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Pacific Notes: Butler, Booker, Clippers, Lakers

April 18th, 2025 at 5:54pm CST by Luke Adams

Although six-time All-Star Jimmy Butler has never won an NBA championship, he told Sam Amick of The Athletic this week that, as the playoffs get underway, he’s thinking more about getting a fifth title for two of his Warriors teammates than getting one for himself.

“Look, I’m not gonna say I’m not hungry, but I’m doing this for Steph (Curry),” Butler said. “I’m doing this for Dray (Draymond Green). I’m doing this for these guys. As much as I want to win a championship, I want Dray to win another one. I want Steph to win another one. I know I ain’t got mine yet, but they deserve it. They’ve been putting this city and this organization on their back for a very long time, and I’m glad that I can be here to try and do something special.”

The Warriors will enter the first round as the No. 7 seed, but they’re the solid betting favorites against the No. 2 Rockets, whose top players have far less postseason experience than Golden State’s stars. Given Curry’s and Green’s four championships – along with his own two NBA Finals appearances – Butler believes the Warriors’ veterans have a “target on their back” this spring, which he’s just fine with.

“I love having a target on my back,” Butler told Amick. “I think I’ve had it the last couple of years over in the East, and (the Warriors) are gonna always have it, until 30 (Curry) and 23 (Green) are gone out this motherf—er. They’re always gonna be the squad to beat. Everybody always fears them. Everybody always knows that they’re not out of any game, out of any series, and I love to be a part of it. I ain’t scared of nobody. You know me. I’m not scared of nobody. I know what I’m capable of.”

Here’s more from around the Pacific:

  • In the wake of reports stating that the Suns have no interest in trading Devin Booker, team owner Mat Ishbia reiterated that stance in his end-of-season media session, referring to the veteran guard as Phoenix’s “franchise player,” as Gerald Bourguet of PHNX Sports relays (Twitter video link). “I speak with him and we’re very aligned on what we want to do and what we’re gonna do,” Ishbia said. “And his mission and my mission are very similar: Let’s bring a championship to Phoenix. And he understands the vision.”
  • Following the offseason departure of Paul George, oddsmakers projected the Clippers to finish last in the Pacific and finish below .500 this season. Instead, the club won 50 games and claimed a top-five seed in a competitive Western Conference. “I think our group has been playing with a chip on its shoulders all year because of that (outside skepticism),” head coach Tyronn Lue said this week, per Broderick Turner of The Los Angeles Times. “We just found ways to win. We just found ways to win. No matter whose night it was, we just kind of featured that guy, played hard defensively and competed and we played together. … Being counted out and staying the course and playing with that chip on your shoulder all year long.”
  • How did the Lakers take a significant step forward on defense in the second half despite having traded away longtime anchor Anthony Davis? Ramona Shelburne of ESPN digs into that question, exploring how the acquisition of Dorian Finney-Smith, the return of Jarred Vanderbilt, J.J. Redick‘s scheme, and improved communication have all factored into the team’s success on that end of the floor.
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Lakers Extend, Promote Rob Pelinka

April 18th, 2025 at 3:01pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Lakers have announced an extension and promotion for Rob Pelinka, who is now the team’s president of basketball operations as well as general manager, tweets Jovan Buha of The Athletic.

“For eight seasons, I have relied on Rob’s vision and leadership to do what’s best for the Lakers organization,” team governor Jeanie Buss said. “I value his partnership and professionalism and believe in his ability to deliver championship-caliber basketball for Los Angeles and Lakers fans everywhere.”

The Lakers hired Pelinka as general manager in 2017 and gave him the title of vice president of basketball operations in 2020.

He has delivered one championship during his tenure and may have the team in position to win more after acquiring Luka Doncic from Dallas in the season’s biggest deal. The addition of Doncic sparked L.A. to a 50-32 record and the third seed in the Western Conference.

Pelinka was also responsible for bringing LeBron James to Los Angeles during the summer of 2018. That gave the Lakers a star to build around after Kobe Bryant‘s retirement two years earlier and has made them a perennial playoff team.

In addition, Pelinka engineered a blockbuster deal in 2019 that brought Anthony Davis to the Lakers. Although Davis was later sent to Dallas in exchange for Doncic, the move showed that Pelinka wasn’t afraid to gamble to add star power to his team.

Pelinka, 55, won an NCAA title as a player with Michigan in 1989. He served as an agent, representing several prominent NBA stars, before getting hired by the Lakers.

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L.A. Notes: Reaves, Lakers’ Title Chances, Kawhi, Zubac

April 17th, 2025 at 5:34pm CST by Tristan Tucker

The Lakers and head coach JJ Redick made good on their preseason comments about keeping Austin Reaves involved in the offense, Dan Woike of the Los Angeles Times notes. The end result paid off, with Reaves becoming a contender for Most Improved Player after averaging career highs of 20.2 points, 4.5 rebounds and 5.8 assists per game while shooting 46.0% from the field and 37.7% on three-pointers.

As Woike writes, Reaves was included in a gathering with LeBron James and Luka Doncic in March, planting him within the team’s big three.

“Them being able to accept that challenge of figuring something out on the fly in the middle of a season — we challenged all three of those guys on that,” Redick said. “And Austin’s great to coach, awesome to coach. And, he’s accepted every challenge and exceeded any sort of baseline level of response that we could expect from him.”

We have more from Los Angeles:

  • The Lakers acquired a generational star at the deadline and posted their first 50-win season since the 2019/20 championship. But is that enough to make them a legitimate title contender this year? Mark Medina of RG writes that the Lakers’ window is open and that Reaves is a huge part of that. Additionally, the Lakers have rebuilt their depth and their three stars are playing well together, which should give the team “justified confidence” in winning it all, according to Medina.
  • Injuries have hampered Kawhi Leonard‘s time with the Clippers, but he looks good ahead of the team’s first-round series against Denver. According to Janis Carr of The Orange County Register, both the organization and Leonard trusted each other to get back to this point and win 50 games. “Giving [training staff president] Maggie Bryant a chance to show him some different things and different ways to be a hundred percent at the end of the season and do things a different way [was beneficial],” head coach Tyronn Lue said. “So her, along with Kawhi’s group, did a good job. The biggest thing is just trusting.” As Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times writes, Leonard has maintained his love for basketball through the injuries. “I love the game. I love the game and I have a passion for it still. I love to compete out there. So, that’s pretty much what drives me back,” Leonard said.
  • Clippers center Ivica Zubac is enjoying the best season of his career and is riding the momentum into a series-long matchup with Nikola Jokic, Carr writes in another piece. “He understands the game, the game has slowed down a lot for him to where he understands who he’s playing against and who he’s guarding and so he’s effective on both ends of the ball,” teammate James Harden said of Zubac. “You know, for guys like me my job is just trying to make it easy for him … to get him touches. But he’s worked his butt off.” In March and April, the big man averaged 19.9 points, 12.7 rebounds and 3.2 assists per night.
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And-Ones: Clutch Player Award, NBA Europe, Award Picks, Oweh

April 15th, 2025 at 6:55pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The official candidates for Clutch Player of the Year have been revealed, NBA analyst Kevin O’Connor tweets. Here’s the list of candidates that voters can select for the award, as chosen by the league’s 30 head coaches:

Curry won the award last year.

We have more from around the international basketball world:

  • While the NBA is trying to establish a new league in Europe, NBA deputy commissioner Mark Tatum insists that the goal is not to replace the EuroLeague, Eurohoops relays via a Reuters interview. “Our goal is to create a commercially viable league that features high quality on -court competition and respects the rich tradition of European basketball. And we think that that will better serve fans and players on the continent,” Tatum said. He notes that there are major cities in Europe that don’t have a team where the NBA can establish roots. “There are big markets in Europe that aren’t being serviced today, where there are millions of basketball fans that aren’t being serviced,” he said. London, Paris, Berlin and Rome are among the candidates that NBA Europe considers as prime targets.
  • The Athletic’s John Hollinger reveals his award picks. He has Gilgeous-Alexander atop his MVP list and the Rockets’ Amen Thompson as his Defensive Player of the Year. O’Connor, writing for Yahoo Sports, has the same duo winning those awards. They also both have Stephon Castle taking Rookie of the Year honors, Payton Pritchard atop their Sixth Man of the Year lists, and Kenny Atkinson as Coach of the Year.
  • Kentucky junior guard Otega Oweh will test the draft waters, Jeff Goodman of Field of 68 tweets. Oweh averaged 16.2 points, 4.7 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.6 steals this past season. He played his first two seasons at Oklahoma.
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Pacific Notes: Booker, Lakers, Doncic, Butler, Curry

April 14th, 2025 at 6:56pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Suns’ disastrous season didn’t change Devin Booker‘s feelings about the organization. He wants to remain in Phoenix for years to come, he told Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic.

“I’ve spoke on it plenty of times,” Booker said. “I’m sure the people are sick of hearing my Phoenix love story, but I’m deeply rooting into this community. I take a lot of pride in it. We’ve built it from the ground up before. I didn’t think I’d be back in this situation, but it shows you how hard the league is. Once we get back to that championship level, I’ll be able to shed light on people that it can change very quickly.”

It seems unlikely Booker will be playing with both Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal again next season. There’s heavy speculation that Durant will be traded and the front office will try to do something regarding Beal’s onerous contract. Booker has no issues with either player.

“I love playing with both of them,” Booker said. “Even the moments that we played together, they haven’t been to what we expected or wanted out of it, but good things do take some time to build and they take experience. We haven’t had a lot of that, but that’s not a good excuse to fall back on.”

Booker is eligible to sign a two-year, maximum-salary extension this offseason,  even though he just completed the first year of his four-year super-max extension. He seems tempted to take it if it’s offered.

“I’ve been in long enough where I’ve watched some of my heroes and idols just slowly get out of the league, and you see how it hurts them,” he said. “I don’t want to think about the day that I have to do that. It’s nice to be up for an extension.”

We have more from the Pacific Division:

  • The Lakers‘ best source of information as they prepare for the Timberwolves in the opening round could be their superstar newcomer. Coach JJ Redick will consult with Luka Doncic, who led the Mavericks to a series win over Minnesota in the Western Conference Finals last season. “There are nuances to what teams are trying to do against certain opponents,” Redick said, per Dave McMenamin of ESPN. The third-seeded Lakers will use their time off this week to heal up and gradually work on their game plan for the best-of-seven series. “It’s not necessarily going to be everything at once this week. We’ll have to slow drip, and I think that’s the approach that I think is going to work best for our group,” Redick said. “Tuesday will be more about us. Wednesday, we’ll introduce Minnesota.”
  • Speaking of Doncic, he became the first international player to have the best-selling jersey in the league, according to Mike Vornukov of The Athletic. Since the 2013/14 season, either LeBron James or Stephen Curry led the NBA in that category. The Lakers also had the league’s top-selling merchandise.
  • Jimmy Butler gave the Warriors fans a glimpse of “Playoff Jimmy” when he played 48 minutes, scored 30 points and matched up with Kawhi Leonard in Sunday’s overtime loss to the Clippers, Marcus Thompson II of The Athletic writes. Golden State was relegated to the play-in tournament but Butler gives the Warriors another player who can take over and assert his will, Thompson notes. “You have a guy who can kind of slow the pace of the game down for us, get us into good things,” forward Draymond Green said. “Just having that extra added weapon. Having another No. 1 next to Steph is different.”
  • The Warriors have a clean injury report for their matchup with Memphis on Tuesday night, Anthony Slater of The Athletic tweets. Curry has a sprained right thumb and Butler took a knee to the thigh on Sunday, but both will play.
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Postseason Seeding Set For Western Conference

April 13th, 2025 at 5:46pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The seedings for the Western Conference playoffs came down to the very last game — the Clippers‘ 124-119 overtime victory over the Warriors on Sunday afternoon. That outcome assured L.A. of a playoff spot and pushed Golden State into the play-in tournament.

The red-hot Clippers, winners of eight straight, nailed down the No. 5 seed. The Timberwolves, who won their last three games, grabbed the last automatic berth into the first round, joining the Nuggets, who secured the No. 4 seed with their win over Houston on Sunday.

Here’s how the top 10 teams in the West finished the regular season, as the NBA confirms (via Twitter):

  1. Oklahoma City Thunder
  2. Houston Rockets
  3. Los Angeles Lakers
  4. Denver Nuggets
  5. Los Angeles Clippers
  6. Minnesota Timberwolves
  7. Golden State Warriors
  8. Memphis Grizzlies
  9. Sacramento Kings
  10. Dallas Mavericks

The play-in tournament in the Western Conference will feature the Warriors hosting the Grizzlies on Tuesday and the Kings hosting the Mavericks on Wednesday. The Golden State/Memphis winner will claim the No. 7 spot in the playoffs and face the Rockets in the first round of the playoffs. The loser of that game will host the Sacramento/Dallas survivor on Friday for the No. 8 spot and the right to face the top-seeded Thunder in round one.

The Lakers will have home court advantage in the first round and face the Timberwolves in the first round of the playoffs. The Nuggets will also have home court advantage in their first-round series against the Clippers.

The seedings for the Eastern Conference playoffs were decided prior to Sunday’s action and can be found here.

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Austin Reaves Likes The Lakers' Playoff Prospects

April 12th, 2025 at 11:07pm CST by Arthur Hill
  • After wrapping up the No. 3 seed Friday night, the Lakers are very confident as they approach the playoffs, per Khobi Price of The Orange County Register. Austin Reaves said it felt like five regular seasons wrapped into one because of all the roster changes, but the team wound up in a good place. “We feel very comfortable with what we got in the locker room, from front office, coaching staff to players,” Reaves said. “We’re all locked into one goal and that’s to win a championship. We can play different ways and then we got the best player to ever play the game (in LeBron James) and then probably, arguably (someone who is) going to be one of the best players to ever play the game with Luka (Doncic). And then around that, we have guys that are just bought into winning and that’s what you need when you’re trying to make a run like that.”
  • The Lakers made a great decision by hiring J.J. Redick as head coach and were fortunate that UConn’s Dan Hurley turned down their six-year, $70MM offer last June, contends columnist Bill Plaschke of The Los Angeles Times (subscription required).
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Pacific Notes: Curry, LeBron, Redick, Carter

April 12th, 2025 at 3:58pm CST by Luke Adams

Warriors star Stephen Curry left Friday’s game in Portland with a right thumb injury, but X-rays were negative and he returned to action after getting it wrapped up, tweets Anthony Slater of The Athletic. Curry, who initially injured the thumb in January, downplayed the issue after the game and said he’ll be good to go on Sunday vs. the Clippers, per Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN.

“From what I know, just an aggravation,” Curry said. “The same thing (as the earlier thumb injury), but hopefully it wasn’t anything serious. … I just know it hurts right now, but I’ll be all right.”

The Warriors will need their top scorer at his best on Sunday — a win over L.A. would clinch a playoff spot for the team, while there’s a good chance a loss would lead to a play-in berth.

“I don’t want to be too dramatic,” Curry said when asked about Sunday’s game. “It should be like a Game 7 kind of vibe. You win and you control your destiny on a guaranteed playoffs series. If you lose, you roll the dice.”

Here’s more from around the Pacific:

  • Like Curry, Lakers forward LeBron James exited Friday’s game with an injury. However, head coach J.J. Redick told reporters, including Dave McMenamin of ESPN, that James is “fine” after appearing to tweak his left hip/groin area. With Los Angeles locked into the No. 3 seed, LeBron seems unlikely to play much – if at all – on Sunday in Portland.
  • Asked on Friday whether he finds being a head coach more rewarding than being a player, Redick quickly said yes, though the Lakers‘ coach admitted he didn’t have a great explanation for why that’s the case, writes Khobi Price of The Orange County Register (subscription required). “I tried to figure that out for the last six months, I’m not sure,” Redick said. “But I will say, I think anybody that was around me as a player knows how much I enjoyed the job every day and knows how grateful I was to be in the NBA every day and very grateful to have a 15-year career. I like this more.”
  • Kings rookie Devin Carter didn’t make his debut until January due to a shoulder injury and has struggled offensively, averaging just 3.8 points per game on .375/.288/.591 shooting in 35 outings (10.7 MPG). Still, he’s playing a rotation role lately for the play-in club in large part due to his contributions on the other end of the floor. “I live with a lot of what DC does offensively as he still finds his way because he is spectacular on the defensive end,” interim head coach Doug Christie told Spencer Davies of RG.org, who spoke to Carter about his first NBA season.
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Postseason Seeding Set For Eastern Conference

April 11th, 2025 at 11:30pm CST by Luke Adams

Wins by the Orlando, Milwaukee, Atlanta, and Chicago on Friday night have locked in the playoff seeds for all six Eastern Conference playoff teams, along with the four play-in clubs.

Here’s how the top 10 teams in the East will finish the regular season, as the NBA confirms (via Twitter):

  1. Cleveland Cavaliers
  2. Boston Celtics
  3. New York Knicks
  4. Indiana Pacers
  5. Milwaukee Bucks
  6. Detroit Pistons
  7. Orlando Magic
  8. Atlanta Hawks
  9. Chicago Bulls
  10. Miami Heat

The play-in tournament in the Eastern Conference will feature the Magic hosting the Hawks on Tuesday and the Bulls hosting the Heat on Wednesday. The Orlando/Atlanta winner will claim the No. 7 spot in the playoffs and face the Celtics in the first round of the playoffs. The loser of that game will host the Chicago/Miami winner on Friday for the No. 8 spot and the right to face the Cavaliers in round one.

The Knicks will match up with the Pistons in the first round of the playoffs, while the Pacers and Bucks will meet in round one for a second consecutive year, with Indiana claiming home court advantage this time around.

We got a little more clarity on the Western Conference playoff picture by the end of Friday night, with the Lakers clinching the No. 3 seed by beating Houston and the Grizzlies now locked into the play-in tournament as a result of their loss to Denver. However, there are still several playoff berths and seeds up in the air, with the Nuggets, Clippers, Warriors, and Timberwolves vying for the final three spots in the West’s top six.

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Postseason Scenarios To Watch Friday

April 11th, 2025 at 4:00pm CST by Rory Maher

With only two regular season games remaining on each team’s schedule, 15 of the 20 seeds entering the 2025 postseason are still up for grabs, the NBA noted today (Twitter link).

All 30 teams will be playing on Friday and again on Sunday. Friday’s slate has several matchups with important postseason implications.

Here’s a quick rundown of the the most important scenarios in play tonight, per the league (Twitter link):

  • The Nuggets will clinch a top-six seed and thus a guaranteed playoff spot with a win AND a loss by either the Clippers, Warriors or Timberwolves.
  • The Clippers will clinch a playoff spot with a win AND a loss by either Denver, Golden State or Minnesota.
  • The Warriors will secure a playoff berth with a win AND losses by both Memphis and Minnesota.
  • The Grizzlies will be locked into the play-in tournament with a loss AND a Warriors win.
  • The Timberwolves will be locked into the play-in tournament with a loss AND wins by Denver, Golden State and the Clippers.
  • The Lakers will clinch the Pacific Division with a win OR a Clippers loss.
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