LOS ANGELES — It's been a busy offseason for the Clippers. All of a sudden, L.A.'s "other team" has become a destination for free agents.
Being added to the fray is Grant Hill, who was introduced to the media Friday afternoon at the Clippers training facility.
Los Angeles was believed to be a destination for the Hill — but with the Lakers after Steve Nash was acquired in a sign and trade earlier this month. The Lakers reportedly made an offer to Hill but he says he was "not that close" to signing with the Purple and Gold.
"I'm excited to be here with the Clippers and excited about this team, this upcoming season, and really the future going forward," Hill said. "I'm sure we will play the Lakers a few times this year and hopefully Steve will pass me the ball like he used to."
Hill says he talked to Chris Paul and Chauncey Billups during his free-agent process, in addition to head coach Vinny Del Negro. Hill had extensive talks with Paul regarding the Clippers training staff. He's had a number of surgeries throughout his career and this offseason he went to Germany to have the Orthokine treatment on his right knee. It's the same procedure that Kobe Bryant, Alex Rodriguez and Tiger Woods have undergone and he says he feels good heading into his 19th NBA season.
"I felt good before I went over there," Hill said. "The bottom line is you want to play and you want to give yourself every opportunity to be right, so it was good.
"It was worth the trip."
The Clippers have bolstered their bench this offseason with the signings of Hill, Jamal Crawford and acquiring Lamar Odom in a trade. Already, on paper, the team's second-unit is, arguably, the best in the league.
"You look at teams that win and win championships and it's depth," Hill said. "Depth is certainly important to be able to stick guys out there. It's a long season. When you have a team that just relies on a first unit, that puts a lot of pressure on the first unit.
"To have guys who can play, who've played big minutes and big roles off the bench and really just to have options that's important."
However Hill, who's started 971 of his 997 regular-season career games, hasn't given up on cracking the Clippers starting lineup.
"Nothing's etched in stone," Hill said regarding him coming off of the bench regularly during the upcoming season. "The challenge for all of us is as long as we're committed to winning and whatever the coach wants that's what's best, so we'll see how that plays out."
Del Negro believes having a regular offseason and training camp will help the Clippers get all of their new faces acclimated, which is a stark contrast to the challenges faced last year with the lockout.
"The majority of the team is going to be a little bit different but it's a different season than it was last year," Del Negro said. "This year we have some time to try to put the right pieces around Blake, around Chris, around our young core of guys. It's going to take time. It's going to take time to build trust. It's going to take time for everyone to get chemistry down. Now that it's a regular season in terms of practice and everything, that will be an advantage for us with all the new faces we have."
According to LATimes.com, the Clippers added more depth Thursday, as they agreed to a one-year deal with former UCLA Bruin center Ryan Hollins.
