Eric Gordon is again with Clippers and acquainted with his position

For Eric Gordon, Monday’s setting was as acquainted because the project.

The 34-year-old guard practiced for the primary time since being traded final week from Houston to the Clippers inside the identical Playa Vista observe facility he’d known as residence throughout three seasons to begin his NBA profession, from 2008-11.

It was the primary alternative to be taught teammates’ preferences and the Clippers’ particular terminology. Any commerce requires a studying curve.

His final duties are already understood from his time complementing ball-dominant superstars reminiscent of James Harden and Chris Paul in Houston. In a season whose championship ambitions hinge on the Clippers’ duo of Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, it’s Gordon’s job — and people of guard Bones Hyland and backup middle Mason Plumlee, who additionally practiced Monday for the primary time since their trades right here — to assist the celebrities, and thus the group as an entire, play its greatest.

“Other guys, outside of them, would need to make quicker decisions, being ready to shoot, be ready to drive,” Gordon mentioned. “Because they’re going to command a lot of attention. And whenever the other guys get the ball, it’s making the right decision at all times.”

The Clippers imagine they made the suitable choices to usher in Gordon, Hyland and Plumlee — trades Lawrence Frank, the group’s president of basketball operations, mentioned had been made with the overarching intent of bettering the highest eight or 9 gamers of their playoff rotation. They have solely eight weeks to mesh earlier than the postseason begins.

“I’ve maybe been on two teams where we even talked about championships, and that’s in 10 years,” Plumlee mentioned of his NBA profession. “So to come into this situation, it’s an opportunity. It’s something I don’t take for granted.”

For Gordon, it’s a stark distinction to enjoying in Houston, which reworked from a Western Conference finalist to a lottery group throughout his seven seasons. He was the one veteran on a bottom-up rebuild centered on youth that had produced a league-low 13 wins this season.

“You got a lot of talent on this team,” Gordon mentioned. “And whenever you have a good team like this, things can come a lot more easier than when you’re on teams that are trying to figure out ways to win before.”

All three convey one thing totally different. Plumlee’s measurement presents a respectable backup for starter Ivica Zubac. Gordon was prized for his capturing vary to area the ground, Frank mentioned, and sturdiness as a defender when guarding greater gamers. Hyland can rating in a rush, fueled by an power and expertise he crafted rising up by finding out movies of the ballhandling legend recognized by the streetball nickname of Hot Sauce.

Yet all three, the Clippers hope, will elevate their championship possibilities by what they share: the flexibility to make performs as a passer. Last season, the Clippers’ de facto level guard off the bench was typically middle Isaiah Hartenstein, who may stand above the free-throw line and hit cutters or shooters operating into open area off of flare screens. Plumlee fills that void, with Frank recalling a 2016 postseason sequence in opposition to the Trail Blazers wherein he picked aside the Clippers’ protection by appearing as a launch valve when Portland’s backcourt was blitzed and compelled to surrender the ball.

The group not has a conventional level guard on the roster, and coach Tyronn Lue and gamers reminiscent of Paul George and Marcus Morris Sr. have been vocal this season concerning the want for such a participant within the rotation. On Friday, George and Morris overtly campaigned so as to add Russell Westbrook, although he at present stays on Utah’s payroll following his commerce from the Lakers.

Frank has acknowledged that the group’s offense can develop stagnant when too reliant on soar photographs. The group continues to be evaluating whether or not or methods to fill its fifteenth and ultimate roster spot by a buyout signing, and outdoors candidates at guard might be a part of that analysis. In the interim, Hyland and Gordon sounded greater than keen to audition their playmaking skills.

“I’ve always been playing one and two throughout my whole career,” mentioned Gordon, who averaged 8.9 drives per sport with Houston and assisted on almost 9% of these drives, of enjoying level guard and capturing guard. “If I’m playing the one here, I think I’ll be able to space the floor and create easier opportunities for them.”

During his first season-plus in Denver, Hyland mentioned he wished to indicate off extra of his sport as a playmaker and believes he can do this now with the Clippers to alleviate strain on George and Leonard, who will proceed to see double groups.

“More than just a scorer,” Hyland mentioned. “I’m actually a point guard and I offer that at a high level. And if you put me in that position, I’m going to dive into that position as well.”

Despite an All-Rookie season final yr, Hyland was obtainable through commerce after rising pissed off together with his position in Denver, in keeping with the Denver Post. He walked off the courtroom throughout a January sport, which he referred to not directly as a “frustrating moment” Monday. The Post additionally cited a poor match when he performed off the bench with guard Jamal Murray. When requested about what may apply from enjoying with the Nuggets’ star mixture of Nikola Jokic and Murray to Leonard and George, Hyland hinted on the dynamic when noting that “there’s two guys over here who was a phenomenal talent and you know over there, one guy was a phenomenal talent.”

There isn’t any assure of Hyland’s position with the Clippers throughout their championship pursuit, with Gordon and Norman Powell additionally within the bench’s backcourt rotation — not less than initially, as Lue experiments with new rotations, however Hyland mentioned he’s “all about winning” and was visibly thrilled to be with a company he felt like residence after being hosted for pre-draft exercises in 2021. In the locker room, he sits subsequent to Morris, whom he has recognized since he was 11.

“When I got the call [of being traded] I was doing jumping jacks inside of my house,” Hyland mentioned.