How Lance Stephenson found out he was joining LA Clippers

By Fox Sports
Published

The news that made Lance Stephenson want to do "backflips" came from an unlikely source.

In a piece for The Players' Tribune, Stephenson said he was notified of his trade to the Clippers by a few young fans watching him work out at Impact Gym in Las Vegas.

As told by Stephenson: 

"After a few moments of the kids eagerly looking at the phones and then looking at me, a couple of them yelled out, 'Hey! You're a Clipper now!' My agent had told me that a trade to L.A. was almost final earlier that day, but things change quickly in offseason transactions. So I kept focus and controlled what I could: making sure I'm in the best shape possible. When the kids told me they saw the trade on the NBA app, I looked at my phone to confirm the news.

"It was true, I was heading to Los Angeles. And yes, I found out the trade was official from a few young fans watching me work out. The speed of technology and word-of-mouth in 2015 is truly amazing."

Stephenson, who spent time with Indiana and Charlotte last season, was overjoyed with the news that he'd be joining Blake Griffin, DeAndre Jordan, Chris Paul and Doc Rivers in Los Angeles.

"I have the utmost respect for him (Rivers). He has an ability to analyze players and figure out a way to make the most of their abilities. He puts you in the best position to succeed on the floor. Doc Rivers is a future Hall of Fame coach and he's won a championship -- two of the ultimate leadership accolades in this league."

Stephenson, a New York City hoops legend, should be able to make an immediate impact off the bench for the Clippers. For his career (four seasons), he's averaging 8.9 points and 4.5 rebounds per game.

And the chance to, in a sense, resurrect himself with the Clippers was too good to pass up . . . Stephenson is 'Born Ready.'

"My goal in L.A. is just to win. I'm not worrying about how much I score. When you worry about stats, you lose focus. The main objective is to win. In order to help this team get to the next level, I'm focusing on being a defensive stopper, a knockdown shooter and playing that high-energy, hardcore basketball I've always been known for."