An apology, a newly revealed injury and a lot of young faces headlined a media day unlike any the Clippers have had before.
Most media days are about fresh starts and big goals, but the Los Angeles Clippers began theirs on Monday at Intuit Dome with an apology.
Interim president of basketball operations Trent Redden opened by telling fans the team should have spoken to them sooner, 26 days after the NBA handed down its penalties in the Kawhi Leonard case, and the rest of the day showed a roster that is already banged up.
A Front Office Starting Over
Redden said the fans' pain is real and that the team hopes to earn back their trust, and he said the team will comply with the penalties that cost the Clippers five first-round picks and $30 million.
With owner Steve Ballmer suspended for a year and Lawrence Frank out for six months, Redden is running basketball operations with Mark Hughes as interim general manager, while interim governor John Gibson has taken over Ballmer's roles.
Redden also admitted to reporters that the Clippers cannot use future picks to chase a star, so the plan leans on cap space next summer and growth from the players already here.
Head coach Tyronn Lue, who is entering his seventh season with the team, spoke about his future and his loyalty to Ballmer.
"Mr. Ballmer has been tremendous to me, to my family. My loyalty to him is to the end," Lue said. "I definitely want to be here, I definitely want to go through this challenge. We've been through challenges before and so this isn't any different. We're going to approach it the same way."
Injuries Cloud the Start
The biggest news came from Redden's injury update.
Forward Brandon Ingram has a partially torn Achilles tendon that was found and repaired during his heel surgery in May, and he will not be ready for the start of the season, and the team will reevaluate him then.
Ingram, who averaged 21.5 points for Toronto last season, is now a real concern for the start of the year, and he called his return a week-by-week process.
Guard Bradley Beal will miss the start of camp with right knee inflammation, forward Jordan Miller will be reevaluated in five months after rotator cuff surgery and center Yanic Konan Niederhäuser will not be ready for opening night.
Young Players Take the Stage
Point guard Darius Garland said he is healthy, spent his whole summer on basketball and thinks the Clippers can surprise people.
Guard Keaton Wagler, the No. 5 pick, said he is trying to stay focused and tune out the outside noise, and Lue said the rookie will get plenty of chances to make mistakes and learn from them.
Beal also explained that wearing No. 3 is no disrespect to former Clippers point guard Chris Paul.
The Clippers went 42-40 last season, and the report card on this offseason shows how much has changed.
Camp runs through Saturday in Honolulu, the preseason opens Sunday against the Golden State Warriors there and the regular season starts Oct. 21 at home against the Sacramento Kings.
Nobody is expecting much from this group, and that might be the best thing it has going for it.
If Garland stays healthy and Wagler grows up fast, the Clippers can stay afloat until Ingram returns.
