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After almost two weeks of speculation as to when Paul George and Kawhi Leonard would be introduced by the Clippers, the team has announced a date for the press conference: Wednesday, July 24, from 12-1 PM. The presser will take place at a newly renovated Clippers Community Court in South Los Angeles, one of nearly 350 such courts the Clippers are updating with the LA Parks and Rec, per the team.
Steve Ballmer, Lawrence Frank, and Doc Rivers will all address the media, as will (obviously) Kawhi and George. There will surely be many questions on the fit of the two superstars on the Clippers, how they feel about the team surrounding them, and what their plans for the rest of the summer might be. Right now, it doesn’t appear as if the press conference will be televised, but video will certainly be recorded by the team and released later.
I think the Clippers holding the press conference at a community rec center is notable. Even though the Clippers have been pursuing (and have now obtained) superstar players, they want to be perceived as a team “of the people”, and not a Hollywood-centered organization. Their efforts to revitalize the public basketball courts and rec centers of Los Angeles is a noble one, and will also help to ingrain the Clippers in LA in a way they never have before. This press conference just highlights the Clippers’ approach to building their brand.
This press conference will also be notable as one of the last big news events of the summer for the Clippers. After this, it seems likely that we won’t get any major nuggets about the Clippers for a while, except maybe the schedule and some information about the broadcast. In just six days time, Paul George and Kawhi Leonard will wear Clippers’ jerseys for the first time. Get excited!