Patrick Patterson agrees to one-year deal with Clippers

The LA Clippers have added some frontcourt depth to their roster.

The Clippers and Patrick Patterson agreed to a one-year, $2.3 million deal, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported on Thursday, proving that there was something to all the rumors.

Patterson exercised a $5.7 million option with the Oklahoma City Thunder in May. The two sides reached a buyout earlier this month, which allowed the veteran to become a free agent.

Patterson, 30, is entering his 10th season in the league. The forward averaged 3.6 points and 2.3 rebounds in 13.7 minutes per game last season. He was originally drafted by the Houston Rockets, was traded to Sacramento, then to Toronto, and he has spent the past two seasons with the Thunder.

Now he joins an NBA championship contender in the Clippers, who added Kawhi Leonard and Paul George over the offseason.

Patrick Patterson: Clippers buzz is ‘nothing but rumors’

Free agent forward Patrick Patterson may not be Los Angeles-bound after all.

Speaking on Monday at his basketball camp in Huntington, W.Va., Patterson dismissed the recent buzz linking him to the LA Clippers.

“Right now, all of the Clippers stuff is just nothing but rumors,” he said, per WOWK-TV’s Anna Maria Tarullo. “The main thing right now is me entrusting my camp, my agency to put forth me in a position to where I can capitalize and utilize my abilities.”

Patterson, 30, was just waived by the Oklahoma City Thunder, and ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that his intention was to join the Clippers.

Once his $5.7 million salary clears waivers, Patterson’s intention is to sign with the Los Angeles Clippers, league sources tell ESPN https://t.co/0uIDF7EYJx

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) August 1, 2019

While he is close with ex-Thunder teammate and current Clipper forward Paul George, Patterson has been unproductive in recent years, averaging just 3.8 points and 2.3 rebounds per game in the last two seasons combined in OKC. His skillset would also be redundant with the re-signing of JaMychal Green.

The Clippers need a playmaking guard and/or an inside presence way more than they need the 6-foot-9 Patterson, and there are plenty of other options who fit that mold instead.

Former Raptor upset at Stephen Curry running on court to celebrate during play

One ex-Toronto Raptor was not pleased with Stephen Curry’s antics during Game 2 of the NBA Finals.

In the fourth quarter of the Golden State Warriors’ 109-104 win on Sunday, Curry, who was not in the game at the time, came all the way from the Dubs’ bench to celebrate a Quinn Cook three-pointer while play was still going.

Steph Curry ran all the way down the sideline to celebrate with Quinn Cook. pic.twitter.com/NpTIuCu6Ep

— ESPN (@espn) June 3, 2019

In response, Oklahoma City Thunder forward Patrick Patterson, who formerly played for the Raptors, tweeted his displeasure with the sequence. He also tagged the official NBA and NBA Referees accounts calling for action.

So Curry just ran on the court to celebrate with Cook during live play.. what y’all gonna do about that? @NBA @OfficialNBARefs

— Patrick Patterson (@pdpatt) June 3, 2019

Patterson was with Toronto for four seasons from 2013 to 2017, overlapping with current Raptors players Kyle Lowry, Fred VanVleet, Norman Powell, Serge Ibaka, and Pascal Siakam.

Curry, meanwhile, later got T’d up at a crucial moment in the game, so he probably needs to do a better job of toning down his behavior going forward.

Thunder PF Patrick Patterson calls referees ‘s—’ on Twitter over missed call

Patrick Patterson is still fuming over the missed call that cost his team the game against the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday night.

In a post to Twitter on Saturday morning, the Oklahoma City Thunder power forward called the NBA’s referees ‘s—’ and said that they needed to face some kind of consequences for their ineptitude.

“They’ve been S— this year,” the veteran big man wrote. “There needs to be some kind of consequence for their downright awfulness rather than pointless apologies from their bosses. #dobetter.”

The play in question came on Giannis Antetokounmpo’s game-winning dunk in the final seconds of the fourth quarter. The referees clearly missed the Bucks star stepping out of bounds on the baseline as he drove to the hoop and didn’t even bother to review the play afterwards, sealing a 97-95 loss for OKC.

Bucks win. Giannis gets the game-winner here — even though he very clearly stepped out of bounds. No call. Ball game. pic.twitter.com/VSSMglXg2v

— Up The Thunder (@UpTheThunder) December 30, 2017

As Patterson alluded to, the NBA came out on Saturday and admitted in the game’s last two-minute report that the referees did indeed miss the call. But that will come as little solace for the Thunder, who also had many other players voice their frustration about that botched final sequence.

Patrick Patterson appears to criticize NBA over Joel Embiid fine

At least one fellow NBA big man is not pleased about Joel Embiid’s recent fine for using profanity on social media.

In a tweet on Sunday, new Oklahoma City Thunder power forward Patrick Patterson appeared to criticize the NBA over Embiid’s $10,000 fine.

Can't even use our own social media platforms as we please.. Need to mute ourselves. Wow @NBA

— Patrick Patterson (@pdpatt) July 9, 2017

Embiid was handed the punishment by the league after directing inappropriate language at LaVar Ball in an Instagram Live video (see here).

As for Patterson, he has quite a knack for viral moments himself. Thus, it’s easy to see why he might be concerned about the potential slippery slope of the NBA attempting to censor the social media activity of their players.

10 under-the-radar NBA free agents who could make a big splash

In this year’s NBA Finals, LeBron James, Stephen Curry, and Kevin Durant — three all-timers who have claimed seven of the last nine MVP awards — operated at the height of their powers. But it was an under-the-radar Warriors forward who finished with by far the best plus-minus of any player in the series: Andre Iguodala.

Iguodala finished the series +60, 20 points better than the next-most impactful player (Draymond Green was +40). And the 33-year-old Iguodala saved his best performance for last, playing 38 minutes, scoring 20 points, notching a +18, knocking down two vital threes, and playing excellent defense on James in the decisive Game 5.

Iguodala played so well that the Warriors were able to employ small-ball for most of the game, as JaVale McGee didn’t see the court and Zaza Pachulia played only 10 minutes.

Golden State acquired Iguodala in the 2013 offseason in a sign-and-trade deal involving the Nuggets and Jazz. The next year, the Dubs signed Shaun Livingston. And in the 2016 offseason, they inked three veteran big men (McGee, Pachulia, and David West) to bargain-basement deals. The three combined to make $5.7 million — nearly $2 million less than Channing Frye.

Role players don’t draw much attention when they sign with a new squad, but these players often prove to be difference-makers — even on the most talented teams.

Here are 10 under-the-radar free agents to keep an eye on this offseason.

10. Ersan Ilyasova

Ilyasova is a 10-year veteran who has bounced around after spending his first seven NBA campaigns with Milwaukee. He’s suited up for five teams in the past two years, but he’s still a valuable piece. Most recently he was dealt from the Sixers to the Hawks in exchange for Tiago Splitter and a second-round pick and potential pick-swap.

This season he averaged 10.4 points and 5.8 rebounds in 24.3 minutes per game for Atlanta. It wasn’t his best year, but he did notch 31 points in a January game, and throughout his career he’s consistently put up double-digit points and provided a punch on the offensive end.

The Turkish big man, a second-round pick in 2005, presents potential suitors with an interesting skill set. He can stretch the floor; he’s a career 35 percent three-point shooter. He’s a good pick-and-pop guy and he runs the floor.

Ilyasova, 6-foot-10 and 30 years old, lacks lateral athleticism, so he struggles to keep up with guards on switches, but he plays hard on defense and is a good rebounder. He could be a key bench guy for a contender.

9. Tony Allen

(more…)

Patrick Patterson covers teammates’ cars in Post-its as April Fools prank

Nobody does April Fools’ Day like Patrick Patterson does.

The Toronto Raptors big man celebrated April 1 in all of its glory on Saturday by pulling an epic prank on teammates. Focusing specifically on the younger players (namely, rookie Fred VanVleet and sophomores Norman Powell and Delon Wright), Patterson got into the team parking garage and covered each of their cars in multi-colored Post-it notes.

Notice to @nba rooks (@fredvanvleet) & sophomores (@delonwright / @npowell2404), @pdpatt is comin' for you. #PatsPranks #AprilFools pic.twitter.com/9z6aC37mPU

— Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) April 1, 2017

The tradition of April Fools pranks is apparently a sacred one in the NBA fraternity, ranging everywhere from Toronto and Phoenix to Golden State and Denver. And with the Raptors the winners of seven of their last eight games, they can definitely afford to be in the practical joking mood.

Image via Toronto Raptors on YouTube