Interim president of basketball operations Trent Redden opened Clippers media day with an apology.
“Our fans deserve to hear from us before this, and for that we’re sorry,” Redden said Monday. “We’ve been listening to the thoughts, the concerns, and feeling the emotions of our fan base. They mean everything to us. … We hope to fulfill our promises to them, to build their trust and move forward through this time.
“This franchise often has done its best work with its back against the wall … We hope to represent our fans the same way we always have in dark times, by coming out fighting.”
This summer marks a torrential turning point for the Clippers as the NBA punished the team for violating its salary cap circumvention rules. The Clippers were stripped of five first-round picks and fined $30 million.
Owner Steve Ballmer was suspended for a year and president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank received a six-month suspension. The Clippers also parted ways with its franchise player, Kawhi Leonard, who was traded to Toronto after paying a $700,000 fine for his involvement in circumventing the salary cap.
Monday’s media day signaled the team’s official effort to move forward despite the scandal.
The Clippers already have a plethora of injuries as Brandon Ingram, Bradley Beal, Jordan Miller and Yanic Konan Niederhauser are all sidelined. But the latter is progressing well.
It’s evident that rather than chasing a championship, the team will do its best to keep its head above water amid the trying season ahead.
“It’s been difficult,” Clippers head coach Ty Lue admitted. “But I give our players a lot of credit … the leadership is great [and] the morale is great, even in these tough situations.
“That’s good to see, when you have your players coming in every day, giving everything they have; a lot of teams don’t have that.”
Rui Hachimura, former Lakers forward, had the most ironic quote of the day.
“One thing everyone says about the Clippers is how well they take care of players,” Hachimura said.
It could be argued that Leonard was indeed treated well. Franchise legend Chris Paul likely won’t say the same.
