Clippers to hold NBA fall training camp in Las Vegas
The changes keep coming for the Los Angeles Clippers.
The team, which was sold by the wife of longtime owner Donald Sterling to Seattle billionaire Steve Ballmer last month, has announced it will have its NBA fall training camp for the first time in Las Vegas. The Clippers will work out at UNLV’s Mendenhall Center practice facility from Sept. 30 to Oct. 4. All practices will be closed to the public.
“Getting away for training camp offers our team a unique opportunity to bond and focus solely on basketball as we prepare for the season,” said Doc Rivers, the Clippers’ president of basketball operations and coach, in a statement. “UNLV has first-class facilities, and we are excited about starting the season in Las Vegas.”
The Clippers will return Oct. 18, when they face the Denver Nuggets in an NBA preseason game at Mandalay Bay Events Center. This will be the third consecutive year the Clippers have played a game at Mandalay Bay. The hotel-casino is a corporate sponsor of the team.
The Clippers won the Pacific Division last season with a 57-25 record. They were eliminated by Oklahoma City in six games in the Western Conference semifinals.
But it was a tumultuous postseason for the organization after Sterling’s racist rants were exposed in the media initially by TMZSports.com during the first round of the playoffs against Golden State, which led to the NBA banning him for life and forcing the sale of the team.
Sterling’s wife, Shelly, facilitated the sale to Ballmer, who paid a record $2 billion for the franchise.
Rivers recently signed a contract extension to remain as the team’s coach and serve as president. He will have a veteran team training in Las Vegas, led by perennial all-star guard Chris Paul and star forward Blake Griffin. The roster includes veterans DeAndre Jordan, Jamal Crawford, Jordan Farmar, J.J. Reddick, Spencer Hawes, Glen Davis and Chris Douglas-Roberts.
Rookie guard C.J. Wilcox, the team’s 2014 first-round draft pick at No. 28 overall, is also on the training camp roster. Wilcox did not participate in the NBA Summer League in July because of a right shoulder injury.
The training camp roster, which is still being completed, is expected to have 16 or 17 players participating in Las Vegas.
Contact reporter Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913. Follow him on Twitter: @stevecarprj.
