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NBA -- Lakers and Clippers hold Media Day, gear for tough 2017-18 season ahead
By Sean Yu
PhilBoxing.com
Wed, 27 Sep 2017
LOS ANGELES -- The Los Angeles Lakers and the Los Angeles Clippers held their Media Day on September 25 at the UCLA Training Center and the La Playa Vista practice facility, respectively.
Both teams face a challenging 2017-18 NBA season in a power-loaded Western Conference where the Golden State Warriors reign along with top contenders the San Antonio Spurs, the Houston Rockets and the Oklahoma City Thunder, who became legitimate title contenders after acquiring All-Stars Paul George of the Indiana Pacers and Carmelo Anthony of the New York Knicks during the off-season.
Following the retirement of Kobe Bryant in 2016, the Lakers continue the path toward rebuilding, but there is much hope and hype in this upcoming season as the Lakers drafted ace point guard Lonzo Ball to lead young core group. In the mix is Filipino-American Jordan Clarkson, rumored to be in the trading block as the purpke-and-gold franchise reportedly tries to clear cap space for the summer of 2018 when prized free agents such as Paul George and LeBron James.
On the heels of a disappointing 2016-17 campaign in which they carded a 26-56 won-lost record and missed the playoffs yet again, the Lakers have re=tooled the front office with the naming of Magic Johnson as president of basketball operations and the appointment of Rob Pelinka as the team's General Manager.
The Clippers, meanwhile, are reeling from the departure of perennial All-Star Chris Paul, who migrated to the Rockets this past June, reducing the Clippers' Big 3 into a big two made up of DeAndre Jordan and power forward Blake Griffin who recently signed a 5-year, $171 million contract extension.
Unlike the Lakers. the Clippers finished the 2016-17 season with a 51-31 slate for fourth in the Western Conference. But they lost in the first round of the playoffs for the second straight year, a fact that did not sit well with Paul who opted for a change of scenery.
"It's time to move on" Clippers head coach Doc Rivers said.
The author with Fil-Am Jordan Clarkson of the LA Lakers. Other photo shows the new-look Clippers (photos by Marc Villaceran@philboxing).
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Sean Yu.
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