#SLOE: People's Basketball Sim League

Los Angeles Clippers

News Release

LOS ANGELES

[ The 2nd year General Manager, Roberto Abitua, walks out onto the stage, clad in a black suit and tie, shoulder length dark brown hair pulled back into a pony tail.  He flashes a brief smile as he slides in behind the podium in front of the media ]

Roberto: (letting out an exaggerated breath) Whew! It's been busy around here lately hasn't it? Last year when I came on board, bringing Kevin with me to take over as coach,  it felt like a whirlwind.  This second off-eason may have been even more significant for us.  First, I really want to thank Norrin Radd for his contributions to us last season.  It was as rough of a season as we could have had and that young man just put his head down and played hard every single night.  I wish him nothing but the best with the Milwaukee Bucks.  That said, I have been and will continue to be determined to push this franchise to greater heights.  So, I had my ear to the ground, listening and searching for ways to get us back into the playoffs.  When the opportunity came to us to add talent like Jaren Jackson Jr., William Cain, and Joffery Baratheon to our young group of Colby Lopez, who we are thrilled to have locked into a new long-term contract, Michael Garvin, and Virgilio Carrasco we just couldn't say no.  It was a steep price to pay, but winning matters and now I firmly believe we have a real shot to make some noise in this league. 

Kevin is already hard at work getting this group in-tune and trusting of one another.  It is going to be an exciting season for us and I know for sure that all these players and coaches cannot wait to step on that court and show every one what they're made of and just how hard they've been working. 

So, now, I'll open things up to any questions you all may have!

Sham Smith, Bulls.com: You sent a lot of promising young players to the Bucks for two win-now pieces with big contracts, but the Clippers did not look like they were jelling much in pre-season. How do you go about improving your team for the regular season, and what is the goal in terms of wins this year?

garbageman wrote: Sun Sep 01, 2019 9:43 am Sham Smith, Bulls.com: You sent a lot of promising young players to the Bucks for two win-now pieces with big contracts, but the Clippers did not look like they were jelling much in pre-season. How do you go about improving your team for the regular season, and what is the goal in terms of wins this year?

Kevin and I are in agreement concerning our approach to pre-season. The actual game results really are secondary. This time is all about tinkering with line-ups and giving some guys who we are unfamiliar with a chance to show where they belong in the rotation. So, the preseason record isn't really a concern. That said, the biggest thing is just time. We've made our big moves and now we just have to settle on our line-ups and let them get their feet underneath them. Pretty much every team that goes through this type of turnover needs a few weeks to get accustomed to one another. If an opportunity presents itself in free agency or trade that we feel is beneficial to our team, then we will explore that but as of now, I anticipate the primary way we'll get better is just by playing together. As for wins, I don't have a number in mind and I don't feel it's prudent to put that kind of specific pressure on this team, but I will say that every one in this building expects to be one of those 8 spots in our conference that gets to play for a championship. It will be a disappointment if we don't take a massive step forward. Keeping that in mind however, we gave up no picks in our moves to try to win so we feel very confident in our present AND future.

Maybe the most interesting move you made from my view was bringing back 34 year-old Zach Levine, whose giant contract and abysmal efficiency have been holding Clippers back for years. Why did you bring him back and what do you expect out of him this year and beyond.

In which area do you think you are most improved this year? Also who might be the most improved player that will contribute to your success this season?


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kucoach7 wrote: Sun Sep 01, 2019 1:53 pm Maybe the most interesting move you made from my view was bringing back 34 year-old Zach Levine, whose giant contract and abysmal efficiency have been holding Clippers back for years. Why did you bring him back and what do you expect out of him this year and beyond.

Well, first of all I'd say that there were far more problems than Zach holding the franchise back. And although he was never able to get the team through tough times like I'm sure he wanted to, Zach was reliable, never missing games to injury and has been a willing mentor and positive team player. We brought him back into the fold with a full understanding of what his new role will be, and that is a rotation guy coming off the bench to help stabilize that second unit. We feel very comfortable in his ability to do all that we need.

greepleairport wrote: Sun Sep 01, 2019 3:25 pm In which area do you think you are most improved this year? Also who might be the most improved player that will contribute to your success this season?


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We believe that our ability to score is going to be vastly improved with Joffery and Triple J coming in. It's no secret that we just did not put the ball into the basket with any consistency last season. I'd also tell you that you should keep your eye on Barger, a new but familiar face to the team. He took a year off to get his mind right but we welcomed him back with open arms and he's off to a great start this preseason. But one guy that I feel will be prime to take "the leap" is Michael Garvin. Now that he has some pressure off his shoulders, and playing in the back court with one of the best Point Guards in the league, he can play fast and free.

How satisfying is it to look at your team and not see this?

Presumably with JB taking the bulk of the minutes at PG, can we expect to see Carrasco with some minutes at SG? Is there any concern his development could be stunted?

What was your favorite part of the first season being a GM? Also, easiest and hardest part of this rebuild so far?