Austin Rivers has been fined $25,000 for throwing a seat cushion into the stands.

The incident occurred with 7:47 remaining in the fourth quarter of the Los Angeles Clippers' win at the Sacramento Kings.

The Los Angeles Clippers did extra due diligence on Lance Stephenson before trading for him last June.

Doc Rivers didn't know Stephenson previously.

A normal background check would typically warrant 20 phone calls, but Rivers and general manager Dave Wohl made 61 inquiries researching Stephenson.

"I don't think we've ever made more (background) calls for a player in my life," Rivers said. "We had to make sure, but I've got to tell you that I'm really excited. It's one game (in the regular season), but I think he has a chance to be really disruptive to other teams. And what I love is he gives us another ball handler, and you can see that with the first group."

"As soon as we made that acquisition, (Stephenson) actually (called) me and said, 'I'm like this, I ain't like what people say,'" Chris Paul said. "But I think for me, it was more about getting to know him myself. Think about it, in this league, there's going to be some people who like you and some people who don't. I bet if you go to some guys in this league, they're probably going to say certain things about me, you know what I mean? It's one of those things. You can only go from your own experiences."

Chris Paul joined the Los Angeles Clippers in 2011 in a trade after it was clear the then-New Orleans Hornets would have to rebuild.

Paul could have opted for free agency in 2012.

Paul and the Clippers have been contenders in every season since his arrival, but they have yet to advance to the Western Conference Finals. Paul can become a free agent in 2017 with an early termination option.

Paul is confident in his place with the Clippers and says he wants to finish his career with the franchise.

“Hell, I never imagined I’d leave New Orleans, but there’s no question this is where I want to be,” he said. “I want to win. Here.”

DeAndre Jordan and Chris Paul have denied reports of a serious rift between the two leading up to free agency.

“I think there was forced tension from the things we all heard about each other that wasn’t true at all,” Jordan said before the preseason. “It was just the outside (perception). We never asked each other about it.”

Some of the ways Paul wears on teammates is because he's a point guard.

“Not everybody is going to like the point guard. Sometimes, you have to be an (expletive). Straight up,” Austin Rivers said. “The point guard is the least liked person on every team – the good ones – because he’s the one that’s going to put you in your place. He’s the one that’s going to tell you the truth. He’s going to yell at you.

“… All the good point guards have to be the bad guy sometime.”

“If I didn’t like Chris,” Jordan said frankly, “I wouldn’t have signed here.”

Paul doesn't question whether he's possibly a "bad teammate."

“I never said ‘It’s possibly true’ because I know myself,” Paul said. “It’s like, if someone said to me, ‘You’re a murderer,’ I’d be like, ‘Nope!’”

The Los Angeles Clippers have exercised their 2016-17 option on guard C.J. Wilcox.

Wilcox appeared in 21 games last season for the Clippers, averaging 2.0 points and 0.4 assists in 4.8 minutes of play. During the 2015 Orlando Pro Summer League, he posted averages of 14.0 points, 3.2 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.4 steals in 32.0 minutes of play.

Wilcox was the 28th overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft out of the University of Washington. He finished his collegiate career with 301 3-pointers, the most in Washington history, sixth in Pac-12 history and appeared in 131 total NCAA games. In his four seasons at UW, he was one of just three players in Pac-12 history to post 1,800 points, 275 made 3-pointers and 400 rebounds.

The Oklahoma City Thunder led the NBA in efficiency differential during the preseason with a mark of +12.5.

During the 14-15 preseason, the Golden State Warriors had the league's best mark with +11.0, which became a first indicator of their jump as title contenders.

Here's the full rankings from the 15-16 preseason:

1. Thunder: 12.5
2. Celtics: 11.6
3. Grizzlies: 11.5
4. Wizards: 10.4
5. Hornets: 10.0
6. Pistons: 7.1
7. Raptors: 5.6
8. Pacers: 4.7
9. Knicks: 4.0
10. Suns: 3.9
11. Nuggets: 3.5
12. Kings: 3.3
13. Magic: 2.8
14. Blazers: 1.8
15. Jazz: 0.4
16. Heat: 0.0
17. Hawks: -0.7
18. Rockets: -0.7
19. Nets: -1.0
20. Warriors: -1.3
21. Spurs: -1.9
22. Lakers: -2.1
23. Bucks: -3.4
24. Bulls: -3.6
25. Pelicans: -3.6
26. Clippers: -4.2
27. Cavaliers: -6.5
28. 76ers: -8.6
29. Mavericks: -10.7
30. Wolves: -11.0

The Los Angeles Clippers have waived center/power forward Chuck Hayes. 

Originally signed on August 31, 2015, Hayes appeared in four preseason games and averaged 0.5 points and 2.5 rebounds in 6.7 minutes.

The Clippers roster now stands at 15.

Matt Barnes is looking forward to play against Doc Rivers and the Los Angeles Clippers.

"I can't wait to play against Doc Rivers," said Barnes.

Barnes had wanted to finish his career with the Clippers, but he realized it would be unlikely after they hired Doc Rivers.

"Doc never wanted me," he said. "He couldn't wait to get rid of me. Doc and I never saw eye to eye. He tried to get me out of there the second he got there, so it wasn't too surprising to me what happened when things went south."

Rivers felt like he needed an upgrade at small forward and he acquired Lance Stephenson while signing Paul Pierce.

"I was the first trade of the summer," said Barnes. "Like I said, he couldn't wait."

Blake Griffin is training with Carmelita Jeter to help improve his speed on the court.

"I've always believed that the first two steps you take to catch an opponent or beat someone down the court are the most important," he said. "That's why I'm in Los Angeles to train with three-time Olympic medalist and 100-meter specialist Carmelita Jeter. Carmelita also holds three of the top 10 fastest times ever run."

Jeter had Griffin do some warmup exercises on the track, and immediately noticed that he has a tendency to hold his head down and bend over when he runs.

"Once you bend over, you've already collapsed," Jeter said. "So whatever speed that you thought you were about to get, you've already lost it... You're 6-9, but when you drop down, that makes you 6-1."

Lance Stephenson is excited for his fresh start with the Los Angeles Clippers after a disappointing season with the Charlotte Hornets.

The Hornets signed Stephenson in free agency and he expected to dominate the ball, but the team was still built around Kemba Walker on the perimeter.

“I don’t feel that,” he said. “I was just sitting in the corner. That’s not trying to be a star. A star normally gets the ball.”

Stephenson feels like he was misused.

“I think the way they wanted me to be a star isn’t the way my game is,” he said.

Doc Rivers is attempting to find Stephenson's game again.

“I’ve got the ball in my hands. We’re moving; we’re screening for each other. Everybody touches the ball in this unit,” said Stephenson. “Anything can happen.”