NBA rumors: Los Angeles Clippers making Darren Collison their No. 1 priority
Los Angeles Clippers point guard Darren Collison has made a nice career of being a backup to Clippers’ star Chris Paul.
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The former UCLA Bruin saw his stock rise when he filled in for Paul during an injury as a rookie when the two played with the New Orleans Hornets during the 2009-2010 season. After that, he was dealt to the Indiana Pacers, who had a big need the position. After two seasons, he was supplanted as the starter by George Hill and joined the Dallas Mavericks. Collison was much better in Dallas, but after just one season he joined the Clippers and once again had success at Paul’s backup.
That’s why Collison decided to opt out of his contract that would have paid him $1.9 million for the 2014-2015 season. Now, Collison is set to hit unrestricted free agency.
According to Broderick Turner of The Los Angeles Times, Clippers’ president and head coach Doc Rivers is making Collison the Clippers’ number one priority.
"The Clippers coach and president of basketball operations will make the final decision on all things Clippers and is the one who, without mentioning Darren Collison by name, made it known that his free-agent point guard is priority No. 1.Collison, who opted out of the contract that would have paid him $1.985 million next season, probably will learn that his representatives were the first people Rivers called when the NBA’s free-agency period started at 9:01 p.m. Pacific time Monday.“You know our first guy, I’ll be honest, is one of our guys that opted out,” Rivers said. “He’s a little guy. That’s very important for us.”"
Collison played in 80 games last season, making 35 stars. He averaged 11.4 points, 3.7 assists, 2.4 rebounds and 1.2 steals per game while shooting 46.7% from the field, 37.6% from beyond the arc and 85.7% from the free throw line.