{"id":750860,"date":"2026-07-08T16:56:13","date_gmt":"2026-07-08T16:56:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/750860\/"},"modified":"2026-07-08T16:56:13","modified_gmt":"2026-07-08T16:56:13","slug":"clippers-look-to-define-reality-for-players-during-summer-league-orange-county-register","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/750860\/","title":{"rendered":"Clippers look to \u2018define reality\u2019 for players during Summer League \u2013 Orange County Register"},"content":{"rendered":"

Clippers assistant coach Jay Larranaga has five Summer League games to teach the Clippers\u2019 newest players the basics of their offense and defense. Five games to show them what to expect as they prepare for their NBA journey, which begins on Thursday night in Las Vegas.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to accelerate their adapting to the NBA and then we need to also kind of define reality for them, because it\u2019s a new reality that they are all experiencing,\u201d Larranaga said Monday. \u201cI think our staff has done a really good job so far and it\u2019s a great group of guys.\u201d<\/p>\n

Keaton Wagler, the No. 5 overall pick in last month\u2019s draft<\/a>, and second-round picks Baba Miller and Nick Martinelli<\/a>, are all on the team, along with other young players (Kobe Sanders, Cam Christie and Sean Pedulla among them) which will kick off Summer League play against the Sacramento Kings on Thursday at 8 p.m. in Las Vegas. The Clippers then face the Utah Jazz on Sunday and the Lakers next Tuesday. They close the preliminary portion of the schedule against the Washington Wizards next Wednesday with at least one consolation game to follow.<\/p>\n

The Las Vegas Summer League, which runs from Thursday through July 19 with games at UNLV\u2019s Thomas & Mack Center and the adjacent Cox Pavilion, serves as a showcase for rookies, undrafted free agents, young players and those on two-way contracts.<\/p>\n

Each of the 30 NBA teams plays four preliminary games, with the top four advancing to the semifinals on July 18. The championship game is July 19. All the non-playoff teams play a fifth consolation game against an opponent to be determined.<\/p>\n

Larranaga put the Clippers\u2019 summer squad through its second practice on Monday before leaving for Las Vegas and said he and his staff saw some good and some not-so-good.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe first day (Sunday) we went up and down and like most teams at the beginning of a season and most young teams, I thought we were a little bit in a hurry,\u201d Larranaga said. \u201cSo, we just said, while we\u2019re playing hard, we still got to maintain our patience.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlso, because the defense is usually ahead of the offense, we just told our offense, you got to be patient, and we want to initiate our offense in the scoring area.\u201d<\/p>\n

Miller, a 6-foot-11 wing from Cincinnati, said he sees his role with the Clippers as someone who can provide defensive energy and rebounding. He was the first player since Hall-of-Famer Oscar Robertson to lead the Bearcats in points (13), rebounds (10.3) and assists (3.7) per game in the same season.<\/p>\n

\"ClippersClippers rookie forward Baba Miller, left, was the first Cincinnati player since Hall-of-Famer Oscar Robertson to lead the Bearcats in points (13), rebounds (10.3) and assists (3.7) per game in the same season. (AP Photo\/Colin E. Braley)<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like that\u2019s stuff that is valuable in the league nowadays, especially at my size, being able to go in different positions,\u201d said Miller, who was drafted early in the second round (36th overall). \u201cSo, I feel like just focusing on that from the jump so that I can have a niche that kind of makes me different. Then I feel like everything else will kind of come over time.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou just don\u2019t come into the league and be able to just do whatever you want. You have got to adapt to the team, try to be a positive asset and try to help get more wins.\u201d<\/p>\n

Martinelli, a 6-7 forward, knows as a rookie he has a lot to learn after spending four years at Northwestern, where he evolved from seldom-used freshman to the No. 55th pick in the draft. He will fill the Clippers\u2019 second two-way contract spot alongside second-year player Sean Pedulla.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou got to get out of the mud because you\u2019re back at the bottom of the food chain,\u201d he said of his role. \u201cYou have to just humble yourself, be a circuit for your teammates, especially when you are a young guy.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, you put in the extra work, do the dirty work and then hope they have your back.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"ClippersClippers rookie forward Nick Martinelli, shown playing for Northwestern, drives to the basket as Rutgers forward Bryce Dortch defends during the second half of a Big Ten game on Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025, in Evanston, Illinois. (AP Photo\/Nam Y. Huh)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Clippers assistant coach Jay Larranaga has five Summer League games to teach the Clippers\u2019 newest players the basics…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":750861,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[64],"tags":[7630,355,99],"class_list":["post-750860","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nba","tag-clippers","tag-nba","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/750860","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=750860"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/750860\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/750861"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=750860"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=750860"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=750860"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}