Sports reporter @nbcnews. Co-author of BEYOND FAST, available everywhere. Pronounce it ‘Grife’ and we'll get along just fine.
Los Angeles, CA
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One day last year, @RealSeanBrosnan showed me a room in Newbury Park where he made an insane promise and a running revolution started.
That story became BEYOND FAST, and today I’m so grateful it’s out in the world, on shelves and in stores.
simonandschuster.com/books/B…
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Kawhi called Kobe’s pilot, Ara Zobayan, a “good dude” and used him to fly to and from games. He also discussed if this gives him any pause to keep using helicopters.
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Terance Mann has had a card of Rajon Rondo in his wallet since middle school.
"Want to see it?"
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The Clippers honored Nipsey Hussle, who was killed today in LA, with a tribute before tipoff against Memphis. Hussle was close with Lou Williams and Montrezl Harrell.
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Doc Rivers on COVID-19: "It would be great if we had national leadership on this, which we have zero."
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Kawhi Leonard said Kobe was one of the first people he talked to immediately after winning last season’s NBA title.
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After tipoff, the Clippers took a 24-second shot-clock violation to honor Kobe. And then the Magic agreed to take an 8-second violation.
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Westbrook postgame on the reception he still receives in OKC:
"Best [fans] in the world. It’s like home for me to be honest. I grew up here and they welcomed me and my family with open arms. They gave me everything they had every night and I did the same and I’m grateful."
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Reggie Miller on the Clips: "You can’t tell me it was all about chemistry. Their cross-town rival has a brand-new coach in Frank Vogel. They’ve got, what, 6-7 new players as well? Avery Bradley is not even in the bubble? … So everyone’s dealing with chemistry in the restart."
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Breaking: Clippers owner Steve Ballmer has reached an agreement with MSG to purchase the Forum, through a new company, for $400M in cash. Story to come @latimes.
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Paul George: "God bless you Jared Dudley. I don't know what it is, dudes love throwing my name in stuff. But God bless you, Jared."
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Pat Bev just walked by the media room as Ty Lue was exiting and said "see y'all in the Western Conference finals."
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The Clippers and Bucks have come out for warmups wearing these shirts as a tribute to victims of the mass shooting in Thousand Oaks.
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Indiana had 17 more turnovers than OKC and 16 fewer field-goal attempts. And won.
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Yeah, the Clippers heard about Steph’s big night. This was between Kawhi and Batum’s postgame interviews.
“62. Whoo!”
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Kawhi Leonard: "I don't care about the Western Conference Finals. I'm trying to win a championship."
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For our look back at Kobe, I also wrote about footage few knew still existed: latimes.com/sports/story/202…
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Friday’s Clippers-Lakers game is being flexed off of ESPN. ESPN wants the Warriors-Suns rematch.
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Two weeks ago, Russell Westbrook organized a minicamp in Las Vegas. Teammates who came were required to work out and dine together. At one dinner, he stunned teammates when he handed each a new iPhone 15 Pro Max. The Clippers gushed about Russ, the leader: latimes.com/sports/clippers/…
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Clipper Darrell yells at LeBron from across a quiet gym: "I'm coming for you, LeBron!" Doc Rivers started laughing. James just shook his head.
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One thing to note: The Lakers and Clippers are briefly overlapping at the same hotel in Boston tomorrow. Zubac and Beasley (assuming they're both on the roster after the next 25 minutes) could just walk down the hallway to join their new team.
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Kawhi Leonard asked about BLM: "It doesn't matter if we have a statement on the back of our jersey, it's about doing the work."
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Montrezl Harrell walking through the tunnel to the locker room: “That’s how you spoil some m************ Christmas right there!”
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Doc Rivers: "What stands out to me is just watching the Republican convention and they’re spewing this fear, right? ... We’re the ones getting killed. We’re the ones getting shot. We’re the ones that are denied t live in certain communities. We’ve been hung. We’ve been shot."
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Kawhi Leonard said it "doesn't surprise me" that the NBA is holding an All-Star game. "We all know why we're playing it. It's money on the line ... and putting money over health, pretty much. We're playing games now and it's still a pandemic, we're doing all these protocols."
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Clippers released a new rendering of the giant scoreboard in their under-construction Inglewood arena. It's still huge. But now there's a little more sense of how huge. They say it will be the equivalent of 3,592 60-inch TVs put together.
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This isn't the kind of report I was planning to publish today: I'm among those laid off at the L.A. Times. I'm grateful for five-plus years at the best job I've ever had.
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Doc Rivers called it “no surprise” that Kawhi and Paul George has rookie Terance Mann shoot with them after today’s practice. “They’ve accepted him,” Rivers said.
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Clippers star Kawhi Leonard (injury management, left knee soreness) will NOT play today vs. Portland. Decision was just made.
This is the same approach to back-to-backs the Clippers have taken all season with Kawhi. Clippers play Sunday, as well.
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LeBron James on the 1 seed: “They said I couldn’t do it. I’ll enjoy this one. They said I can’t do it.” latimes.com/sports/lakers/st…
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Ty Lue says Kawhi Leonard is still being evaluated right now. Says "he's going to be fine."
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Patrick Beverley is here courtside at Clippers-Rockets -- wearing an Ivica Zubac jersey.
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Michael Malone was asked for his reaction to Patrick Beverley's "flailing" comment last night about Nikola Jokic.
Malone with some heat: "I don't listen to Patrick Beverley a whole lot. If Kawhi Leonard was talking maybe I might listen to it. Kawhi's a great player."
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Some Clippers react to hearing it was Kawhi's first career triple-double:
Landry Shamet: "Yeah that’s crazy, man."
Pat Patterson: "People in San Antonio and Toronto must not have hit shots."
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Clippers owner Steve Ballmer helps donate $25 million to fight the coronavirus latimes.com/sports/clippers/…
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Source: The Clippers are converting Amir Coffey to a standard NBA contract. To make room on the roster Semi Ojeleye is being waived. Xavier Moon will fill Coffey’s place with a new two-way contract.
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Russell Westbrook declined to talk postgame. He finished with 8 points in 17 minutes.
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Russ: “I’m not one bit worried. We have an unbelievably talented group in this locker room and we know what we have, we just got to make sure we put it together and I really feel we gave three games away thus far. We’re going to get it together.”
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"Ty Lue was really struggling," Doc Rivers said of Bryant's former Lakers teammate, now an LAC coach. "I look over at Ty during the game and he’s bawling. A lot of emotion tonight, it really was a tough night. Just a tough night."
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Russell Westbrook begins his pregame routine famously early. Three hours till tip in Denver, he’s working with Brian Shaw, Dahntay Jones and Beau Levesque.
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Chants of “let’s go Knicks!” filling the concourse at Staples Center as fans file out. Just heard a “Knickstape!”
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Today's my last day at The Oregonian and before I go, a quick note. In 2013, a lot of people here took a chance by hiring a copy editor/freelancer for the UO beat. I'll always be grateful they did. Wish nothing but the best for this newsroom full of wonderful, talented people.
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The Clippers are *not* looking to trade G Luke Kennard, multiple league sources told @latimessports. There had a been a report suggesting the team is shopping last season’s most accurate 3-point shooter — but the sources were adamant that is not the case.
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In July, after Paul George said he'd felt depressed and anxious amid shooting struggles that made him a target on social media, Danny Green backed him up. “Trust me, I know exactly what PG is going through,” Green said then. PG is now showing support for Green after his G5 miss.
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Zubac, who was in Boston already with the Lakers when he was traded, said he watched Lakers-Celtics and Clippers-Pacers last night.
“I didn’t have anything else to do,” he said. “I was in my room the whole day.”
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Patrick Beverley is celebrating the win by doing an extra strength workout in the locker room.
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I’m excited to share that I’m joining @latimes to cover the Clippers, starting in September. Can’t wait to get started.
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After the '96 draft, a young Clippers coach took the VHS tape of one of the team's draft workouts and tucked it away.
25 years later, Rex Kalamian still has the video of 17-year-old Kobe Bryant's Clippers workout, footage that is more poignant than ever: latimes.com/sports/story/202…
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Steve Ballmer tells @sergeibaka he and Bill Gates barely spoke for a year once. Then asked who he would sign if he could only pick PG or Kawhi, Ballmer downs cricket tea and nearly gags. Pretty good stuff from How Hungry Are You.
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The Clippers claimed Rodney McGruder on the eve of the postseason. But when Doc Rivers told players they didn't have to have McGruder around for the playoffs, they weren't having it.
“Bring his ass in,” Patrick Beverley said. “He part of the team.”
latimes.com/sports/clippers/…
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Kawhi Leonard, referencing his own potential free agency, said he's "just focused on this season."
Added that: "If I stay healthy, the best decision is to decline the player option but it doesn't mean I'm staying or leaving."
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Via @taniaganguli, who was in the Lakers' locker room: JaVale McGee on the Clippers: "Wasn’t there like a stat they’re 10-0 full strength, something like that? I think I saw some stats like that. Welp. It’s one loss now."
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Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in his @latimes op-ed:
“Racism in America is like dust in the air. It seems invisible — even if you’re choking on it — until you let the sun in. Then you see it’s everywhere.” latimes.com/opinion/story/20…
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Russell Westbrook: “Ain’t too many people defending better than me at this point if we keeping it honest.”
Would an all-defense nod be validation for him?
“I don’t need it but unfortunately I haven’t had one because I don’t know. I’ve been very deserving of it.”
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Pat Beverley has left the building, with a bow toward his former bench and a hug with Jerry West.
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Story: Kawhi said he asked Kobe about L.A. commuting and followed Bryant's advice.
"Same pilot, everything, the whole situation, this whole program, the setup. How he was traveling back and forth was the same way I was getting here from San Diego.”
latimes.com/sports/liveblog/…
Kawhi called Kobe’s pilot, Ara Zobayan, a “good dude” and used him to fly to and from games. He also discussed if this gives him any pause to keep using helicopters.
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Paul George says he should be available to play tomorrow in Sacramento but is waiting to see how he feels after a night of sleep.
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James Harden on facing another good, young Thunder team:
"It reminds me of when I was here, the beginning of the Thunder Up days. And it’s beautiful. It’s been a long time as far as the rebuilding process but I think it’s exciting and these fans deserve some good basketball."
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Three Ducks football players remain hospitalized today following a series of grueling workouts last week oregonlive.com/ducks/index.s…
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Kawhi told reporters in Charlotte: "It felt good to be back. I love this game of basketball. I don’t think nobody loves playing any more than me. … I love this game and it gives me joy when I’m able to play and I mean, that ending was just great."
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Clippers’ Kawhi Leonard “feels great” and is cleared for 5-on-5 play, team president Lawrence Frank said today. Not many more specifics offered on Leonard’s preseason availability but Frank said Kawhi wants to do everything.
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Norm Powell and Russell Westbrook said they weren't aware Kawhi would play only the first half. So, it wasn't something they could prepare for.
Russ: "I don't know if anybody knew but that was something that Kawhi and the medical staff figured out. But no, I didn't know."
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Kawhi has been "very involved" despite his absence, Ty Lue said. He said Kawhi even entered the coaches' locker room in Game 6 vs. Utah to discuss adjustments.
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San Diego St. retires Kawhi’s No. 15 tonight. After the Clippers’ win against Minnesota today, he was asked about his takeaways from his college days. His answer could very well end up in the next SDSU brochure.
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Paul George: Kobe “was my Michael Jordan. ... I started playing basketball because of Kobe.”
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Geoff Wightman, one of the PA voices inside Hayward Field for world championships, closed his eyes and took deep breaths before announcing his son, Jake, as the world 1,500-meter champion.
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I cannot wait to watch a fully unleashed Russell Westbrook, human pinball, play basketball next season.
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A source has confirmed what @BruceFeldmanCFB reported: Jim Leavitt will stay at Oregon and is set to earn an average of $1.7 million through the 2021 season. Big news for Ducks.
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Luke Kennard didn’t make the trip to Minnesota, Ty Lue says. He’s still rehabbing his hamstring.
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Clippers center Montrezl Harrell has cleared the NBA's 7-day quarantine process, source tells @latimessports, and he is with the team at shootaround this morning.
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Doc Rivers said everyone is good to play today, that includes Kawhi Leonard. After the game every Clipper that wants to will board a plane to San Diego to watch as Kawhi gets his jersey retired at SDSU.
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To leave the arena after home games, Jerry West had to pass by my press-row seat. Several times a season, he'd pause at my laptop with a knowing glance, then lean in and whisper his game recap. They were wry, blunt and burst-out-loud funny, often all three at once. One of a kind.
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I talked with Bill Fitch today. As the Clippers' coach in 1996, he ran Kobe through a predraft workout. He was floored by what he saw.
Then he told Kobe why he didn't think the Clippers were the right organization to draft him. latimes.com/sports/clippers/…
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Ty Lue said he'd kept Russell Westbrook out in the 4th and OT because he felt the team had caught a good rhythm and wanted to keep it rolling. He said he could have played Russ more.
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News: Kawhi Leonard is on the verge of returning, as the Clippers have *upgraded* Leonard’s status to questionable to play tonight vs. Detroit. Leonard has not played since Oct. 23 because of stiffness in his right knee.
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