Clippers Waive Plumlee, Iroegbu, Wallace
The Clippers reached the roster limit by waiving Marshall Plumlee, Ike Iroegbu and Tyrone Wallace, tweets Brad Turner of The Los Angeles Times.
Plumlee was in camp on a non-guaranteed contract, hoping to win a spot as a third center behind DeAndre Jordan and Willie Reed. The 25-year-old spent part of last season with Knicks, appearing in 21 games, after going undrafted out of Duke. New York had interest in re-signing him, but Plumlee chose the opportunity with the Clippers.
Iroegbu, a 22-year-old point guard, signed with L.A. on Friday in a move designed to get him to the Clippers’ new G League affiliate. The Washington State alum went undrafted and played briefly with the Suns’ summer league team.
Wallace, 23, played for Utah’s G League affiliate last season after being the final pick in the 2016 draft. Even though he came to camp with the Clippers, his rights still belonged to the Salt Lake City Stars. However, the Agua Caliente Clippers of Ontario made a trade to acquire Wallace’s rights earlier today.
Earlier today, we told you the Clippers opted to keep shooting guard C.J. Williams by converting his contract to a two-way deal. That will limit him to 45 days in the NBA this season.
Clippers Converting C.J. Williams’ Deal To Two-Way Contract
With the regular season around the corner, the Clippers have decided to convert shooting guard C.J. Williams‘ NBA contract into a two-way deal, per Michael Scotto of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link).
Williams’ agreement with the Clippers included an Exhibit 10 clause, giving the club the opportunity to convert it into a two-way contract before the regular season begins. Los Angeles will have until Monday to make it official.
Williams, 27, was part of the Team USA squad that brought home gold at last month’s AmeriCup. He subsequently joined the Clippers for camp and got the chance to play in four preseason games for the team. On Friday night, he put up eight points, five assists, and four steals in a loss to the Lakers.
With Williams’ contract turning into a two-way deal, the Clippers will have a couple more roster moves to make before opening night. Ike Iroegbu and Tyrone Wallace are the most likely candidates to be waived, while Marshall Plumlee‘s status also remains uncertain.
Blake Griffin: I Will Be A Vocal Leader
Blake Griffin signed a long-term deal to stay with the Clippers this past offseason and when he signed on the dotted line, he became the undisputed face of a revamped franchise. Longtime point guard Chris Paul was traded to the Rockets, ending an era that saw the Clippers as perennial playoff contenders but also a team that never advanced past the first round.
In an interview with ESPN’s Sam Alipour, Griffin addressed the Clippers’ changed roster but said that change is not always a bad thing.
Clippers Sign Ike Iroegbu
The Clippers signed point guard Ike Iroegbu to a deal on Friday, as reported by Brad Turner of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter link). Iroegbu played for 17 minutes in the Clippers’ preseason finale against the Lakers, posting seven points, five rebounds and one assist.
Iroegbu, 22, spent the last four seasons at Washington State University. He appeared in 31 games in each of his four years at the school, averaging just under 10 points, three rebounds and three assists during his tenure. After going undrafted, Iroegbu participated in Afrobasket this year representing Nigeria and appeared in one game with the Suns during Summer League.
It is likely that the Clippers waive Iroegbu ahead of the deadline for teams to finalize rosters at 15 players. Signing and then waiving Iroegbu will give the Clips first dibs to make the young guard an affiliate player for their G League affiliate, the Agua Caliente Clippers of Ontario.
Sindarius Thornwell A Favorite Of Head Coach Doc Rivers
- Clippers head coach Doc Rivers is impressed with rookie Sindarius Thornwell‘s toughness, which bodes well for his future with the team this season, Elliot Teaford of The Orange County Register writes.
Clippers Waive LaDontae Henton
One of the Clippers camp invitees is no longer on the roster, with the team confirming that LaDontae Henton has been waived. He’ll become an unrestricted free agent later this week if and when he clears waivers, and there’s a good chance he ultimately ends up with the Agua Caliente Clippers of Ontario, L.A.’s G League affiliate.
Henton, 25, went undrafted in 2015 after playing his college ball at Providence. Since then, the 6’6″ small forward has spent time with teams in Spain and the Philippines. He also played for the Santa Cruz Warriors in the G League last season, averaging 13.6 PPG and 5.3 RPG with a .402/.383/.735 shooting line in 37 games.
The Clippers ensured in August that they’d secured Henton’s returning G League rights, acquiring him in a trade with Santa Cruz, so he’ll be eligible to join L.A.’s new affiliate.
The Clippers now have 17 players on NBA contracts and one on a two-way deal, so they’ll have to make at least a couple more roster moves before opening night.
Pistons Notes: Drummond, Ellenson, Johnson, Jackson
Many teams remain interested in trading for Pistons center Andre Drummond, according to Vince Ellis of The Detroit Free Press. Ellis talked to several talent evaluators around the league, who say that at age 24, Drummond still has the potential to become a successful big man despite questions about his energy and defense. Teams don’t seem reluctant to take on Drummond’s contract, which will pay him more than $105MM over the next four seasons.
The people Ellis spoke with don’t believe the Pistons are currently shopping Drummond, athough they were over the offseason and before February’s trade deadline. However, he cites two potentially interested parties in Knicks GM Scott Perry, who was an assistant GM in Detroit when Drummond was drafted, and Clippers executive VP Lawrence Frank, who coached the Pistons when Drummond was a rookie.
There’s more this morning out of Detroit:
- Henry Ellenson‘s impressive preseason could mean more minutes for the second-year big man, Ellis adds in the same piece. Coach Stan Van Gundy said Ellenson is “playing at a high level” after he scored 16 points in 17 minutes Friday. He is competing with Tobias Harris, Jon Leuer and Anthony Tolliver for playing time at power forward.
- The competition at power forward will keep Stanley Johnson at small forward, which may not be his best position, Ellis writes in a separate story. Many observers believe Johnson would excel as a stretch four, but Van Gundy expects nearly all of Johnson’s minutes this season to come at small forward. “We just don’t really have a need for another [power forward],” Van Gundy said. “There may be some defensive things late in the game where teams go small and we could go small with him, but we’ve got enough stuff we could run without having him to spend a lot of time there. I’m not going to confuse him and have him having to work and know all the sets at [power forward].”
- Point guard Reggie Jackson is ready to take on a larger leadership role this season, Ellis writes in a another story. Now one of the oldest players on the team at 27, Jackson wants to erase the nightmare of last year when knee problems forced him to miss the start of the season and the team wasn’t able to incorporate him smoothly once he returned. Part of the problem was physical, as assistant coach Tim Hardaway says Jackson never fully recovered. “He’s the catalyst,” Hardaway said. “He wants to come out here and be the man. He can be the man, but first he has to be healthy. Once he’s 100% and shape, everybody’s going to see a different Reggie because last year he was hurt all the time.”
Patrick Beverley Popular With New Clippers Teammates
Patrick Beverley has earned the reputation of a defensive pest who can get under the skin of his opponents and the Clippers are glad he is on their side, Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times writes.
Last season, Beverley averaged 9.5 PPG, 5.9 RPG, 4.2 APG, and 1.5 SPG for the Rockets last season. If he replicates the on-court performance and retains his outspoken style, the Clippers should be set at the position, according to his coaches and teammates.
Blake Griffin, DeAndre Jordan Take On New Roles
The Clippers will rely more heavily on DeAndre Jordan and Blake Griffin than usual this season, the long-tenured frontcourt pairing will assume extra leadership duties in the wake of the trade that sent Chris Paul to the Rockets, Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times writes.
“The roles absolutely changed out of necessity,” Griffin, who has already logged eight seasons with the Clippers, said. “Anytime you lose somebody like CP, everybody has to step up. I know DJ and I have talked about it all summer and we’re excited about that challenge.”
The forthcoming 2017/18 campaign will be a particularly important one for Jordan. This season, the center will become the longest tenured players in Clippers franchise history, having suited up in blue and red for 10 seasons. Jordan slides past former Clips guard Eric Piatkowski who played for the team from 1994-2003.
L.A. Notes: Griffin, Rivers, Bogut, Ball
The Clippers enjoyed their trip to Hawaii both on and off the court, writes Broderick Turner of The Los Angeles Times. L.A. split a pair of games with the Raptors, and the players believe the experience helped to unify a team that lost Chris Paul, J.J. Redick and Jamal Crawford over the summer.
There was good news regarding star forward Blake Griffin, who was able to play without any lingering effects from surgery on his right big toe in May. Milos Teodosic showed off the passing that made him highly sought after in Europe, Patrick Beverley brought the hard-nosed defense that was his calling card in Houston and Lou Williams showed he can replace Crawford’s scoring off the bench. Also, the Lob City swagger lives on without Paul. “I don’t think we ever lost that,” said DeAndre Jordan. “We’ve got guys who can make passes like that. We’ve got myself, Blake, Willie [Reed], Montrezl [Harrell], guys like that rolling and able to play above the rim.”
There’s more tonight from Los Angeles:
- The only bad news for the Clippers is on the injury front, Turner adds. Austin Rivers “is going to be out for a while” after straining a right gluteal muscle in the first game, said coach Doc Rivers.
- Veteran center Andrew Bogut believes his young Lakers teammates can benefit from his experience, relays Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. Bogut signed a one-year, partially guaranteed deal with the Lakers last month as he tries to prove he can come back from a tibia fracture he suffered in March. He is projected as a backup to Brook Lopez, one of the few veterans on the squad. “I have been through pretty much everything in this league, especially injury-wise, and been on championship teams, winningest teams, crappiest teams, teams with a lot of turnovers,” Bogut said. “I have seen everything.”
- Rookie point guard Lonzo Ball has already become the face of the Lakers, writes Tim Bontemps of The Washington Post. The team has a lot invested in the overall No. 2 pick, who impressed his older teammates with his performance in camp. L.A. has lost at least 55 games in each of the past four seasons and needs the 19-year-old to emerge as a leader. “The way he plays the game of basketball, everywhere he goes … if he went to a rec center, people would follow him because he makes people better,” said coach Luke Walton. “That’s what great leaders do.”