the focus for Doncic this summer, both for himself and for the team as a whole.

It’s not just physical shape, it’s mental shape, too,” the Slovenian star said. “Both are very important. We’re doing it in practice. It was great. Everybody’s in great shape. Everybody’s running a lot, so it’s been great so far.”

Despite Doncic’s efforts to reshape his body this offseason, he will not play in the Lakers’ preseason games this weekend, according to Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times (via Twitter), who calls it a collaborative decision with the Lakers’ performance team. Redick had previously said he’d be careful about overextending Doncic too early after the 26-year-old’s run with the Slovenian national team in EuroBasket.

While Doncic isn’t playing this weekend, Redick is expecting him to play at some point during the preseason, tweets Sportskeeda’s Mark Medina.

LeBron James, Marcus Smart, Adou Thiero, and Maxi Kleber are all expected to miss tonight’s game against the Suns as well.

We have more from the world of L.A. hoops:

  • The Lakers remade their roster this offseason, but there are still significant questions to answer, writes Eric Pincus for Bleacher Report. Health will play a key role in the team’s outlook, along with the natural wear and tear that can be expected for the 40-year-old James. However, the most pressing unknown revolves around the fifth starting spot. Pincus names Smart, Rui Hachimura, and Jake LaRavia as three players most likely competing for the role. Hachimura has experience with the team and has shown himself to be a consistent shooter, having made 41.8% of his three-point tries over the last two seasons in L.A. Pincus calls LaRavia a high-effort defender who can also shoot the ball at 6’7″, while Smart brings a perimeter defensive toughness that a team built around Doncic, James, and Austin Reaves could use. Pincus also throws Jarred Vanderbilt‘s name into the mix as a potential dark-horse option.
  • The Clippers brought Brook Lopez into the fold in an effort to reduce the burden on breakout defensive stalwart Ivica Zubac this season, writes Janis Carr for the Orange County Register. “We didn’t really have a backup center (last season), so when things got tough, we always had to get Zu back in the game,” head coach Tyronn Lue said. “I thought he played for too many minutes. If you asked him, he didn’t play enough, but for me it’s just too many minutes.” While Zubac was always up for the challenge and turned in the best season of his career, the Clippers now have the luxury of bringing a longtime starter and multi-time Defensive Player of the Year candidate off the bench in Lopez. As an added bonus, Lopez and Zubac have a Los Angeles-based history together. “I played with Zu with the Lakers almost 10 years ago now. I think it was his second year in the league, and he was a very talented, raw young player then,” Lopez said. “But to see his growth, it’s astonishing.
  • Lopez wasn’t the only big-name acquisition for the Clippers this summer. They also added Bradley Beal, John Collins, and brought back Chris Paul. They now have one of the deepest benches in the league, but that brings with it questions about how the rotation will shake out, writes Law Murray for The Athletic. Murray predicts that Beal will be the starting shooting guard and suggests that Collins could have a chance to start at the four, sliding Kawhi Leonard to the three. However, with so many talented players, some will likely be squeezed from the rotation. When asked about his role with the team, Nicolas Batum said, “Ask (Lue) that question, I don’t know… I mean, I’m here to play basketball.” Murray writes that he considers Batum the most likely odd man out when everyone is healthy.

Clippers Notes: Ballmer, Aspiration, Frank, Kawhi, Beal, Collins

Through his philanthropic arm, the Ballmer Group, Clippers owner Steve Ballmer donated $1.875MM to the Golden State Opportunity Foundation, a charity whose founder is disgraced former Aspiration co-founder Joe Sanberg, Pablo Torre reported Monday on his Pablo Torre Finds Out podcast (YouTube link).

Ballmer’s donation came in December 2024, more than a year-and-a-half after the Clippers ended their contract with Aspiration, and nearly a year after it was publicly reported that the now-bankrupt “green bank” company was under federal investigation, Torre observes. It also came a couple months after Sanberg’s co-conspirator was arrested.

It’s the latest update in an ongoing investigation from Torre, other members of the media, and the NBA, which hired a law firm to determine whether the Clippers and Kawhi Leonard circumvented the salary cap through their deals with Aspiration.

In a public statement on Monday, president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank reiterated the Clippers “welcome” the league’s investigation and denied the accusations (Twitter video link via Joey Linn of SI.com).

We feel confident we are on the right side of this,” Frank said in part.

For his part, Kawhi Leonard denied any wrongdoing and said the investigation wouldn’t be a distraction during the season (Twitter links via Law Murray of The Athletic). Leonard mentioned “conspiracies” multiple times, according to Murray.

This is old… we already knew this was going to happen,” Leonard said.

Here’s more from the Clippers’ media day:

  • Bradley Beal had arthroscopic surgery sometime after the season ended, tweets Murray. Beal said he was playing through right knee inflammation last season with Phoenix and had the knee scoped, which helped, as he’s feeling “good” and “ready to go” now. However, the team said he would be a limited training camp participant, according to Murray, who adds (via Twitter) that Bogdan Bogdanovic (torn hamstring) will also be a limited participant. Leonard is considered healthy and a full participant.
  • Beal, who signed a two-year deal (second year player option) with the Clippers after being bought out by the Suns, says he loves living in Los Angeles and has talked with Frank about potentially ending his career with the team (Twitter links via Murray). The three-time All-Star knows he won’t be a primary scoring option for the Clippers and is welcoming the challenge of taking on tough defensive assignments.
  • Head coach Tyronn Lue views offseason acquisition John Collins as a power forward who can play some backup center at times, per Murray (Twitter link). The Clippers landed Collins in the three-team trade that sent Norman Powell to Miami. The 28-year-old big man will earn $26.58MM this season before hitting free agency next summer.

Lawrence Frank: Clippers ‘Strongly Considering’ Chris Paul

Speaking to reporters over Zoom on Saturday, Clippers president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank said the team is “strongly, strongly considering” signing free agent point guard Chris Paul (Twitter video link via Tomer Azarly of ClutchPoints).

While the Clippers still have two open spots on their projected 15-man roster, they only have about $3.57MM in breathing room below their first-apron hard cap, which wouldn’t be enough to fit more than one veteran minimum contract before the season begins. As Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN tweets, the expectation is that adding ball-handling and play-making will be a goal for the Clippers as they consider options for that 14th roster spot.

Assuming he continues his career and plays a 21st NBA season in 2025/26, Paul is known to be prioritizing proximity to his family in Los Angeles, so the Clippers would be a logical match for him in that regard.

At least one report indicated he’d also like to continue to be a starter after starting all 82 games for San Antonio last season — that kind of role might be harder to come by with the Clippers in the wake of their Bradley Beal addition.

Here are a few more of Frank’s noteworthy comments from today’s presser:

  • Frank spoke at length about the signing of Beal, which became official on Friday, noting that the team had twice tried to trade for the veteran shooting guard in the past (Twitter link via Law Murray of The Athletic). Secondary play-making and ball-handling are among the reasons the Clippers targeted Beal, according to Frank, who said he also believes the 32-year-old can be a positive contributor on defense (Twitter links via Murray). Additionally, Frank repeatedly referenced a desire to get Beal involved in hand-off actions, which was a strategy the Clippers used frequently with Norman Powell, tweets Murray.
  • Mark Bartelstein, Beal’s agent, spoke to many people within the Clippers’ organization before his client committed to the team, including having a half-hour conversation with James Harden, according to Frank (Twitter link via Youngmisuk).
  • Frank credited Harden for signing a contract that gave the Clippers enough wiggle room below the first apron to use their full non-taxpayer mid-level exception, which allowed them to sign both Beal and free agent center Brook Lopez (Twitter link via Murray). The Clippers are one of just three teams – along with the Pistons and Lakers – to have used every dollar of the $14,104,000 MLE so far in 2025/26 (Portland could become the fourth, assuming Damian Lillard‘s deal is worth the full amount).
  • Addressing the acquisitions of Lopez and John Collins, Frank explained that the Clippers made it a priority to add size in their frontcourt and wanted to bring in players with more diverse skill sets that could complement one another (Twitter link via Youngmisuk).
  • Pointing out that the Clippers have 10 players who project to be rotation players, Frank acknowledged that head coach Tyronn Lue “usually” plays just nine. As the Clippers weigh their options for their 14th roster spot and set their rotation this fall, role definition and communication will be key, Frank said (Twitter link via Murray).