Change was everywhere inside the Intuit Dome on a recent September morning.
No Steve Ballmer. No Kawhi Leonard. No James Harden.
Instead, a new collection of faces took center stage as the Los Angeles Clippers hosted Media Day ahead of the new NBA season in Inglewood, Calif.
It was on Sept. 2nd that the Clippers season took a shocking turn when the NBA announced the harshest sanctions ever levied against one of its teams, penalizing the Clippers for circumventing the salary cap. Based on the misconduct, the NBA imposed the following penalties:
- The Clippers shall forfeit five first-round draft picks, one in each of the 2029, 2030, 2031, 2032 and 2033 NBA Drafts.
- The Clippers are fined $30 million.
- Clippers owner Steve Ballmer is suspended from all league and team activities for one year.
- Clippers President of Business Operations Gillian Zucker is suspended without pay for one year.
- Clippers President of Basketball Operations Lawrence Frank is suspended without pay for six months.
Yet amid all the change and controversy enveloping the organization as a result of the sanctions, Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue made his thoughts clear about the upcoming season.
“I wouldn’t want to be at any other place,” Lue said.
That sentiment stretches even beyond the locker room this season.
As the Clippers face a new challenge and new chapter going forward, five USC Annenberg students are embracing a new opportunity through a partnership with the Clippers.
This directed research class, supervised by professor Jeff Fellenzer in conjunction with professor Christina Bellantoni, at the Annenberg Media Center, will provide access to cover games, practices, press conferences, breaking news, et al.
In their proposal, the Clippers made it clear that they want our team to cover their team with an independent voice not influenced by the Clippers.
We are grateful for the opportunity and learning experience.
Meet the team!
My name is Adriana Brady, and I am a senior journalism major here at Annenberg. I am a Los Angeles native and have been a Los Angeles sports fan my whole life. My background as an athlete sparked my passion for sports journalism and my desire to diversify current coverage. I currently work as a sports editor for Annenberg Media, have been a beat writer through my first year at USC and have served as editor-in-chief of my transfer school’s publication as well. I am looking forward to covering the new additions to the Clippers’ roster, exploring more about the growing Japanese culture on the team and not being afraid to ask the difficult questions.
I’m Liam Ervin, a senior journalism major from Washington, D.C., with a minor in Sports Media Studies. My experience in sports ranges from working as a production and talent development intern at Fox Sports to serving as a play-by-play broadcaster for Big Ten Network Student U and, most recently, the Cotuit Kettleers of the Cape Cod Baseball League this summer. At Annenberg Media, I have worked in a wide variety of roles from writing to on-air reporting while covering both USC and professional sports. This semester, I am most excited to cover the balance between young and old for the Clippers roster and the stories surrounding community engagement in and around the Los Angeles area.
My name is Dash Istafanous and I am a sophomore student and multimedia journalist at USC. I cover sports through writing, podcasts, and broadcasts. More specifically, I beat write for the football team, host two sports podcasts a week through the Talk of Troy network and work in the control room for Sports SCene – a weekly sports talk show. I look forward to all the lessons I will learn through this opportunity the Los Angeles Clippers are granting us. I also wrote a weekly column on the Cleveland Cavaliers, so I’m excited to continue developing my voice in the NBA media landscape.
I’m Kyle Loquet and I am currently a senior at USC majoring in journalism with a minor in Sports Business & Management. I’m originally from Diamond Bar, CA. My past experience in the sports media world has included working with FOX Sports on its Digital Media team, where I helped create and produce digital content across FOX Sports platforms. I also work with Big Ten Network Student U, where I’m a play-by-play commentator and color analyst, contributing to live broadcasts for USC Athletics. At Annenberg Media, I’ve worked as a host, reporter, analyst, and producer covering USC and professional sports, including serving as an executive producer and host for Talk of Troy, which is the only student-led sports podcast at USC. This semester, I’m most excited to cover the Clippers and their team chemistry while also building a new identity around the organization. I want to tell stories that also go beyond the court and focus on how some of the new players are interacting with the community and fans.
I’m Sammie Yen and I’m a senior communication major from Los Angeles. I’m the Sports Executive Producer for Annenberg Media, overseeing all the sports content that airs on the school’s broadcast, including evening sports segments and a live half-hour sportscast. I’ve been working behind the scenes in sports broadcasting for three years and have been writing about sports and sports culture since high school. I’m excited to cover the day-to-day storylines of anNBA team and to be on the ground for a true transition season with a new Clippers core.
Given the significant changes heading into this upcoming season for the Clippers, the five of us will be here to document the stories that shape it.
From player development to a playoff push, our goal is to be true to journalism while telling the stories you otherwise might have missed.
We are looking forward to bringing you great stories and a different perspective on an NBA team.
As Coach Lue said, we wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.