Clippers keeping their options open at deadline

The Clippers declined to sign Sash Vujacic to another 10-day contract, particularly with Thursday’s trade deadline approaching, but that doesn’t preclude the former Laker from getting another shot.
“With the trade deadline, we didn’t want to use another 10-day,” Coach Doc Rivers said. “I liked him and you never know if we return to that or not.”
It’s the time of year all teams have a few players looking around extra intently as rumors swirl, but the Clippers are confident that they’ll keep their focus.
“(It can distract) somewhat if you pay a lot of attention to I,t but we have a lot of mature and older veteran guys on the team to where we know this is a business,” Clippers center DeAndre Jordan said. “Nobody wants to get moved around like that, but that’s the NBA.”

Clippers will have to wait on Redick

The All-Star break wasn’t exactly the healing salve the Clippers had hoped it would be for J.J. Redick.
The veteran guard, who had what the Clippers were calling a hip injury that cost him the previous four games, actually has a bulging disc in his lower back. So instead of being day-to-day, Clippers coach Doc Rivers said “I don’t have a clue” when Redick could return.
“Until, I guess the (term) would be ‘calms down,’ so he can get his movement back, he’ll be out,” Rivers said. “That could be three days, two weeks, three weeks. No one knows. There’s no set deadline on when he’s coming back. He could be back quick or it could take awhile.”
Redick, who previously missed 21 games with a torn ligament in his wrist, is averaging 15.7 points this season and is shooting 39.6 percent from 3-point range. When he returns, he likely won’t have the same seamless transition back into the starting he had before his latest injury, since this time he can’t run to keep his conditioning up.
Redick has been slowed by several ailments, but the Clippers believe this injury stems from the nasty fall he took in Sacramento on Nov. 29, the same incident that hurt his wrist.
“We’re not going to put him out there ’til he’s feeling great,” Rivers said.

Will Matt Barnes stay in starting lineup for Clippers?

Chris Paul’s return pushes Darren Collison back to the bench. When J.J. Redick (sore hip) returns to the starting lineup, Jamal Crawford will join Collison off the bench.
But will Matt Barnes, who has started 11 games ahead of Jared Dudley, also return to the join the second unit?
“I don’t know yet,” Coach Doc Rivers said. “I did like Duds with Chris and J.J. I think that was a great combination at the beginning of the year and I like the energy of Matt coming off the bench, so we’ll just see.
“I think J.J. and Chris helps Jared the most, that combination. When they were all together Jared, was pretty good. That’s it.”

Chris Paul back in form with Clippers

It seemed like a natural question to ask about the Clippers. After 18 games and a 12-6 record, how would Chris Paul fit back in with his teammates after recovering from a separated shoulder.
Jamal Crawford couldn’t wait.
“I’m excited because I think our team has grown,” Crawford said. “We’ve grown in this stretch. Even some of the losses, they’ve been tough losses. We’ve lost by a combined five points the last two games. I’m excited to grow with bringing back an MVP candidate with what we’ve been doing.”
Perhaps Crawford didn’t anticipate a 43-point lead the way they charged through the Philadelphia 76ers Sunday at Staples Center.
But there will be a difference in the Clippers. Blake Griffin’s steady improvement has included a new facet to his game, bringing the ball upcourt to help the guards.
“The only thing we did did different was outlet more to Blake, which I think will really help Chris,” Clippers coach Doc Rivers said. “To expect Chris to push it up every time is hard and I think Darren (Collison) kind of didn’t want to do it and so that was why he was a cheerleader of ‘Throw it ahead to Blake.’
“It will make us even better now because Chris can push it and Blake can push it and it will actually in some ways make us even more dangerous.”

Chris Paul, J.J. Redick out again for Clippers

Chris Paul is still aiming for a return on Sunday after missing 18 games with a shoulder separation. There was early conjecture that Paul might be ready on Friday.
J.J. Redick (hip) missed his second consecutive game, but figures to be back when the Clippers face Philadelphia.
Rivers said the Clippers will not have a shootaround Sunday because of the earlier tip-off, but instead will likely shoot on Saturday.
“We’re going to have something (resembling a practice),”Coach Doc Rivers said. “I don’t know if it will be called a practice, but we’re going to get together as a unit because it’s a 6:30 game on Sunday so that’s a hard day to have a shootaround. It’ll be more of a shootaround. For guys like Chris and J.J., we’ll do something so they can be active.”

Doc Rivers keeps work streamlined for Clippers

Doc Rivers won’t let his role as Clippers coach/semi-GM get in the way even in the sometimes harried weeks leading up to the NBA trading deadline.
“It won’t change. I’ll do my job,” Rivers said Friday before the Clippers took on Toronto at Staples Center. “I’m going to say 75 percent of that (trade talk) is ridiculous. The players have been around long enough to understand. Some haven’t/ There are special cases where you can tell chatter affects them, and you may grab one or two of them but I won’t change the way I handle that.”
The Clippers of course, have been part of the speculation surrounding anything from LeBron James’ future to a possible Jared Dudley deal, among other rumors.
Rivers, also the senior vice president of basketball operations, mainly allows vice president Gary Sacks to do the wheeling and dealing, if there is any. But the coach also knows his counsel will be in demand.
In Boston, Rivers had Danny Ainge take care of the business end with the Celtics.
“It’ll be interesting, it’s obviously heated up, the calls,” Rivers said. “But Gary Sacks handles most of those. The difference is we probably talk more now. We talk every day, but other than that it doesn’t change much.
“I’m going to coach the team and my job is to make the team better if I can but it won’t change a lot. The difference, I guess, is if there is something, I’ll be on the phone instead of not having to deal with it over the last nine years.”