NBA News Today: Warriors' Jordan Poole breaks silence on Draymond Green incident, Reggie Jackson expected to start at point guard for LA Clippers, and more | October 17, 2022
Golden State Warriors guard Jordan Poole has broken his silence following his incident with teammate Draymond Green that shook the NBA community. Poole chose to keep his comments on the situation as brief as possible.
In other news, the LA Clippers have surprisingly chosen Reggie Jackson to be their starting point guard this season over former five-time All-Star John Wall. Wall was one of their high-profile acquisitions this offseason.
On that note, here’s the latest news from around the NBA as of Oct. 17, 2022.
Warriors' Jordan Poole breaks silence on Draymond Green incident
Golden State Warriors guard Jordan Poole has finally addressed his viral practice altercation with teammate Draymond Green for the first time.
Speaking to members of the media on Sunday, Poole echoed similar sentiments as Green regarding the incident. In particular, he highlighted that Green apologized for punching him and that they're both planning to focus on defending their NBA championship.
“He apologized and we’re planning to handle it ourselves that way. We’re gonna play basketball and everybody in the locker room on our team knows what it takes to win a championship. We’re gonna do that on the court,” Poole said.
Jordan Poole addresses the Draymond Green incident for the first time since it happened. https://t.co/5ylnCfDKPv
Poole then added that he has nothing left to say on the matter. However, he was willing to address questions regarding other topics. This includes his recent four-year, $140 million contract extension he received from the Warriors this week.
“That’s really all I have to say on the matter. We’re here to win championships and keep hanging banners. Anything in regards to the contract situation, the extension, us winning back-to-back championships, any basketball-related questions — I’m all ears,” Poole said.
Green has already joined the Golden State Warriors after spending some time away. He appeared in their final preseason game, a 119-112 defeat against the Denver Nuggets on Friday.
The Warriors will now look forward to their opening-night game of the regular season versus the LA Lakers on Tuesday.
Draymond is ready https://t.co/07THDuVdaz
Reggie Jackson to start at point guard for LA Clippers
Many had anticipated that newly acquired former five-time All-Star John Wall would start at point guard for the LA Clippers this season.
However, according to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports, the team is expected to start veteran guard Reggie Jackson instead.
The Los Angeles Clippers are expected to name Reggie Jackson the starting point guard to open up the 2022-23 season, league sources tell @YahooSports: sports.yahoo.com/sources-reggie…
Jackson has played in 159 games over three seasons with the Clippers and has proven to be a reliable playmaker and spark plug scorer. Last season, he averaged 16.8 points and 4.8 assists per game on 39.2% shooting. Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue looks set to stick with a familiar face in the starting lineup.
Outside of the familiarity aspect, the Clippers will likely also want to manage John Wall’s minutes. Wall hasn’t played in an NBA regular-season game since April 23, 2021, as he sat out all of last season. He also missed the entire 2019-2020 NBA season after tearing his Achilles.
Reggie Jackson looks set to start alongside Paul George and Kawhi Leonard as well as forward Marcus Morris and center Ivica Zubac. The Clippers will kick off their regular season on Thursday against the LA Lakers.
Memphis Grizzlies sign Brandon Clarke to multi-year contract extension
The Memphis Grizzlies recently announced that the team has signed power forward Brandon Clarke to a multi-year contract extension.
.@brandonclarke23 has agreed to a multi-year contract extension 〽️
#BigMemphis
Per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the deal will be for four years and worth $52 million.
Memphis Grizzlies forward Brandon Clarke has agreed on a four-year, $52 million contract extension, his agents Mark Bartelstein and Andy Shiffman of @PrioritySports tell ESPN. https://t.co/9MsE6EVip9
Clarke averaged 10.4 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks while shooting 64.4% from the field in 19.5 minutes per game last season. In the playoffs, he increased his scoring and rebounding averages to 12.3 points and 6.9 rebounds per game over 12 games.
The Memphis Grizzlies finished last season with the second-best record in the NBA at 56-26. They eventually fell in six games in the second round of the playoffs to the Golden State Warriors. However, Memphis gained valuable experience by going up against the Warriors, who went on to win the NBA title.
The Grizzlies' depth, including Clarke, was a huge part of their overall success as the team only had one All-Star in Ja Morant. Clarke is only 26 and about to enter his prime. He looks set to spend his peak years in Memphis.
Toronto Raptors waive former 4th overall pick
The Toronto Raptors made their final roster cuts following their final preseason game against the Boston Celtics on Friday. One of those cuts was a fairly big name in former No. 4 overall pick Josh Jackson, according to Amit Mann of Yahoo Sports Canada.
The Raptors announced they have waived forwards Gabe Brown, Josh Jackson and D.J. Wilson. Toronto’s roster now stands at the league maximum 15 players, with two two-way players (Dowtin Jr., Harper Jr.)
Dalano Banton and Justin Champagnie get the final roster spots.
Josh Jackson was selected with the fourth pick in the 2017 NBA Draft right after Celtics superstar Jayson Tatum. He was notably picked ahead of other NBA All-Stars like Donovan Mitchell, Bam Adebayo, and Jarrett Allen.
As a 6-foot-8 athletic scoring wing, Jackson was compared to some all-time great NBA forwards coming out of college, including Tracy McGrady and Kawhi Leonard. However, he hasn’t been able to live up to his potential so far and has bounced around the league, playing for four lottery teams.
Jackson has career averages of just 11.3 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game over 291 regular-season games. He is one of the least efficient players in the league with a career shooting split of just 41.6/29.2/68.0. However, he is still just 25 and has shown his potential on numerous occasions.
It will be interesting to see if Jackson can get back into the NBA at some point in the near future.
LA Lakers injury updates: Anthony Davis ready for opening night; Russell Westbrook might play
![[Left to right] LA Lakers stars LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook](https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2022/10/eca08-16659786040328-1920.jpg)
LA Lakers head coach Darvin Ham has provided a team injury update ahead of their opening-night game against the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday. The report comes via the Los Angeles Times.
Ham said that Anthony Davis, who missed the Lakers’ final preseason game due to lower back soreness, will have “no restrictions, whatsoever.”
He also added that former MVP Russell Westbrook is currently day-to-day with a left hamstring injury. Westbrook sustained the injury during the Lakers’ final preseason game versus the Sacramento Kings on Friday.
When asked if Westbrook could be fit in time for opening night, Ham said, “Yeah, definitely.” Consequently, there is a decent chance that the Lakers' starters could all be available against Golden State.
In regards to the Lakers’ bench, Ham said point guard Dennis Schroder will be evaluated later on for a right thumb injury. He also added that Schroder could miss some time. The German sustained the injury during their preseason game against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Ham had more positive news regarding guard Lonnie Walker IV. The Lakers' lead tactician said Walker should be ready to go after missing Friday’s game versus the Kings with a left ankle injury.
“Walker came through the paint, had a monstrous dunk, was guarding, playing great defense. He's great. We're going to be good for opening night,” Ham said.
Finally, Ham said that forward Troy Brown Jr. remains out with a back injury.
The Lakers will look to right the ship during the regular season after a disappointing preseason. The team finished with a 1-5 record and lost their final preseason game versus the Kings by 47 points.
They will certainly have to play better than that to beat the Warriors on Tuesday.