Sacks' focus on family makes for winning environment

[mkwest]

For VP Sacks, Clippers' focus on family makes for winning environment

Entering his 19th season in the Clippers' organization, Sacks said he wants family to be an emphasis in his first season as the team's primary decision-maker.

"You talk about a family atmosphere. I want people's families to be a part of this," Sacks said Tuesday. "I think it's really important. If you're going to invest this much time into a place, it's really important to have your family involved. Otherwise, you won't see them."

Whether it's Chris Paul's children, Griffin's brother or his own kids, Sacks wants the Clippers to be an organization that considers everyone important.

"We want guys who want to be here," Sacks said. "But if they can feel like their family is part of our family, that's so important to me."

"...I'm confident, but I'm not satisfied. If I was feeling really good and relaxed, that probably wouldn't be the best thing either."

If things go well this season, don't expect Sacks to be out in front accepting a lot of the credit. That's not something the leader of a strong family would do.

"I don't care. If we win, I'd rather see the players get credit. If we lose, then I've got to do a better job. That's how I look at it," Sacks said. "I'm not the type of person who wants to do well because of me. I want the team to do well because we're all invested and we're all a part of this."

Dan Woike, OC Register

[mkwest]

I totally agree with Sacks' hope of making this a family environment. If you look at some of the more successful organizations, you start to notice how most of them treat their players. It's either a fraternity or it's about family. It's something that I have wanted to see out of the Clippers for the longest, but you didn't really get that in years' past. I'm glad that we're trying to make strides into a different direction.

[mkwest]

Clippers have leg up on Lakers to start NBA season

The additions of free agents such as Crawford, former Lakers small forward Matt Barnes and veteran small forward Grant Hill were evidence enough that the Clippers' clout was on the rise, and a summer's worth of star-studded pickup games at the team's $50 million practice facility might have been a sign of more to come on that front.

LeBron James stopped by one day, as did Carmelo Anthony, Paul Pierce, James Harden, Paul George, Greg Monroe, Roy Hibbert and Trevor Ariza. Some of them live in the area; others were on vacation. They all came of their own accord. Newly promoted general manager Gary Sacks said that never took place before Paul arrived.

"We let it be known to the agents and other GMs that we were playing pick-up games from 11 (am) to 1 (pm) every day," said Sacks, who teamed with club president Andy Roeser and coach Vinny Del Negro to reshape the supporting cast. "In the old days, they were going to UCLA (to play). ... I think it's a reflection of our players. It's Chris Paul. It's Blake Griffin. It's Chauncey Billups (who re-signed in the summer). It's Grant Hill."

There were small changes to operations that weren't the norm, either, including the creation of a Clippers-only family room inside Staples Center to make the players feel at home. Paul certainly does, but not just because his wife, 3-year-old son and infant daughter are regulars in the room.

Sam Amick, USA Today