The Clippers spent Monday apologizing, updating injuries and answering for a summer none of them wanted. Darius Garland spent it talking about basketball. “My entire summer’s been basketball,” the two-time All-Star said at Media Day inside Intuit Dome. “My main thing is to come in here and win games. So, that’s my main focus.” With Brandon Ingram’s debut on hold and Bradley Beal missing the start of camp, that focus matters more than ever. As the Clippers open training camp today, Tuesday, September 29, in Mānoa, Hawaiʻi, the offense belongs to Garland.
Here is what Media Day revealed, and why Garland thinks this team “can surprise a lot of people.”
Redden Opens With an Apology
Before any player spoke, interim president of basketball operations Trent Redden addressed the fan base directly. The franchise was fined $30 million, stripped of five first-round picks and saw owner Steve Ballmer and president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank suspended after the NBA’s salary-cap circumvention investigation into Kawhi Leonard’s endorsement deals. Leonard has since been traded back to Toronto.
“Obviously, this took a little longer than we had hoped,” Redden said. “You guys deserved to hear from us before this. Our fans deserved to hear from us before this. And for that, we’re sorry.” He added that the penalties “are significant and we will comply with it,” and closed with a rallying cry: “This franchise often has done its best work with its back against the wall… We hope to represent our fans the same way we always had in dark times by coming out and fighting.”
Tyronn Lue, entering his seventh season as head coach, praised a roster that reported early. “It’s been difficult,” Lue said. “Since Day 1, we said we wanted everyone back the day after Labor Day, and we’ve had guys in the gym for two months now… The leadership is great, the morale is great, even in these tough situations.” For the full front-office backdrop, see our Sep 28 preview on Lue and Redden’s interim leadership.
Darius Garland Is the Clippers’ Go-To Scorer Now
Garland, 26, arrived from Cleveland in the February trade that sent James Harden to the Cavaliers. This is his first full season in Los Angeles, and with Leonard gone, he enters it as the team’s primary scorer and the leader of a backcourt that includes 19-year-old rookie Keaton Wagler.
He did not sound worried about expectations. Describing the locker room as a mix of youngsters “doing TikToks” and “old heads” trying to keep up, Garland offered the day’s most confident line: “I think we can surprise a lot of people.”
The plan was for Garland to share the load with Ingram, the centerpiece of the Leonard trade. That partnership will have to wait, but Garland is already excited about it. “Whenever [Ingram] comes back, when he gets out there, I think our pick-and-roll will be the No. 1 thing we go to,” he said. “I think that can be really nasty. He’s super crafty. I’m super excited to play with him for sure.”
We broke down how that Garland-Ingram core was supposed to work in our post-Kawhi blueprint. Monday’s news means Garland will carry it alone for a while.
Ingram’s Surgery Included a Partially Torn Achilles
The surprise of the day came from Redden’s injury report. Ingram missed the final two games of Toronto’s first-round loss to Cleveland with a right heel injury and had surgery in May. Redden revealed that the procedure also repaired a partially torn Achilles tendon, which had not been previously disclosed. After reporters sought clarification, Redden confirmed it was found and repaired by the Raptors’ medical team during that surgery. “It was an all-in-one surgery,” he said.
“Partially torn is much different than fully torn, so not as long. About six months less on the rehab schedule,” Redden explained. “But it wasn’t until we got our hands on him here that we started to see where he was at with his progression. He won’t be ready for the start of the season, and we’ll reevaluate when we get there.”
Ingram said he has been in the facility for more than a month and has started on-court work. “I won’t be participating in training camp much, but I’ll be out there a little bit,” he said. “I think it’s a week-by-week thing.” He said he played through pain “throughout the year with the Raptors and especially coming down in crunch time.”
The 29-year-old averaged 21.5 points, 5.6 rebounds and 3.7 assists for Toronto last season and is on the books for $40 million this year. He also sounded a defiant note about the team: “I know [there are] little to no expectations for us this year. We have enough in the building to compete.”
Beal, Miller and Konan Niederhauser Round Out the Injury List
Ingram was not the only update. Redden said Bradley Beal is dealing with right knee inflammation following his left hip surgery and will not be available for the start of camp. Beal played just six games last season after breaking his hip in November.
Jordan Miller tore his left rotator cuff in a summer pickup game, had surgery, and will be reevaluated in five months. Center Yanic Konan Niederhauser will not be ready for the season opener as he recovers from a foot ligament tear that ended his rookie season in March. That means four rotation candidates are sidelined as camp begins.
Who Fills the Minutes in Hawaiʻi
The absences open the door for others. Rui Hachimura, signed to a two-year, $28 million deal after four seasons with the Lakers, gives Lue a proven forward. “One thing about here… everybody talks about how they take really good care of their players,” Hachimura said. Brook Lopez, Derrick Jones Jr. and Kris Dunn return, while Max Strus and Gradey Dick arrived via trades.
Wagler is the name to watch. The No. 5 pick in the 2026 draft is the franchise’s first top-five selection since Blake Griffin in 2009, and Lue teased a significant role for him. “I’m just going to do my best to stay mentally focused,” Wagler said. “Not worry about all the outside noise.” Rookie Baba Miller and Kobe Sanders are also in the mix. For more on the rookie, revisit Keaton Wagler’s camp case.
Watch: Clippers 2026 Media Day Press Conferences
Catch Garland, Ingram, Redden, Lue and the rest of the roster in the Clippers’ official Media Day video:
What Comes Next
The Clippers practice at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa through October 3, then face the Golden State Warriors on Sunday, October 4, in Honolulu. They play three preseason games before the regular season opens October 21 at Intuit Dome against the Sacramento Kings. The franchise’s league-record streak of 15 straight winning seasons is on the line.
For the first time in years, the Clippers are not entering a season as a title favorite. What they have is a two-time All-Star point guard with the ball in his hands, a rookie with upside, and a coach his front office calls the best in the NBA. Garland’s message was simple: ignore the noise and win games. Watch the full Media Day video above, and follow InfanityTV for daily Clippers coverage from Hawaiʻi.
