Whether it was a luau, a visit to Pearl Harbor, a computer lab dedication for local students or the preseason games themselves, the Los Angeles Clippers felt the aloha during the franchise’s first trip to Hawaii.
So will they go camping here for preseason again?
If it’s up to Doc Rivers, absolutely. He lost some of his Clippers front-office responsibilities in the offseason to focus on coaching but still carries weight within the organization. He remarked the last 10 days were “as nice of a camp setting as I’ve ever been on. It was terrific.”
“I do (have a say), and we will (be back), most likely,” Rivers said postgame to local media on Tuesday. “So, if you guys invite us back. It’s up to you guys.”
Interest from local fans, if not at Laker-like levels, was noticeable for the two-game set against the Toronto Raptors. Both games of the Clippers Hawaii Classic at the Stan Sheriff Center were well attended, with about 9,000 (eventually) in house on Sunday for the Raptors’ 121-113 win and 7,500 to 8,000 on Tuesday for the Clippers’ 98-84 response.
The teams’ All-Stars and an exciting new playmaker in Clippers rookie Milos Teodosic generated memorable highlights that were shared on social media.
“It was a lot of fun. The fans here have been unbelievable,” Clippers forward Blake Griffin said. “Everybody from Hawaii’s embraced us. The guys like it. The energy in the arena both nights was amazing. So, I think it’s definitely something we’d look forward to again.”
Lessons were learned from a debacle on Sunday, when thousands of fans stood in frustration outside the arena because of a security bottleneck. Metal detectors and bag searches, variables not present during the Lakers’ last preseason games here in 2015, delayed entry at the main entrance point and caused many of those fans to miss at least the first quarter. Some didn’t get in until the second half.
Promoter AEG issued an apology after the game and offered ticket exchanges for Tuesday’s rematch. An undisclosed number of people took them up on it.
Operations were smooth on Tuesday. Another entrance point was opened, staffing was adjusted to guide fans in and fans were encouraged to come early. There was no backlog by tip-off.
“Bottom line is, it was a great event. It was great to have (the Clippers),” UH athletic director David Matlin said. “Working with AEG and the Clippers was great. We obviously had a hiccup on Sunday, the people coming through. The … metal detectors slowed the process down. We adjusted on Tuesday, and frankly, at 7 o’clock, we had seven-plus thousand people in and no line. I think we learned a lot. It’s going to help us get better in the future for events like this. But the metal detectors is a different variable.”
That didn’t affect the players’ outlook.
“I enjoy it out here, man,” Clippers center DeAndre Jordan said Tuesday. “When we come out here, we got that whole other fan base out here. Guys who love our team, 1 through 15. Just to see those kids smile (Monday) at Stevenson Middle School (for a computer lab dedication) was cool. Hopefully we can come back.”
It will likely take a team effort again to make it happen. The Hawaii Tourism Authority took point locally in the announcement of this Clippers Hawaii Classic.
“They’ve talked to us about using our venue again,” Matlin said of the Clippers. “It’s a multiple-party agreement. But they definitely mentioned they’d be interested in the Stan Sheriff Center again, and we’d be glad to have them. It’s working out schedules. I think it would be great.”
Matlin estimated UH pulled in a net revenue “in the low six figures” for hosting.
The Raptors could make for an intriguing possible preseason opponent in the future, with general manager Bobby Webster, a Kailua native and ‘Iolani graduate, now a face of the organization.
The teams departed Wednesday to continue their abbreviated preseasons on the mainland.
Jordan tweeted on his way out, “Hawaii, thank you for welcoming us with open arms! You will forever be my Ohana…Mahalo, always and forever. Aloha!”
He finished the message with a shaka emoji.
