Clippers Basketball | Love The Game

[SuperNova854]

Thanks, hopefully more updates soon.

[SuperNova854]

Clippers waive rights to vet Jason Williams



Jason Williams' comeback from a one-year retirement will move a step closer to reality Friday after the Los Angeles Clippers formally waived their exclusive rights to negotiate with him, according to NBA front-office sources.

Following the standard seven-day offseason wait to clear waivers, Williams will then become a free agent, joining Jamaal Tinsley -- who was bought out Wednesday by the Indiana Pacers -- as a late but proven addition to the summer market for point guards.

The Clippers, sources said, had a Thursday deadline from the league office to exercise their exclusive rights to re-sign Williams after the 33-year signed a one-year deal with them last August, only to decide in September to place himself on the league's voluntarily retired list to spend more time with his family.

Sources told ESPN.com that the Clippers -- who last week traded for Sebastian Telfair and have made well-publicized overtures in free agency to Ramon Sessions and Allen Iverson -- have decided not to extend a new offer to Williams.

In February, Williams' request to be immediately reinstated by the NBA was denied by a vote of 24 teams to six. League bylaws state that players wishing to return from the official Voluntarily Retired List need unanimous approval from all 30 teams to avoid a one-year mandatory waiting period.

Williams becomes eligible to play in exhibition, regular-season and playoff games on the one-year anniversary of his official retirement, which is Sept. 26. But he will be free to sign with any of the other 29 teams as soon as he clears waivers. In the unlikely event that he is claimed on waivers -- since Williams is not currently under contract -- the claiming team would acquire the exclusive rights to negotiate with him that the Clippers have relinquished.

Back in February, agent Dan Tobin told ESPN.com that the 10-year veteran was determined to come back in spite of the ruling that prevented Williams from latching on with a contender late last season.

"We anticipated this decision," Tobin said then. "So did Jason. But we look forward to seeing Jason back in the NBA in the 2009-10 season.

"One of the reasons we applied for reinstatement now was that we'd like to try to accelerate the process of him coming back."

The six teams that voted against letting Williams return last season were Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, Minnesota, San Antonio and the Clippers themselves. One suggested motivation for teams blocking Williams' return was an assumption that he would have quickly parted ways with L.A. after reinstatement and signed with a playoff contender for this season's stretch run.

After signing a one-year deal with the Clippers in August, Williams abruptly changed his mind in September, informing the team that he was prepared to forfeit his contract and promptly filed retirement papers with the league.

In 679 regular-season games, Williams averaged 11.4 points, 6.3 assists and 2.4 rebounds while playing for Sacramento, Memphis and Miami. He has appeared in 53 playoff games, averaging 9.8 points, 3.7 assists and 2.2 rebounds and helping the Heat win its first and only championship in 2006.

He was drafted by Sacramento in 1998 following his junior year at the University of Florida and was named to the 1999 NBA All-Rookie Team after averaging 12.8 points and 6.0 assists, quickly becoming one of the most popular players in the Kings' Sacramento history in tandem with Chris Webber.

Williams was dealt to Memphis in a trade featuring Mike Bibby before the 2001-02 season and over the next four seasons became the Grizzlies' career leader in assists and 3-point attempts. He joined the Heat before the 2005-06 season as part of a trade by team president Pat Riley which drew considerable criticism initially, before Williams and Antoine Walker helped Shaquille O'Neal, Dwyane Wade and Riley win a championship in the newcomers' first season in Miami.

Williams' request to be reinstated has been described as unchartered territory because a player walking away from an active contract is so uncommon.

"My wife was pregnant at the time and it wasn't going too smoothly," Williams said in June of his sudden retirement in an interview with the Charleston Daily Mail in his native West Virginia. "I just thought it was the right decision for my family.

"I'm just so blessed to have three healthy kids. It was tough [last season] because I missed playing, but I was glad to be home with my family."

Williams also told the newspaper that he would "like to play two or three more years" but insisted that "if it doesn't happen, trust me, I won't lose any sleep."

By Marc Stein, ESPN.com

[SuperNova854]

Clippers Introduce New Players



Telfair acknowledged being frustrated at being on his fourth team in six years but said he thinks he can fit in by providing a leadership role as Baron Davis' backup. "I can bring leadership in the locker room," said Telfair, 24, who averaged a career-best 9.8 points and 4.6 assists with the Timberwolves last season.

Meanwhile, Smith, 25, the Inglewood native and former Fairfax High star, said he has received more than 150 text messages and phone calls from friends and family asking for tickets since the Clippers trade.

"I know how to use my body to be able to score pretty much quicker than a lot of the bigger guys," said Smith, a 6-7, 250-pound forward who averaged 10.1 points per game in about 20 minutes per game for Minnesota last season.

And there was Madsen, whose limited role in his nine-year career didn't stop fans from remembering him for his victory dance and speech at the Lakers' championship parades.

"I actually need to get a professional dance consultant if that does happen this season," Madsen said. "I'm excited to hopefully make the playoffs this year."

[SuperNova854]

PRELIMINARY AUDITION: SATURDAY, JULY 25TH

TIME:
Registration and warm-up: 8:00 am - 9:00 am
Audition begins promptly at 9:00 am

LOCATION:
Spectrum Club
2250 Park Place
El Segundo, CA 90245
(310) 643-6878

DIRECTIONS:
From the Orange County or West LA areas, take the 405 north or south (heading toward the LAX area). Exit on Rosecrans Avenue and head west. Turn right onto Douglas Street. Turn left onto Park Place.

WHAT TO EXPECT:
When you arrive, proceed to the registration area for check-in. There will be one area for pre-registered applicants and one area for walk-ups. Upon registration, you will be given an audition number. Please warm-up while waiting for the audition to begin.

* Download the Registration Form (.pdf)
* Download the Audition Waiver (.pdf)

A choreographer will teach two short dance combinations (jazz and hip hop) for each phase of the audition. You will be required to learn and perform the routine in groups of three in front of a panel of judges. A cut will be made after each segment. At the end of the audition, approximately 40 applicants will be selected to continue through the finals. Finalists will be selected based on their dance ability, showmanship and crowd appeal.

REQUIRED ATTIRE:
# A two-piece outfit (top and briefs) and flesh colored hosiery are mandatory. This helps to standardize and minimize the possibility of an unfair advantage based on individual attire.
# Jazz, dance shoes or athletic shoes (minimal tread and non-marking soles) are also mandatory.
# Warm-ups or cargo pants and athletic shoes for the Hip Hop Round.
# You should wear your hair down.

FINALISTS:
Finalists selected on July 25th will need to be available for an interview at the Clippers offices in STAPLES Center on Monday, July 27th during business hours, and a final dance audition on the evening of Tuesday, July 28th. Exact times and location to be announced. If you are not able to participate in any of these segments, you will not be considered for membership on the Clippers Spirit Dance Team.

REQUIREMENTS:
# All women must be at least 18 years of age by the date of the audition.
# All dancers must have flexible evening schedules for rehearsals, games and appearances starting in August. Rehearsals will be Sunday afternoons and Monday evenings. A total commitment is required to the Los Angeles Clippers and Spirit Dance Team.

MANDATORY DATES:
Clippers Spirit Training Camp:
# Friday, August 7th - Sunday, August 9th

TO ENSURE A PROFESSIONAL AND RELAXED ATMOSPHERE FOR ALL PARTICIPANTS, THE AUDITION WILL BE CLOSED.

SO IF ANY OF YOU GUYS WANT TO BE CLIPPER DANCERS JUST GO TO THE AUDITION TODAY!

[James2Stapleton]

lulz mark madsen

[Miami Flash15]

I made the team!!!!!

[SuperNova854]

Oh your cool

[Lupe]

*comment for nova*

[SuperNova854]

Sessions Worried About Competition In L.A.



The Clippers remain interested in Ramon Sessions, but the point guard's camp is rumored to be worried about competition on the roster.

According to HoopsWorld, Sessions is fine with Baron Davis, but doesn't want to share the court, and playing time, with both Davis and Sebastian Telfair.

Los Angeles may have to move Telfair, who they recently landed in a trade with Minnesota, if they want sign Sessions.

However, sources out of Milwaukee claim that the Bucks will strongly consider matching any offer that the restricted free agent receives.

[SuperNova854]

Yes lets

[SuperNova854]

STAPLES Center to Host Historic Exhibition Game Between Clippers and Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv



Hoping to repeat one of the most successful basketball exhibitions in the history of New York, the Los Angeles Clippers today announced a STAPLES Center preseason game between the Clippers and Israel’s most famous professional basketball team, Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv.

The game, which will be played on October 20th, will benefit Migdal Ohr, the world’s largest orphanage in Northern Israel and home to nearly 7,000 orphaned, impoverished, underprivileged and new immigrant children.

Maccabi Tel Aviv last appeared in America in 2007, when 18,000 New Yorkers came together at Madison Square Garden to watch the Israeli team play an exhibition game against the hometown New York Knicks. That game turned out to be the most successful exhibition basketball game in the history of the Garden.

STAPLES Center and the Clippers believe a similar success will happen this year in the City of Angels.

In 2005, Maccabi became the first international team to win on North American soil when they defeated the Toronto Raptors at Air Canada Centre.

Mike Dunleavy, General Manager and Head Coach of the Clippers said, “It’s an honor for the city, our franchise and team to be able to help raise funds for such an amazing place like Migdal Ohr. NBA Basketball is beloved throughout the world, particularly by children, so it’s only fitting that the Clippers would do their part to help this at-risk group of kids.”

“We deeply appreciate the involvement of the Los Angles Clippers and STAPLES Center in a cause that doesn’t get a lot of attention but is so incredibly important,” said The Honorable Jacob Dayan, Consul General of Israel for Los Angeles. “We all know that children are the world’s most valuable resource in whatever part of the world they are located.”

The American Friends of Migdal Ohr’s Executive Vice President Robert Katz said, “After the huge success of our exhibition in Madison Square Garden last season, in which the entire city of New York rallied around the Migdal Ohr children’s cause, we had a feeling that Los Angeles would have the same sort of enthusiasm.”

Israeli Prince Laureate Rabbi Y.D. Grossman founded Migdal Ohr in 1972 with 18 children in a small one-story building in Northern Israel. Today Migdal Ohr is roughly the size of the UCLA campus, where each day thousands of children from all over the world are fed, clothed, housed, educated and nurtured on to productive lives. Migdal Ohr runs a network of schools, providing academic and vocational studies while integrating new immigrant children into Israeli society through specialized curricula and after-school programs.
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sz2rK7py3XI"]YouTube - Migdal Ohr Basketball 2009: Knicks, Clippers & Maccabi[/ame]

[SuperNova854]

[SuperNova854]

Where would Sessions fit?



The Clippers rumored interest in Milwaukee restricted free agent Ramon Sessions is real. The urgency of signing the former D-Leaguer has dimmed a bit after last weeks' trade for Sebastian Telfair.

The Clippers felt strongly they needed a veteran point guard to back up Baron Davis. Last year they hoped Jason Hart could play that role, but that clearly didn't work out. Hart ended the season on the Nuggets bench.

Second-year man Mike Taylor was pressed into early duty and was showing signs of improvement before a thumb injury cost him two months of the season. The Clippers are still high on him, but don't want to rush his development by forcing him into the primary back-up role.

The team still likes Sessions, but bought itself some serious leverage by acquiring Telfair.

Telfair is a proven commodity in the league and the Clippers feel fine with him as their No. 2 PG. His contract is also very tradeable. It doesn't hurt that he's young with room to grow.

So what would happen if Clippers signed Sessions? Would they carry four PGs? For now the team is taking a ``cross-those-bridges-when-they-come-to-them'' attitude.

I was also told not to go too far down line with these hypothetical questions as negotiations with Sessions aren't past ``50-yard-line'' yet.

Also: Sessions is hardly the only backcourt player Clippers have contacted this offseason. One source said the team has put feelers out to just about every combo-guard on the market.

One other housekeeping note: The Clippers still have a qualifying offer out to restricted free agent sharp-shooter Steve Novak.

By Ramona Shelburne, Inside The Clippers

[SuperNova854]

Its a Sergei

[SuperNova854]

Hopefully i have an update today