West Notes: Clippers, John Wall, Kings, Rockets

Clippers

Coach Tyronn Lue shot down a report that indicated Reggie Jackson had beat out John Wall for the starting point guard job. Lue said actually has yet to make a final decision.

“Both guys are in a great position, and their mindset is in the right place,” Lue said, via Andrew Greif of the LA Times. “It is about winning. It is not about who’s the starter, who’s the best player. It’s about the right fit and trying to win, and both of those guys are on board with that.”

• Center Ivica Zubac offered high praise to Lue in an interview with Mark Medina of NBA.com, saying the coach is a big reason the team believes in good things. “Ty has been around the team and me for a while, even before he became a head coach,” Zubac said, via Medina. “He’s been seeing the progress for a while. It’s in big part thanks to him. He’s been pushing us.”

Kings

Coach Mike Brown said it was a no-brainer to keep guard Matthew Dellavedova on the roster, as Dellavedova has a reputation for pushing his teammates in practice.

“If Davion [Mitchell] ain’t going hard, he will get embarrassed by Delly… If [De’Aaron] Fox isn’t going hard, he will get embarrassed by Delly,” Brown said, via Jason Anderson of the Sacramento Bee. “To have a guy like that raises the level of intensity.”

• The status of rookie forward Keegan Murray is TBD for the season opener, per multiple reports. Murray entered health and safety protocols over the weekend. The Kings open Wednesday vs. the Trail Blazers.

Rockets

While the Rockets don’t have championship goals, or perhaps even playoff dreams, they don’t intend to be pushovers, either, guard/forward Jae’Sean Tate said, via Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle.

“There’s a lot of teams around this league that think we’re still in rebuild and we’re still trying to figure things out,” Tate said, via Feigen. “Our whole mindset is … trying to punch guys in the mouth, try to be the aggressors and I think you … are going to see that this year.”