Los Angeles Clippers

Los Angeles Clippers star Paul George may not have won a ring this year, but he had one waiting in the wings.

The small forward proposed to his girlfriend, Daniela Rajic, on Friday and announced the engagement on Instagram.

The two began dating in 2013 and have two children together.

It's a good thing George proposed in early November because his schedule will become a lot more hectic when the NBA returns. The National Basketball Players Association on Thursday approved a plan to begin the 2020-21 season December 22 with training camps likely opening December 1.

That means George and Co. will have gone just 78 days between falling to the Denver Nuggets in Game 7 of the Western Conference Semifinals and the start of practices.

For now, he can enjoy being engaged and relax with his family. Work is still a few weeks away.

The Los Angeles Clippers will be among the teams pursuing veteran point guard Rajon Rondo this offseason, according to the New York Times' Marc Stein.

The Athletic's Shams Charania reported Oct. 15 that Rondo plans to decline his $2.7 million player option for 2020-21 and that the reigning NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers would be looking to bring him back.

The Clippers already have Patrick Beverley and Landry Shamet under contract at the point for next season.

However, Stephen A. Smith reported Oct. 16 on First Take that Kawhi Leonard "privately has clamored" for the Clippers to add another point guard. Smith added how Beverley is considered too defensively minded to continue serving as the starting option for the position.

The additions of Leonard and Paul George didn't go as seamlessly as Los Angeles had hoped, but the team's postseason capitulation exposed how the roster isn't as deep as many people thought.

Beyond Leonard and George, the Clippers were lacking in scorers and playmakers. Leonard's 5.5 assists per game led the team in the playoffs, and Lou Williams (12.8) was the third-highest scorer behind Leonard (28.2) and George (20.2).

Rondo would fit the bill as a playmaker. Even in a more limited role with the Lakers, he averaged 5.0 assists to 1.9 turnovers during the regular season.

TrueHoop's Henry Abbott noted how signing him would serve dual purposes for the Clippers, too:

Of course, the 34-year-old will likely need a hard sell for why signing with the Clippers leaves him better off than staying with the Lakers.

Kenny Atkinson, Dan Craig and Larry Drew have committed to join Tyronn Lue's staff with the Los Angeles Clippers as assistants, according to the Los Angeles Times' Andrew Greif.

Their deals have reportedly yet to be finalized, however.

Craig has been an assistant for the Miami Heat since the 2016-17 season and coached the Sioux Falls Skyforce of the NBA G League in 2015-16. Drew was previously the head coach of the Atlanta Hawks and Milwaukee Bucks before working alongside Lue on the Cleveland Cavaliers' staff. Drew took over for Lue after the Cavs fired him in October 2018.

Atkinson, 53, spent the previous four seasons as the head coach of the Brooklyn Nets. He was hired in April 2016 as part of the team's ongoing rebuilding effort, eventually making major strides and making the playoffs in 2019. The team was the No. 7 seed in the Eastern Conference at the time of his firing.

General manager Sean Marks told reporters Atkinson's voice was not making as much of a difference in the locker room at the time of his firing. The Nets' signings of Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and DeAndre Jordan changed the dynamic in 2019-20, and Irving was the one often cited as the reason behind Atkinson's departure, though Marks denied that players were involved in the decision.

"Kenny and I had these pretty frank conversations. And it wasn't last night, 24 hours; there wasn't one game," Marks said. "This was a culmination of events over the course of the year. Kenny's brutally honest, and the humility he showed to admit 'My voice is not what it once was here. It's time.'

"This is a compromise that Kenny and I and ownership came up with; it was time. Kenny grinded and did everything he could, but it was time for another voice in that locker room, and it's our job to find it."

Atkinson's career record of 118-190 is bad on paper but undersells the impact he made in Brooklyn. Spencer Dinwiddie and Joe Harris went from G Leaguers barely hanging on to their NBA existence to bona fide, solid rotation pieces—and a near-2020 All-Star in Dinwiddie's case. Developmental projects like Caris LeVert and Jarrett Allen also began realizing their potential under Atkinson.

The Clippers would look to take advantage of Atkinson's developmental acumen, potentially as they try to refill their rotation after likely departures this offseason.

Former Brooklyn Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson is considered a "strong contender" to be an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Clippers under Tyronn Lue, according to Marc Stein of the New York Times.  

Per Stein, former head coach Larry Drew is also expected to join the staff while Miami Heat assistant Dan Craig is considered a "top target."

Lue was named the new head coach of the Clippers on Tuesday after serving as an assistant under Doc Rivers last season. Los Angeles made a coaching change following a disappointing second-round exit in the playoffs that included a blown 3-1 lead against the Denver Nuggets.

It now appears Lue, who led the Cleveland Cavaliers to an NBA title in 2015-16, is clearly looking to fill his staff with experienced coaches.

The Los Angeles Lakers took a similar approach over the past year with former head coaches Jason Kidd and Lionel Hollins working under Frank Vogel.

Atkinson spent four seasons coaching the Nets, taking a team that won 20 games in his first year to the playoffs in his third season. He was surprisingly fired in March after a 28-34 start to the 2019-20 campaign.

Though he was a candidate for other head coaching spots around the league, including getting support with the New York Knicks, it seems he will now take an assistant role.

Drew would also bring experience after serving as a head coach with the Atlanta Hawks, Milwaukee Bucks and Cavaliers. He was an assistant under Lue for three straight trips to the NBA finals and then took over for Lue after he was dismissed in 2018-19.

In parts of five seasons as a head coach, the 62-year-old has a 162-226 regular-season record.

Craig has risen through the Heat organization and has spent 17 years with the team, beginning as a video intern before spending the past four seasons as an assistant coach.

Kawhi Leonard won a championship when he was with the Toronto Raptors but lost in the second round of the playoffs with the Los Angeles Clippers.

Hall of Famer Shaquille O'Neal believes the Clippers should trade Paul George for multiple "good" role players so they can better emulate the situation Leonard had with the Raptors.

"You gotta use [George] to get two good solid players because I need Kawhi to be the man," O'Neal said on "The Big Podcast with Shaq" (h/t TMZ Sports). "See Kawhi, I don't want Kawhi to delegate. See, when Kawhi was with Toronto he knew he was the man. Everybody knew he was the man. Now you got one guy that thinks he's the man and one guy that is the man."

O'Neal won four championships during his legendary career, although it should be noted they came with fellow stars Kobe Bryant and Dwyane Wade and not just with solid role players.

The Clippers were the biggest disappointment in the league this season.

Despite having two stars in Leonard and George, a talented supporting cast featuring Lou Williams, Patrick Beverley, Montrezl Harrell and others, and an established head coach in Doc Rivers, they blew a 3-1 lead to the Denver Nuggets in the second round and failed to seal a showdown with the eventual champions Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference Finals. 

At least in O'Neal's eyes, trading George—who shot 4-of-16 with five turnovers in L.A.'s Game 7 loss to the Nuggets—will help correct that failure in 2020-21.

Ty Lue believes Kawhi Leonard and Paul George will remain with the Los Angeles Clippers for the foreseeable future despite each of their contracts expiring after the 2020-21 season. 

Speaking with ESPN's Rachel Nichols, the team's new head coach expressed confidence in the duo staying put as long as the Clippers continue to contend.  

"I think Kawhi and PG are here to stay for a long time," Lue said (starting at 3:15 mark). "I think in their situation and where they want to be is here with the Clippers. We've just got to make it a great environment, and we have to win."

Lue replaced Doc Rivers, who was fired after failing to advance past the second round of the playoffs in the first year of the Leonard/George era in L.A. 

The sense of urgency likely felt in Rivers' firing is understandable.

Ahead of the 2019-20 season, the only thing guaranteed was at least two years of Leonard and George. The club figured the opportunity to bust open a championship window—however small—and deal with the fallout later was worth the risk of acquiring the duo. 

The team signed Leonard to a three-year, $103.1 million contract, which includes an opt-out clause after the 2021 season. It then traded Shai-Gilgeous Alexander, Danilo Gallinari, five first-round picks and the rights to swap two other first-rounders for George, whose contract expires in 2022 but also includes a 2021 player option. 

L.A. finished 49-23 and grabbed the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference. It defeated the Dallas Mavericks in the first round, only to blow a 3-1 series lead to the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference Semifinals. 

Making matters worse, the Clippers' biggest rivals, the Los Angeles Lakers, earned their 17th NBA title. 

As much as the Lue believes his top two players will be around long term, it's part of his job to make sure they have a reason to stay put. 

Newly minted as the head coach of the Los Angeles Clippers, Tyronn Lue told ESPN's Rachel Nichols that he has "no regrets" about declining a head coaching job with the eventual champion Los Angeles Lakers in 2019.

"No regrets," he said (starting at the 2:08 mark). "It's part of the business. Of course I'm happy for LeBron; that's my guy. But I have no regrets. I think the decision I made was great." 

Lue, who was fired by the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2018 after an 0-6 start to his fourth season with the team, was offered the head coaching job with the Lakers before talks between the sides "abruptly collapsed," according to the New York Times' Marc Stein. 

Stein reported that the Lakers offered Lue a three-year contract worth $20 million, but the two-time NBA champion as a player wanted a long-term deal since he had also led Cleveland to a title in 2016. Stein also added that the team wanted to approve Lue's assistant coaches, which was "among the factors leading to the breakdown." 

Frank Vogel was hired to coach the Lakers in May 2019. Lue accepted an assistant role with the Clippers last October. The 43-year-old accepted the head coaching position Tuesday, signing a five-year deal. 

"I'm very happy with my decision, so I have no regrets," Lue said. "Everything I do in life is for a reason. I pray about it, my mom prays about it and then we just kind of go from there. This situation is great for me." 

Lue was not fazed by the expectations that come with his new gig, even though stars Kawhi Leonard and Paul George can opt out of their contracts following the 2020-21 season. 

"If you don't have pressure, that means you're not in a situation where you can win a championship," Lue told Nichols. "So I welcome that pressure, because I want to win." 

Los Angeles Clippers chairman Steve Ballmer is excited about his team's future under new head coach Tyronn Lue.

"We had to get the best of the best. The best of the best is Ty Lue," Ballmer said Wednesday, per Mark Medina of USA Today.

Lue spent the past year as an assistant for the Clippers under head coach Doc Rivers, whom the team fired after a disappointing second-round exit. Los Angeles was up 3-1 on the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference Semifinals but lost three straight games and was eliminated.

The Clippers have made the playoffs in eight of the last nine years but haven't reached the conference finals.

Ballmer clearly has more faith in Lue, who led LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers to the NBA Finals in three straight seasons from 2016 to 2018. Lue also helped the team win a championship in 2016 during his first season as a head coach.

His experience and familiarity with his players could be enough to get the team over the top in 2020-21.

Newly hired Los Angeles Clippers head coach Ty Lue said Wednesday that he will consult with the team's medical staff when it comes to determining how to handle Kawhi Leonard next season.

When asked if he plans to utilize "load management" with Kawhi, Lue said, "It's something I'll have to talk to the medical staff and performance team," per Mark Medina of USA Today.

After missing all but nine games in 2017-18 as a member of the San Antonio Spurs due to a quad injury, Leonard had his playing time closely monitored in 2018-19 with the Toronto Raptors and again last season as a member of the Clippers.

Load management is a strategy that has proven fruitful for Leonard, especially when he led the Raptors to a championship two seasons ago.

Kawhi played just 60 of the 82 regular-season games in 2018-19, but he still averaged 26.6 points, 7.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game, plus the Raptors ended up with the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference, just two games behind the Milwaukee Bucks.

Leonard elevated his game to another level during the playoffs with 30.5 points, 9.1 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game en route to winning the NBA Finals MVP award.

The load-management situation was different last season since the campaign was interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Still, Leonard sat out 15 of the Clippers' 72 regular-season games and averaged just 32.4 minutes per game, his lowest average playing time in a full season since 2014-15.

Leonard averaged 27.1 points, 7.1 rebounds and 4.9 assists per game during the regular season, but upped it to 28.2 points, 9.3 rebounds and 5.5 assists per contest during the playoffs.

The Clippers were upset by the Denver Nuggets in the second round of the playoffs in seven games, but Kawhi's play was far from the culprit for their elimination.

Just like the Raptors in 2018-19, the Clippers secured the No. 2 seed in their conference last season even with Kawhi sitting out periodically.

The load-management method appears tried and true when it comes to Leonard, so it is difficult to envision Lue straying too far from it, although it sounds like the Clippers' medical staff will have a big hand in determining how often Leonard plays next season.

Los Angeles Clippers owner Steve Ballmer explained why it was necessary for the team to move on from Doc Rivers after the early postseason exit. 

"I don't think we played our best basketball most of the time we were in the bubble. The way we ended our season really disappointed me," Ballmer said Wednesday, per Mark Medina of USA Today. "My personality is all about winning."

The Clippers were eliminated in the second round of the playoffs after blowing a 3-1 lead against the Denver Nuggets.

Rivers was fired after the season and was replaced by Tyronn Lue, who was an assistant for the team during the 2019-20 campaign.

Lue had previously won a championship with the Cleveland Cavaliers, reaching the NBA finals in three straight seasons.

Ballmer will hope Lue's experience and a change in approach will be enough for the Clippers to meet expectations in 2020-21.

Los Angeles was considered one of the favorites to win the NBA title this season after adding Paul George and reigning NBA finals MVP Kawhi Leonard last summer. The team was up and down during the regular season but still managed to secure the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference.

However, things didn't click in the postseason, when the Clippers needed six games to get by Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks in the first round before falling to the Nuggets in the conference semifinals.

There are still high expectations going into next year, and the Clippers franchise will be looking to reach its first conference finals while Leonard and George are on the same page.