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Last year, the LA Clippers went the full season without having a permanent analyst on their broadcast team, instead opting to have a rotating cast of announcers partner with Ralph Lawler. That group included Ryan Hollins, Don MacLean, Mike Fratello, Billy Crystal, and Bill Walton, among others.
Now, the team has settled in on a new full-time color commentator to join Brian Sieman in his first season: Chauncey Billups. Per a report from Andrew Marchand of The New York Post, Billups will be the analyst on the Clippers broadcast team while also retaining some national assignments.
Here is a little more news: Chauncy Billups will be taking the LA Clippers analyst job, according to sources. He could very well end up doing games on ESPN, as well. The Clippers had gone after the Nets' Sarah Kustok.
— Andrew Marchand (@AndrewMarchand) August 16, 2019
Billups, who played for the Clippers for two seasons from 2011-2013, has been a part of ESPN’s NBA coverage since 2014-15. He started by providing analysis on SportsCenter before eventually becoming a part of NBA Countdown and even joining the booth for a few NBA games this past year.
The Clippers set their sights high for a new analyst, reaching out to Brooklyn’s Sarah Kustok earlier this summer. They were also rumored to be interested in Reggie Miller, who works for Turner Sports but is based out of Los Angeles. Billups doesn’t have the experience level of either of those two, but he has been rising in the ranks at ESPN and is a well-respected basketball mind.
Presumably, given their interest in other national announcers, the Clippers would have no problem allowing Billups to continue to work for ESPN and plugging in spot announcers, like MacLean or Hollins, on occasion.
This is an excellent hire for the Clippers this offseason, and yet another indication that people around the league want to work with this franchise.