Wojnarowski Sings the Praises of the LA Clippers

HOUSTON, TX - OCTOBER 26: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander #2 of the Los Angeles Clippers reacts after shooting a three point shot defended by Clint Capela #15 of the Houston Rockets in the second half at Toyota Center on October 26, 2018 in Houston, Texas. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images)
HOUSTON, TX - OCTOBER 26: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander #2 of the Los Angeles Clippers reacts after shooting a three point shot defended by Clint Capela #15 of the Houston Rockets in the second half at Toyota Center on October 26, 2018 in Houston, Texas. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images)

On Thursday, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski had several things to say – all of them very good – about the LA Clippers on The Woj Report.

If you haven’t already, you should go check out the latest Woj Report and listen to what he has to say about the LA Clippers. It’s nice to hear the national media echoing what Clippers fans have been saying all along: that this is a fantastic team playing hard for each other.

Talking about our coach, Woj said, “You start with Doc Rivers, who has re-established himself as one of the elite coaches in the NBA, perhaps front runner for Coach of the Year.”

Wow! High praise for Doc from Wojnarowski. While we haven’t heard much momentum behind Doc in the national media for that Coach of the Year award, many Clippers fans have been arguing that he deserves it, including our very own Ryan Snellings.

“To have this Clippers team, with all the roster turnover […] still be almost 10 games over .500 in the Western Conference is remarkable,” continued Woj. This exact sentiment has been going around Clipper Nation for a while. What Doc has done without a bona fide superstar on the team is nothing short of any coaching job anybody else has done this year.

Wojnarowski went on to mention that the Clippers’ treasure trove of assets, including plenty of “salary cap space, perhaps to be able to sign two max free agents this summer. Multiple first round picks going forward. […] A culture, now, of tough-minded veteran players like Patrick Beverley and Lou Williams.”

Again, this is nothing that Clippers fans haven’t already been saying. But it somehow seems different, doesn’t it, when you’re hearing this kind of noise from the national media? When guys like Wojnarowski are picking up the success of the Clippers and the room to add superstars, it starts to feel a little more likely that our summer goes the way we’d love it to.

Naming names, Woj mentions that the way this Clippers team is set up is, “going to be appealing to Kawhi Leonard, perhaps a Kevin Durant.” He then drops a tantalizing hint that, “even if the Clippers don’t get a big free agent this summer, and they’re in very good position with Leonard, they can go forward with all the picks they have.” (Emphasis mine).

This is only going to accelerate the hype for many fans that the Clippers could be major players in free agency this summer. Woj is connected; he has many sources all around the league. It’s likely that he’s just purely speculating on Kawhi’s future free agency, but you never know, he may have heard a whisper here or there.

Wojnarowski signs off with more high praise for the Clippers, and some praise that fans of the Clips love to hear.

“This is an organization, with Lawrence Frank at president, Michael Winger at general manager, that has really definitely managed their salary cap, maximized their assets. They put themselves in position to not only be, perhaps, the dominant team in Los Angeles, but a contender throughout the league.”

Well, our fans are never going to be upset to hear somebody call us the dominant team in Los Angeles, given that we have nothing but Clippers basketball, according to some.

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Woj also had some more praise to give to our role players and mentions what a tremendous find Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was. If you’ve got a few minutes, check out the whole Woj Report and see what all he had to say about the team. It seems like more than just LA fans are starting to believe in this Clippers organization