Angelica Yaghoubi

The NBA today announced that LA Clippers guard Luke Kennard will participate in the MTN Dew 3-Point Contest, as part of the 2022 State Farm All-Star Saturday Night on February 19 at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland.

The Franklin, Ohio native is averaging 11.9 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 2.2 assists while shooting 42.8% from beyond the arc. In his fifth NBA season, Kennard ranks fourth in 3P% (min. 5.0 3PA) and is second in the NBA in 3P% (43.6%, min. 500 3PA) over the last two seasons.

In addition to Kennard, the eight-player field for the MTN Dew 3-Point Contest also features Desmond Bane (Memphis Grizzlies), Zach LaVine (Chicago Bulls), CJ McCollum (Portland Trail Blazers), Patty Mills (Brooklyn Nets), Karl-Anthony Towns (Minnesota Timberwolves), Fred VanVleet (Toronto Raptors), and Trae Young (Atlanta Hawks).

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Luke Kennard to Compete in 2022 MTN Dew 3-Point Contest

The LA Clippers have re-signed free agent Nicolas Batum, it was announced today by president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank. Per team policy, terms of the agreement were not released.

“Nico is a terrific player, a selfless teammate and a consummate professional, who lifts us in a lot of different ways,” Frank said. “He fit in perfectly from the beginning, and we’re grateful he’s chosen to return.”

Batum, 32, appeared in 67 games for the Clippers last season. The versatile veteran averaged 8.1 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 2.2 assists while shooting 40.4 percent. During the Clippers run to the 2021 Western Conference Finals, Batum averaged 8.1 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 1.3 blocks in 29.2 minutes. The 6-foot-8 forward has appeared in 856 career games with averages of 11.3 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 3.6 assists over 13 seasons with the Portland Trail Blazers, Charlotte Hornets, and Clippers.

From Lisieux, France, Batum has been a member of the French National Team since 2009, representing his country in the 2012 and 2021 Olympics, 2010 FIBA World Championship, 2014 FIBA World Cup, and 2009, 2011, 2013 and 2015 FIBA European Championships. He led France to a gold medal in the 2013 European Championship, silver medals in the 2011 European Championship and the 2021 Olympics, and bronze medals in the 2014 FIBA World Cup and 2015 European Championship.

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LA Clippers Re-Sign Nicolas Batum

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Photos: Clippers' Players and their Moms

Rowan Kavner  Digital Content Coordinator

LOS ANGELES – After all the hand, quad, heel, ankle, feet and eye injuries a team could handle, the Clippers finally got some good news on the health front.

Head coach Doc Rivers said during exit interviews the Clippers shouldn’t have any other surgeries to deal with this offseason.

“I know they’re doing their evaluations,” Rivers said. “I think they have some more to do, but I think this summer we’re surgery-free, that I know of.”

Of course, that news comes after Chris Paul’s hand surgery for a fractured third metacarpal on his right hand and Blake Griffin’s procedure on his quad. But, it appears those will be the end of the Clippers’ procedures heading into the summer.

Rivers said Griffin may not be healthy early on this summer, but “he’ll be healthy way before training camp.”

“A lot of guys have done this,” Rivers said of Griffin’s bone marrow procedure. “The procedure’s not that big of a deal, it’s just I know when you do it, I think there’s non-weight bearing involved, and that slows the process. Obviously, if you can’t put weight on something, it’s tough to heal it.”

Rivers said that likely leaves Griffin out for the Olympics, and Paul removed his name from consideration for the Olympics before he was injured. But Rivers said DeAndre Jordan, who also participated in last summer’s Olympics minicamp in Las Vegas, is still a candidate to play if he’s selected among the final 12 players.

From Paul’s hand, to Griffin’s quad, to J.J. Redick’s heel, to Jordan’s ankle, to Wesley Johnson’s feet, to Austin Rivers’ eye, the Clippers ended the season battered, broken and bruised. But, whichever players remain with the Clippers next year, their injuries should all be in the rearview when the 2016-17 season starts up. 

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No More Surgeries Expected For Clippers In Summer

LOS ANGELES – Paul Pierce, even after 18 years in the league, wasn’t immune after Game 6 from the tears and emotions that can happen after a season ends abruptly.

Now that it has, he’s not going to rush to a decision on whether or not this was his last run.

“Right now, it’s 50-50,” Pierce said. “I don’t want to make an emotional decision.”

Pierce has two years and roughly $7 million left on his deal, but he knew when he came back home to Los Angeles any year could be his last.

The former NBA champion and 10-time All-Star forward is 38 years old and will be 39 before the start of next season. This last season with the Clippers was the first time he averaged single digits in scoring in his career and the first time he played fewer than 20 minutes per game.

“We’ll see how I feel when I wake up,” Pierce said, figuratively speaking following the Game 6 loss. “If I don’t feel that feel, that fire’s not there, then it’s going to be tough (to keep playing).”

Whatever Pierce decides, head coach Doc Rivers doesn’t want to play much of a role in the choice.

Pierce has now spent a decade of his life playing for Rivers, with nine years together in Boston and now another in Los Angeles, but Rivers said that decision is too personal to get involved in.

“That’s a decision that Paul’s going to have to make,” Rivers said. “He’ll ask, and I’ll give him what I think and very little of that, because I think players, as far as thinking about retirement, have to come to that conclusion – even though I’m more than a coach to him.”

Rivers said he wouldn’t ever want Pierce to be sitting at home regretting whatever choice he made.

“I think that’s a hard one,” Rivers said.

So, Pierce will take his time and try to figure it out.

Pierce has said he’s debated after each of the past few seasons whether he’d continue to keep playing, and it’s a choice that never gets easier.

“Every heartbreak makes you want to come back,” Pierce said. “That’s the competitive nature of a player. That’s the competitive nature of me.”

And, that’s why the Inglewood native has plenty to consider.

“I think the whole key is where he wants to be health-wise and how did he feel through the season,” Rivers said. “I can’t figure that one out.”

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Paul Pierce “50-50” On Retirement As 18th Season Ends

LOS ANGELES – Not even a day had passed for J.J. Redick between the Game 6 loss and the taping of his podcast the next morning with Jamal Crawford.

All of the feelings and emotions that came along with the loss that ended the Clippers’ season still lingered, and the two players spoke candidly about the game, the season and moving forward on Redick’s “The Vertical Podcast,” which aired Monday.

“It was one of the most emotional locker rooms that I’ve seen,” Crawford said. “People you didn’t expect to cry, it was like all that was coming out. We literally poured our blood, sweat and tears on that court. It was an amazing feeling, because we all felt the same way. It kind of took over the whole room.”

Crawford said he was at a loss for words to see veterans such as Paul Pierce crying and to hear head coach Doc Rivers and owner Steve Ballmer choked up. This all came before the postgame media availability, but even then, long after the game had ended, the emotions were still heavy.

Redick said he felt like the whole season was an emotional rollercoaster.

“It feels like to me, personally, maybe I repressed those emotions,” Redick said. “And I think maybe other guys repressed their emotions for the season.”

After Game 6, it all came out. Crawford said he broke down on the way home from the game just looking out the window. As soon as Redick went back to the postgame locker room, he said he needed to take some time for himself.

“I think it says a lot about the togetherness of the group when there’s that collective emotion,” Redick said.

Check out the podcast to hear everything the two players discussed, but here were some of the highlights.

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Redick, Crawford Discuss Emotional Year On Podcast

PORTLAND, Ore. – Austin Rivers looked more like he just finished four rounds in boxing than four quarters of a basketball game. J.J. Redick hobbled for four quarters, fighting through a sore heel that’s bothered him all series. DeAndre Jordan, fighting for an offensive rebound in the final minutes, slowly limped back to the sideline before returning to the floor.

The amount of injuries the Clippers dealt with in just one series was almost unthinkable, already losing Chris Paul (hand) and Blake Griffin (quad) in Game 4 for the foreseeable future, and they could’ve booked it in when they trailed by five points in the third. They could’ve booked it in again when they trailed by six both early and late in the fourth.

Instead, the banged-up, severely depleted Clippers fought for every last second in an elimination Game 6, before eventually falling just short in the game, the series and the season in a 106-103 loss.

Rivers, who received 11 stitches after taking an inadvertent elbow from Al-Farouq Aminu in the first quarter, returned in the second quarter and ended up finishing with 21 points, his second-most in a postseason game after a 25-point performance against Houston last year.

The Clippers needed that scoring from him, as well as his eight assists and six rebounds, to keep it close. They needed a postseason career-high 32 points from Jamal Crawford to keep it close. They needed superior contributions from everyone who stepped on the court, which included 11 players by game’s end.

And, for nearly full four quarters, that’s what they got.

Portland’s seven 3-pointers in the third quarter could’ve been a backbreaker, yet the Clippers still outscored Portland by four points in the quarter to take a two-point lead to the fourth with plenty of help from Rivers, who persevered through the eye injury for 14 third-quarter points.

Early in the fourth, the Blazers took their largest lead of the game at six, and the Clippers stayed close. Then, trailing by six points again with only 1:32 remaining, Redick and Crawford helped tie the game back up.

But, the offensive glass was a problem early on for the Clippers, who allowed a season-high 15 offensive rebounds to the Blazers in the first half. And, after a C.J. McCollum miss with 14 seconds left, Mason Plumlee got in position for an offensive rebound and drew a foul on Jeff Green on a ball up for grabs.

Plumlee hit both at the line, and a shot from Crawford at the other end came up short. The Clippers fouled Plumlee again on the rebound, and he only made 1-of-2, giving the Clippers a chance for a half-court heave to tie.

The floater from way downtown by Rivers came up short, and that ended up being the last attempt this season for the Clippers, who dropped the series, 4-2.

Key Moment: When the final buzzer rang. The Clippers fought back from just about everything – the countless injuries, the barrage of Portland 3-pointers in the second half, the offensive rebounding struggles while playing small – and it wasn’t until the Clippers’ final attempt fell just short on a half-court heave that would’ve sent the game to overtime that the Clippers could finally be counted out.

Clippers Star: Austin Rivers – He was bleeding profusely, even after he returned from an elbow many may not have come back from, yet he ended up scoring 14 points in the third quarter and recording the second-highest points of his postseason career. The Clippers needed him to return, just as much for his defense as the only point guard remaining on the team with size, and Rivers came through.

Trail Blazers Star: Damian Lillard – With the Clippers’ superstars out, Portland’s stars took over. Lillard had 28 points, seven assists and five rebounds, while McCollum added 20 points.

X-Factor: Role players – For the Clippers, it was Crawford with 32 points – the most by any reserve in Clippers postseason history. For the Blazers, it was a handful of players hitting from long distance. Portland finished with 14 3-pointers, a bit of an outlier as neither team was particularly sharp from deep throughout the series, as Maurice Harkless and Allen Crabbe made a noticeable impact.

Doc Rivers – “It’s emotional, a lot of tears. From a coaching standpoint, you love that. I tell my guys every year, at least the teams I think have a chance, you have to be willing to get your heart broken to be a champion, and you have to do it over and over again. When that happens and you don’t win it, your heart’s broken. And we had a bunch of guys in the locker room today with their heart broken, but it was worth it. It was worth the journey.”

Austin Rivers – “A lot of people doubted us. A lot of people think we wouldn’t be able to fight. We showed a lot of heart. We went out there and believed in each other and we were a play away from going to overtime. It’s mixed emotions right now – I’m sad and disappointed, but at the same time, I’m very proud of my teammates.”

Jamal Crawford – “When you lose your two best players the same game, you get what you can and live with the results. We battled, we competed, we gave it everything we had. That’s a credit to Doc and a credit to the guys in the locker room.”

NOTES: Paul Pierce said afterward he’s “50-50” on whether he will return next season and said he doesn’t want it to be an emotional decision … Crawford said the Clippers feel like home and the players in the locker room feel like “brothers,” and he’d love to continue his career with the team … There were 19 lead changes and 10 ties in Game 6, with neither team ever leading by more than seven points … DeAndre Jordan had 15 points and 20 rebounds in the loss, giving him back-to-back games with at least 15 points and 15 rebounds for the first time in his playoff career …

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Gutsy Effort Falls Short As Clippers Lose Series To Portland

PORTLAND, Ore. – Austin Rivers’ eyes welled up as he sat at the podium, even as he could barely open his left one.

It was a cathartic moment for the backup point guard, as everything played back in his mind after getting 11 stitches around his eye in the first quarter of the Clippers’ Game 6 series-ending loss, only to return and post 21 points, eight assists and six rebounds before falling a shot short of extending the Clippers’ season.

“A lot of people doubted us,” Rivers said. “A lot of people thought we wouldn’t be able to fight. We showed a lot of heart.”

Everything Rivers had gone through – both on a personal level and simply as a member of a Clippers team that had lost its two superstars and still nearly sent the series against Portland back home to Los Angeles for a Game 7 – it all came to his mind.

His relationship with his teammates, who fought to the bitter end, that came to his mind. His relationship with Jamal Crawford, who told Rivers how much he believed in the young guard the minute Rivers came to the Clippers last year, that came to his mind. The grittiness the Clippers showed as a team, overcoming deficits throughout the night to tie Game 6 up with seconds remaining, that came to Rivers’ mind, too.

Of course, after a fourth straight 50-win season, so did the bitter defeat.

“We went out there and believed in each other and we were a play away from going to overtime,” Rivers said. “It’s mixed emotions right now – I’m sad and disappointed, but at the same time, I’m very proud.”

That was the resounding feeling coming from one of the more emotional postgame locker rooms anyone will see in professional sports, as the Clippers’ season ended Friday night, despite the effort from Rivers, who was bleeding throughout the majority of his 48 minutes on the court.

“This one hurts,” Rivers said, more emotionally than physically, despite the fact his eye was swollen shut to the point he said he had trouble seeing.

Rivers had scored five of the Clippers’ first 11 points to help grab an early lead when he took an inadvertent elbow to the face from Al-Farouq Aminu in the first quarter. Immediately, Clippers head athletic trainer Jasen Powell came on the court to put a towel over Rivers’ face to limit the bleeding.

The injury required seven stitches below and four stitches above his left eye. A quarter later, Rivers was back in the game.

“It looked like a boxing match for him,” said Doc Rivers. “He’s a baller. He likes playing basketball, and so did our team. I think Paul (Pierce) said that earlier, we’ve got a bunch of ballers on this team. Guys just like playing.”

And, with the Clippers already playing without Chris Paul at the position, Austin Rivers knew he needed to return. Pablo Prigioni filled the point guard spot as Austin RIvers got treated, then Rivers came back and finished with more made field goals than he had stitches below his eye and more assists than he had above his eye.

The Clippers entered Moda Center on Monday already severely depleted, with Paul and Blake Griffin both getting injured for the series in Game 4. Paul underwent surgery this week on his fractured right hand, while Griffin aggravated his left quad injury, forcing him out for the remainder of the playoffs.

“You see your leader go down and you see your second leader go down, it’s tough,” Austin Rivers said. “I thought we did a good job, we stepped up. We were this close to getting a Game 7. I don’t know what else to say. We left it all out there.”

For Austin Rivers, that included his own blood, which wasn’t the first time something like that happened to him.

In the preseason, he lost multiple teeth after taking an elbow from a teammate at practice while the Clippers were in China. Monday’s elbow on a rebound attempt night left him bloodied, bruised and swollen, but the Clippers needed him, and he delivered with the second 20-plus point performance of his postseason career.

“You look at his face, he looked like he was in a boxing match,” Crawford said. “I couldn’t be more proud of him and his growth.”