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In August, the Clippers decamped for Hawaii, where their training camp was held. There, Van Gundy addressed the group. “He told us we’re going to be turning into a defensive-minded team and that it starts with coming into work and being willing to do the work,” Dunn said. Van Gundy had two primary goals for the season. One was to fix the Clippers’ rebounding issues; only six teams had been worse on the defensive glass the previous season. The other was to up their defensive pressure; only nine teams forced a fewer percentage of turnovers. Soon after, Van Gundy began implementing the team’s defensive schemes. “I got there late because I was competing [with France] in the Olympics,” Batum said. “And when I arrived, guys told me that with [Van Gundy] here things were different now.” Still, Batum wasn’t able to comprehend what that meant until he saw a Van Gundy practice for himself. “He’ll be like, ‘Don’t stand here, stand here,’ and then he’ll literally move you one inch,” Batum said.
Tom Orsborn: Jeremy Sochan on Chris Paul playing in all 82 games: "He could be in flipping, I don't know, Hawaii, doing nothing. And he's here in San Antonio, Texas, busting his ass 82 fucking games, just doing his thing. And I think that's what I've noticed, just the passion that he has."
The University of Hawaii’s men’s basketball program had a dismal 6-20 record during the 1969-70 season. Coach Red Rocha turned the program around by adding a strong recruiting class with Dwight Holiday, Freeman, Nash, Penebacker and Davis. Dwight Holiday was a junior college star at Hartnell College in Salinas, California, who said he once scored 56 points. Holiday said he received scholarship offers from La Salle University in Philadelphia and the University of Detroit, but didn’t want to leave California. While working at Dick Bruhn Family of Stores in Salinas, then-Hawaii assistant coach Bruce O’Neal called him there trying to convince him to play for the Rainbows. “[O’Neal] kept calling the store,” Dwight Holiday, 71, recalled. “And this old white man that worked there said, ‘Who’s this man that keeps calling the store from Hawaii?’ I said, ‘They want me to play there.’ And he said, ‘If I could go to Hawaii, I would go.’ So, I went. I didn’t think about it that deeply. I didn’t know it was that far and across water.” Holiday, Nash, Freeman, Davis and Penebacker became the starting five of the most beloved Hawaii basketball team after it put the program on the map nationally. They also happened to be the school’s first all-Black starting five.
Steve Kerr laid out the public directive during the Golden State Warriors’ first week in Hawaii: He wants to be a high-volume 3-point-shooting team, upping the output despite the loss of one of the most prolific shooters (Klay Thompson) in NBA history. Last season, the Warriors averaged 38.9 3s per game as a team, ranking fourth behind the Celtics (42.5), Mavericks (39.5) and Kings (39.3). Those first two teams have something in common. “Being a Finals (media) correspondent, I learned that Dallas and Boston were both top three in the league in 3s,” Brandin Podziemski said. “So I definitely think it plays a part (in winning). Based on our personnel, I do think it’s possible that we for sure can be top five (in attempted 3s), but leading the league is a possibility.”
Kendra Andrews: Andrew Wiggins participated in practice today after missing all of camp in Hawaii. He did not take part in the live-action portion of the day, and he will not play on Wednesday.
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Kendra Andrews: Andrew Wiggins still hasn’t practiced here in Hawaii. Training staff won’t clear him because he’s still sick — Kerr ruled him out of Saturday’s game. But Kerr emphasized he’s not concerned about him and said he’s been looking good in the weeks leading up to camp.
Training camp opened Tuesday afternoon in Hawaii. Thompson’s void is fresh, and the competition for his vacancy is a hot topic. Who will be the Warriors’ starting shooting guard when the season starts: De’Anthony Melton, Buddy Hield or Brandin Podziemski? What is the ideal result for Curry? “That’s a great question,” Curry said. “We have options, obviously. We have a defensive-minded guy like Melton. You got a guy who is kind of a connector, can put the ball on the floor (and) create like BP. Me and BP started a couple times last year. You got Buddy who can shoot (and) space the floor, a veteran who knows how to play.”
Law Murray: I’m told PJ Tucker is with Clippers in Hawai’i, for those wondering
As the Golden State Warriors prepare to travel to Hawaii for training camp, there is a consensus about their group going on the trip: They are a better team than last season. "We feel great about the team in the sense that we improved the team," Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy said at a news conference Thursday. "At its core, we've got a good team [but] we're probably as impatient of a franchise as you can be right now given our timeline and all that."
Hawaii is paying the Los Angeles Clippers $750,000 as part of a partnership that would bring the basketball team to the Islands for training camp and a preseason game in Honolulu against the Golden State Warriors in October. Public records show that the Hawaii Tourism Authority (HTA) will receive several marketing opportunities both during the Clippers time in Hawaii, as well as in Los Angeles, most notably being given the designation of Official Partner of the L.A. Clippers.
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The contract also says the Clippers are scheduled to do several community events in Hawaii during their training camp, which includes youth basketball clinics, school computer lab renovations and VIP meet and greets with players or staff. HTA says it has a pre-existing relationship with the Clippers dating back to the 2019 training camp. Due to NBA geographic market restrictions, only the Clippers and L.A. Lakers could host training camps in Hawaii.
Arash Markazi: Clippers guard Norman Powell is on the sidelines for today’s UCLA-Hawai’i game. He has been in Hawai’i this week promoting the Clippers hosting training camp and a preseason game in Hawai’i. pic.x.com/xtsbkzkui8
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