Lance Stephenson knows the 2015-16 Los Angeles Clippers are going to be better than any version of the Indiana Pacers he was a part of.
This isn’t a difficult concept, of course. The Clippers have a crap ton of talent on their hands: three legitimate stars in Chris Paul, Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan; an aging NBA champ who can still play in Paul Pierce; a sweet-shooting J.J. Redick; a versatile, albeit volatile, Josh Smith; an athletic wild card in Wesley Johnson; an instant scorer in Jamal Crawford; and a large amount of two-way upside in Stephenson himself.
It’s not surprising, then, to learn that Stephenson is extremely high on his situation in Los Angeles, even if that feeling comes at the expense of those Pacers teams that stood as the biggest road block to LeBron James’ Miami Heat in 2012-13 and 2013-14.
From Yahoo Sports’ Shams Charania:
Lance Stephenson is standing outside the weight room on a sunny training camp day, when he starts pointing to his surroundings. First, Chris Paul. Then behind him, where Blake Griffin, DeAndre Jordan, Pablo Prigioni and Josh Smith are cramped near dumbbells. Down the hall are Paul Pierce and Doc Rivers.
So Stephenson finishes and gets to dialogue.
“We have a lot more talent than I ever had in Indy,” Stephenson told Yahoo Sports.
Paul George and David West and Roy Hibbert and George Hill are probably off frowning somewhere, but hey, it’s the truth. And it’s a refreshing truth by Stephenson’s standards, since he was being lampooned for indirectly calling himself a star less than two weeks ago.
These Clippers and those Pacers do have one thing in common: They may both end up being great situations for Stephenson.
Chasing big money with the Charlotte Hornets didn’t work out for Stephenson. His flaws were accentuated, he didn’t mesh with Kemba Walker, he shot under 40 percent from the floor, he didn’t offer the same effort on the defensive end, and he turned in his worst PER performance since 2011-12, according to Basketball-Reference. Part of his flameout in Charlotte is on the Hornets. They didn’t surround him with the right talent. He needs to play alongside guys who can work on and off the ball, so that he can work on and off the ball instead of being pigeonholed to an off-ball specialist title—a role for which Stephenson and his shaky jumper are not suited.
The Clippers, like the Pacers, have enough complementary, even in their superstars, to allow Stephenson to work within a comfortable dynamic. More importantly, while they had their share of off-court warts last season and into the summer (DeAndre saga, anyone?), the Clippers are brimming with strong-willed veteran presences. Pierce, Paul and head coach Doc Rivers are all valuable guiding forces, leaders of men who should help Stephenson refine his game, his attitude and, by season’s end, his individual standing in a league that moved on without him last year.
