Clippers Lawrence Frank on why team brought in Westbrook Kevin Durant reportedly targeting March 1 for Suns debut Report: Hawks moving quickly, in talks to hire Quin Snyder as coach Five storylines to watch down stretch of NBA season Report: Hawks considering Ime Udoka in coach search; GM mentions Snyder

The team rarely makes big additions to the buyout market and their chances of winning the championship are higher, but that’s exactly what happened when the Clippers added Russell Westbrook.

Westbrook has skills that the Clippers could use – he picks up the pace as a point guard, he can find open shots, and he can still penetrate and get to the rim against just about any defender – but the disadvantages are his lack of shooting from the side, defense, and the fact that he needed the ball in his hands to be effective didn’t seem natural to his new Los Angeles team. Just like they didn’t with his old LA team.

Why did the Clippers invite Westbrook? That’s what This was announced at a press conference by the head of the basketball department of the Clippers, Lawrence Frank. Introducing Westbrook:

“Russ is one of the most explosive and intense opponents in the league and we think the many strengths he has will complement and really help our team…” Frank said.

“Russ’ strengths in terms of strength, intensity, rim pressure, ability to go down, just his overall style of play and who he is, we felt those strengths could also help our team.”

The Clippers are not the first team to introduce these strengths, as Westbrook is disciplined in his system and foresees a strong recruit. But Westbrook doesn’t always hit the box – for every punch that breaks the defense, there’s a long bridging when the defense leaves him wide open for some reason.

Frank and other Clippers executives talked about wanting “Russ to be Russ,” which the Lakers said verbatim. For Darwin Ham and the Lakers, which meant ultimately moving him to sixth man and pretty much staggering his minutes with LeBron James. There was talk that the Clippers would release Westbrook and move to another club. Terence Mann to the bench, but that decision ultimately belongs to Tyrone Liu, and the Clippers informed Westbrook that it was all decided.

“We had a frank and honest dialogue,” Frank said. “Not only inside, but with Russ and his agent Jeff Schwartz. I thought it was a very, very clean process where we discussed a lot of different possibilities to make sure it could be a really good relationship.”

Unlike the Lakers, who needed Westbrook to play at a high level to pose a threat, the Clippers don’t — they’re in fourth place and have won 10 of their last 14 without him. They can put him on the bench or refuse him with little repercussions.

However, that’s not why they took him – the whole Clippers locker room wanted this move. It wasn’t just Paul George The fact is that it was the decision of the Clippers team. We’ll see if that makes them better in the coming weeks.

But the betting public is skeptical.

Kevin Duran out of action since Jan. 9 due to the MCL stretch, but something has changed in his world while he’s been on the sidelines – his home address and the team he plays for are now in Phoenix.

Durant plans to make his debut for the Suns on March 1. reports Shams Charania and Sam Amik of The Athletic.

Kevin Durant and the Phoenix Suns are targeting his Suns debut and will return to action next Wednesday against the Charlotte Hornets, league sources say. @TheAthletic @Stadium. Durant is close to making a comeback from the MCL strain he received on Jan. 8.

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 22, 2023

Duran was injured last month when Jimmy Butler hit Durant in the foot.

The Nets report that Kevin Durant was out for the rest of the Nets-Heat due to a right knee injury after Jimmy Butler fell to his knee during that game.

Prayers to KD 🙏 pic.twitter.com/v0PPP9Hfe1

— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) January 9, 2023

By adding Durant, the Suns have shifted the balance of power in the West—they are now rivals. A contender with questions about protection and the willingness of all involved to make sacrifices and make it work, but a contender nonetheless because of Durant. This season, he played at the MVP level, averaging 30 points per game with 67.5 percent shooting, and adding 6.8 rebounds and 5.4 assists per night. Put it next to Devin Booker, Chris Paul And Deandre Ayton and you have a rival.

A coach can do so much to change the fortunes of a team in nearly 60 games of an NBA season, the system is in place, and there is very little practice time to add new wrinkles.

That hasn’t stopped the Hawks’ new front office, which is quickly hiring Quin Snyder – a former jazz coach who is a free agent – as head coach. reports Shams Charania of The Athletic.

Sources say Hawks and Snyder had a virtual meeting on Wednesday. The sources added that Snyder was out of the country as of Wednesday and the parties are working on a possible face-to-face meeting in the very near future.

Sources say there is mutual interest between the Hawks and Snyder. With 29-30 and eighth in the Eastern Conference standings, the Hawks believe it’s time to move quickly to their coach of the future if possible and believe in Snyder’s ability to improve their culture on and off the court.

Snyder has been at the top of the Hawks’ roster ever since they fired Nate McMillan and he’s great for an attacking mind. Snyder created a strong team culture in Utah that led the Jazz to the best record in the league, even if it didn’t translate into the expected level of postseason success. Cynder in Utah had a ball-dominant quarterback. Donovan Mitchell and convinced him to buy a system with more players and ball movement (the Jazz had a lot of good shooters on the roster, the Hawks need to add more players). It will take time, but Snyder will not run simple, easy-to-read pick-and-rolls with arrows on an arc. Will dominate the ball from time to time Trae Young fit into this system? Snyder also built the best defense in Utah, relying on elite defense skills under the rim. Rudy Gobertbut can he do it with Clint Capela And John Collins?

None of this happens instantly – hire Snyder now and it’s still a multi-year process to change the roster and get the players to understand and accept the system. However, the Hawks seem to want to start right now.

If the Snider deal isn’t completed quickly, the Hawks are expected to talk to Warriors assistant Kenny Atkinson, Bucks assistant Charles Lee and former Celtics coach Ime Udoka.