LOS ANGELES _ Unsure during recent weeks whether he would participate in the NBA's season restart, Clippers guard Lou Williams is expected to play, coach Doc Rivers said Wednesday, when teams were required to turn in the names of their 35-person travel party to the NBA.
"All indications is that yes, he is," Rivers said during a video call with reporters. "Obviously up until we get on the plane, anything can happen. But I do expect Lou to be with us. I would be very surprised if he's not.
Rivers added that he didn't know of any Clippers players choosing to opt out of participating.
Williams is the third-leading scorer and an influential locker-room voice this season for the Clippers, who held championship ambitions and the second-best record in the Western Conference when the regular season was suspended March 11 because of the novel coronavirus.
The Clippers are scheduled to arrive at the Walt Disney World campus on July 8 and play their first game July 30 against the West-leading Lakers.
A 33-year-old who has been named the league's best reserve a record-tying three times, Williams voiced reservations that playing would distract attention from the national protest movement that followed the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
Williams called himself "50-50" to play on June 18, when he told a group of fans during a video chat that like-minded players had pushed the NBA about whether "Black Lives Matter" could be worn on jersey patches or incorporated onto the court design.
Seeking to allay players' concerns, the NBA will paint "Black Lives Matter" on its courts at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, sources with knowledge of the plans confirmed to The Los Angeles Times on Monday. The league also is working with the players' union to allow players to replace the last names on their jerseys with statements promoting social justice efforts.
Team owner Steve Ballmer told The Times on Monday that he will support players who speak out against racial inequity.
"We certainly encourage our players to speak out on issues that are important to them," Ballmer said. "I would never want to get in the way of a player doing that. And we don't.
"... The league and the players' association have really worked collaboratively to find good ways to do a lot of things, whether it's sharing revenue, so to speak, or giving platform for this voice. So I have a lot of faith that between the players' association, led by (NBPA president) Chris Paul, and the league, that there will be great ways for our players to express themselves and that we can be supportive of that as teams and league."
