Clippers sign Patrick Patterson, announce return to Hawaii for training camp

The Los Angeles Clippers added some depth to their frontcourt, signing veteran free agent forward Patrick Patterson, it was announced today by President of Basketball Operations, Lawrence Frank.  Other outlets have reported that the deal is for one year at $2.3 million.

Patterson became available after he agreed to a buyout with the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Patterson's likely role will be as a reserve stretch-four, as he has been a fairly reliable three-point shooter throughout his career.  His acquisition could prove quite important because the Clippers will need shooters to space the floor for newly-added stars Kawhi Leonard and Paul George.

Patterson, 30, appeared in 63 games for the Oklahoma City Thunder during the 2018-19 season, averaging 3.6 points and 2.3 rebounds in 13.7 minutes. The 6’9”, 230-pound forward holds career averages of 6.9 points and 4.1 rebounds, while shooting 45.0 percent from the field in 21.8 minutes in 622 appearances across nine seasons with Houston, Sacramento, Toronto and Oklahoma City.

He played three collegiate seasons at the University of Kentucky, before being selected by the Houston Rockets with the 14th overall pick in the 2010 NBA Draft.

In other Clippers news  . . .

Clippers' to conduct training camp in Hawaii

The Clippers and Hawaii Tourism Authority (HTA) have announced that the Clippers will return to Honolulu for Training Camp to tip off the 2019-20 season.

The Clippers’ third annual Training Camp trip to Hawaii will include a preseason game against Russell Westbrook, James Harden, and the Houston Rockets on Thursday, October 3 at 7:00 p.m., and another against the Chinese Basketball Association’s Shanghai Sharks, owned and run by retired NBA star Yao Ming, on Sunday, October 6 at 1:00 p.m. Both games will be played at the Stan Sheriff Center on the campus of the University of Hawaii at Manoa.

These two games in Hawaii complete the Clippers preseason schedule, which also includes matchups against the Denver Nuggets and Australia’s Melbourne United on October 10th and 13th respectively, at the STAPLES Center, and a game at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, Canada against the Dallas Mavericks on October 17th.

As part of the agreement between the Clippers and HTA, the Clippers will host a youth basketball clinic and a coaches clinic in Hawaii, and also refurbish a local school’s computer lab.

This offseason the team signed two-time Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard, and added six-time All-Star Paul George in a trade. In addition, the team re-signed Patrick Beverley, JaMychal Green, Rodney McGruder and Ivica Zubac, added Maurice Harkless via trade, and acquired Mfiondu Kabengele and Terance Mann in the 2019 NBA Draft.

By Staff of TheDailySportsHerald.com