LA Clippers News: Corey Maggette and Mike Fratello will return as part-time analysts

Last month, the Clippers announced that Chauncey Billups would be joining their broadcast team as the full-time analyst alongside new announcer Brian Sieman. Since Billups is also a commentator for ESPN, that meant there would some gaps in the schedule while Billups worked national TV games and/or did ESPN studio shows.

The Clippers have now filled in those holes with the return of two of last season’s rotating cast of analysts: Corey Maggette and Mike Fratello, per a report from the L.A. Times.

Maggette, a former Clipper who retired from professional basketball this summer after playing one final season in the BIG3, was the primary analyst next to Ralph Lawler last year for the first part of the season. In February of this year, Maggette was accused of rape dating back to his time at Duke University; he denied the allegations, but as Fox Sports looked into the matter, Maggette was removed from the Clippers broadcast. Hopefully, the team and Fox Sports conducted their due diligence before re-hiring Maggette.

Fratello joined Lawler as an analyst more sporadically last season. He was the color commentator for the Clippers from 1990-1992 before joining NBC and TNT for national work over the past few decades. Fratello isn’t local to Los Angeles, but could be an option for the Clippers when they are on the road.

With Billups, Maggette, and Fratello in tow, this means the departure of Don MacLean from the Clippers’ announcing team. According to the L.A. Times piece, MacLean’s commitment to the Pac-12 Network prevented him from joining the Clippers full-time, so the team was forced to look in a different direction. Ryan Hollins was also a fixture on the Fox Sports Prime Ticket team last year, but he has been appearing frequently on ESPN during the offseason.

What do you think of the Clippers’ new hires?

Editor’s Note: Maggette’s accusations are a sensitive subject. Please be mindful of that in the comments, and keep things even more respectful than usual. We have reached out to Fox Sports and the Clippers for comment regarding his hiring, and are currently awaiting their response.