Jamal Crawford
On his level of anticipation for the season and his expectations:
“I think that once the summer is over with the first practice it’s like the first day of school you just can’t sleep the night before because you’re excited. For us it’s setting the tone from day one. The Clippers this summer showed that they were serious and that they wanted to be a championship contender. So, they got a coach with a championship pedigree. Doc is one of the best coaches out there. He has been one of the best coaches out there for the past few years so with him at the helm we are going to be in good shape.
On this year’s team vs. last year’s team:
“It’s kind of early because we haven’t started actual practice, but it feels good. It definitely feels right. I think I’ll be able to answer that question a lot better once the season progresses and once it starts rolling.”
On his role this season:
“Honestly, I don’t think my role will change much. At this point, I’m 14 years in. You kind of know what you’re going to get. I’m willing to do anything and accept anything that’s thrown at me. But I talked to Doc and pretty much I’ll have the exact same role moving forward. I kind of carved out a niche in that respect, in that regard. For me it’s just about how I can help my teammates, and how I can compete better than I was last year. I feel better, honestly, so I think this year will be better personally than it was last year.”
On his offseason training:
“I played two-on-two full court to 250. … Even working on defense.”
On his connection with Matt Barnes:
“I think Matt is the unsung hero on our team. He does a little bit of everything – he guards the best players, he hits 3-pointers, he gets out in the lane and creates opportunities, he’s always cutting backdoor and he’s a great teammate. He’s somebody you want to go to war with. I was huge in trying to get him back here. … He never wanted to leave in the first place. I think he’ll be even better than he was last year as well.
• Stated he’s played with really good guards – C.P., Stephon Marbury, Mike Bibby.
Darren Collison
On coming back to play in his hometown of Los Angeles:
“This is so surreal. I can’t believe it to this day. When I first signed here I didn’t want to look at that. My first goal was really just to come to the Clippers and really just try to help this team win. All that other stuff is going to come. It’s good to have family and friends here next to you, but at the same time I’ve got a job to do.”
On last season and his role as a backup point guard after mostly starting the last three seasons:
“It was kind of difficult in a sense where I had a chance to play for a team and try to start, but that was only going to be in a rebuilding situation. Very rarely do I get a chance to look at the teams that I was looking at in free agency and say, ‘Ok, this team has a chance to be a contender for a championship.’ If I have to sacrifice my role as a starter and give up some of my aspirations and my dreams just to win a championship, I’ll do that. I think that’s part of sacrifice. I think that’s a part of being on a good team and helping the team win. I’m all up for that. It wasn’t easy, but at the same time if that’s what it’s going to take to win a championship, then I’m all up for it.”
On playing alongside Paul:
“Like I said, the first thing Doc said to me was that I was a good complement to C.P., which is true. C.P. does a lot on the ball. Sometimes it’s going to take another guard to guard these point guards. We all know it’s a guard-oriented league, and all these point guards are very good and talented. But if we have another guard out there to help C.P. with the defensive end, it’s going to be a good complement to him and he can still do what he needs to do on the offensive end.”
Matt Barnes
On DeAndre Jordan’s role:
“Last year, me personally, I thought we were a much better team with DeAndre on the court in the fourth quarter. That’s something that I stressed to him all summer – he needs to continue to work on his free throws and be someone we can throw ball to at the end of the games, so he can stay on the floor and affect the game on the defensive end.
On being a part of the Clippers’ turnaround:
“It is exciting for me because I was here my rookie year almost 11 years ago and we were the doormat of the NBA, and didn’t win too many games, and were kind of looked at as the little brother and kind of got a bad rap. So, to see the organization come full circle and see my career come full circle, and to say the Clippers have a chance to win a championship, is an amazing thing to say. And I’m glad I’ve got a chance to be a part of that.”
On Doc’s championship pedigree changing the Clippers:
“It’s definitely a mindset. I love the first things he said we need to shore up is our defense and our transition because that’s all effort. We have the most athletic team in the world, and for us to be weak in [defending] transition and weak on [3-point] defense is just effort. And I think Doc will get that out of everybody.”
On Willie Green’s sacrifice last season:
“I learned a lot from Willie last year. For someone who came in and played great when Chauncey was out, went through a spell where he didn’t play and didn’t know he was going to play, and then he got back in and played well again. But never at any time during the season did you ever hear him complain or try to form a clique with guys that weren’t playing. I think that’s what makes this team special – we’re all very open. He talked about his frustrations, which is regular, but he never made it a problem. I think that’s what made us so close as a unit and special as a team.”
On his excitement level with Doc Rivers onboard:
“We really have a veteran team. I’m one of the older guys in the locker room now. That’s one of my children right there – 7-foot, No. 6, DeAndre Jordan. He’s one of my other sons.”
• Barnes said the Grizzlies loss came up 8 out of 10 times in conversations he had this summer. Still bitter about the loss. Called it “a slap in the face.”
• Barnes said he a lot of good years left in tank, and credits Vinny Del Negro for giving him the opportunity to play a lot and showcase his talent.
• Barnes worked on his 3-point and free throw shooting this offseason.
• Barnes said he doesn’t care about starting or coming off the bench, but he wants to close games (i.e. “play the last three or four minutes”).
• Barnes said this is the most excited he is to start a season because these Clippers have the highest preseason expectations of any team he’s been on.
• Barnes said anything less than a championship this season is a failure.
Willie Green
On his offseason approach:
“Each of us after the season, I’m sure we go home and evaluate how we played the previous year. You come in and just start early working hard. Really, in every aspect of your game, whether it’s the small fundamentals, free throw shooting, left-hand, right-hand layups, you know coming back a better basketball player, both mentally and physically, is going to help your team. And that’s what we all want to do in the offseason.”
On his inconsistent role last season:
“It takes a lot of patience, but everything is a learning experience. It was a great opportunity last season to come in and contribute wherever that was. If it was coming off the bench cheering for guys, sometimes it was starting, I think that’s what makes a team special – you really play for the front name on your jersey, not the back name.”
J.J. Redick
On expectations adjusting your preparation for games/season:
“The biggest thing is to start building habits and start preparing and having the same approach everyday, so that when the playoffs come you’re not trying to change who you are.”
On coming into a new situation:
“I’m going to speak for myself, and kind of both these guys too, I think for us, our goal is to complement the core. I think all of us have a skillset and a personality that fits in. There’s not going to be any stepping on toes or anything, with me at least. I’m a complimentary piece to what they already have.”
On the city of Los Angeles:
“I don’t know if you can really complain about the lifestyle here. I’m married and my wife is obviously very excited to be moving to Los Angeles over a cold Midwestern city. I will say that I’m glad that I came to the Clippers, and Los Angeles, as a 29-year-old married man, and not at 22.”
On the new “Pride” light blue short-sleeved jerseys:
“I don’t think they look good on white people. I’m being honest. And I get paler as the season goes on, so I’m worried if we have a January or February game in these uniforms, I’ll just going to be a washout on T.V.”
• Redick said the main reason he’s in L.A. is Doc Rivers, and that he’s wanted to play for him for a number of years.
Jared Dudley
On expectations adjusting your preparation for games/season:
“I will always have the same approach. You try to do what got you here. So for me, as a player, it’s doing the little things, being the hustle guy, not trying to do too much. If you can keep it basic, then I find you get success.”
On coming into a new situation:
“We know what our role is [and what we’re] here to do: Space the floor and knock down shots. We’re so clogged with Blake and DeAndre, and that’s what we’re here to do. That and play smart basketball.”
On transitioning to L.A.:
“I think the biggest thing for me is that traffic.”
On how powerful chemistry is for a team:
“It’s good to have a locker room of people that like each other. It makes it a lot easier just because in basketball you’re going to have sacrifice; you have to be able to give up for one of your teammates. … It’s a lot easier on the court when you’re friends off the court.”
On the new jerseys:
“It’s a little tight for shooters.”
Byron Mullens
On team expectations:
“I was on a team in Charlotte and basically everybody knows about that.”
On his role late in games:
“My role is going to be a big role. I know there’s some things I have got to work on on the defensive side, but I’m a big that can spread the floor. I think that’s really going to help this team a lot. So I’m going to do all I can and then we’ll see what happens.”
• Byron and Deandre went to a fair over the summer. He didn’t eat any food and only went on one ride.
Reggie Bullock
On earning minutes as a rookie:
“I’m definitely ready for the challenge. I’m willing do anything I need to do to get minutes on the floor. Coach [Rivers] knows what I’m able to do, shoot the ball and defend. I’m ready to just do that in training camp. And just try to work my way into earning minutes for this team.”
On the difference between the NBA game and college game:
“When I came here I saw that it was a lot of small basic cuts, how you use a screen, how you defend a screen. The game slowed down a lot, but people were definitely a lot smarter than they are in college. At the same time, it’s a slow-paced game, but they score the ball really quick.”
Antawn Jamison:
On facing the Lakers again:
“It’s not that difficult. I’ve been facing the Lakers for going on 15 years now. One year I was in that locker room and I had the opportunity to see what it was like to be a Laker. And now I go back to my mind frame of what it was the last 14 years to try to beat them.”
On the Clippers-Lakers rivalry:
“Now I’m a Clipper, so I can say this, and I think a lot of these guys feel the same way: Until we put a banner up in Staples Center, they’re going to always use that, ‘How many banners do they have up in the arena?’ Until that happens, then I think it becomes a rivalry. … We have bigger fish to fry.”
On his excitement level this season:
“This is the most talented team I’ve been apart of. I think this team has the most chemistry of any team I’ve been apart of. The thing I like about it, no one’s worried about contracts, no ones thinking about All-Star appearances. I like that this team is coming in with a certain chip on their shoulder — frustration as far as the way the season ended last year. The most important thing is that we know we have to take the next level. Not only take the level, but believe that. … Until you actually believe it, then you’re really taking a step in the direction.”
On what Doc wants from him:
“Doc pretty much just wanted me to be myself. He said, ‘Defensively, I’m not going to leave you out on an island. We’ve got terminologies, strategies that we do as a team. If you do those things, everything will work out. Offensively, I’m not asking you to come in and play this amount of minutes.’ … He said, ‘I just want you to be what you have done the last 15 years.’ … Just to come in and be myself was the most attractive thing for me.”
• Jamison implied he ended up with the Clippers because a situation with another player – i.e. Lamar Odom – didn’t work out. He wanted to play for the Clippers a while before he officially signed with them.
