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The LA Clippers' decision to overhaul their roster this offseason and go another direction from the core trio of Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, and DeAndre Jordan was one met with much surprise around the league. Many expected the team to offer both Griffin and Paul the respective five-year, max offers in hopes of making another run at an NBA Championship.
The addition of NBA legend Jerry West as consultant to the organization seemed to change things, however, as the Clippers opted to trade Paul to the Houston Rockets and move ahead with signing Griffin. That move just before the start of free agency ignited an offseason that saw the Clippers lose nine players from last year's roster and finish with nine new as well as younger players.
On Bill Simmons' podcast, Golden State Warriors' star Kevin Durant spoke about being in favor of the Clippers' moves this offseason to move forward without Chris Paul, saying the team ‘needed some new energy.' He also spoke about the addition of forward Danilo Gallinari as well as the rise of guard Austin Rivers.
Kevin Durant: You got two good point guards. You got a starting point guard and your backup, and then you got irrationally confident Austin Rivers who can go off and get you 30.
Bill Simmons: He’s got some Dion Waiters DNA in him.
Durant: Oh, him and Dion Waiters are on the same island.
Simmons: Yeah.
Durant: Or right next door to each other. He’s got a —
Simmons: He’s got a canal. He’s got a little canal that leads into Waiters island.
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Durant: A channel.
Simmons: A channel.
Durant: He got a channel. He’s confident so they should be good. Blake, now he’s a man.
Kleiman: [Danilo] Gallinari.
Durant: Gallinari. Now Blake’s the man, so.
Simmons: My issue with all the moves they made: I like the team on paper, but those guys have to stay on the court. Gallinari is great but he misses … durability. I think durability is an underrated NBA skill. Gotta stay on the court.
Durant: No more four in five nights … the schedule is stretched out longer. So, let’s be optimistic about injuries this year too, all right?
Simmons: I’m hoping!
Durant: Gallinari and Blake Griffin are going to have healthy seasons.
As a starter for 29 games, Rivers averaged 16.1 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 3.8 assists on 45.8 percent shooting from the field and 42 percent from beyond the arc. Rivers hasn't had much of a chance to make a big impact on a team, but he'll certainly have his opportunity to do so this year. As for Gallinari and Griffin, both have a lot to prove coming off of injuries and into a new-look team.
