The Clippers have signed a sponsorship deal for their newly renovated training center with L.A.-based technology company Honey, a new partner for the team. The multiyear deal renames the Playa Vista facility the Honey Training Center: Home of the L.A. Clippers. Financial terms were not disclosed, but the deal also puts the company's logo on the Clippers' practice jerseys. This marks the first time the team has had a sponsor for its training center. No agencies were used in the deal (John Lombardo, THE DAILY). In L.A., Andrew Greif cites a source as saying that the deal lasts "at least four years," and that the team will "receive a 'multimillion-dollar investment'" from Honey. About half of the teams in the NBA have "sold naming rights in connection with their practice facility," with the Warriors and Clippers "joining those ranks this week." Clippers officials previously said that they "don't envision remaining at their current facility" past the '23-24 NBA season, and instead are planning to "move into a new training center in Inglewood that would be connected to a proposed Clippers arena" financed by Owner Steve Ballmer (L.A. TIMES, 9/20).
FIRST LOOK: Stephen Curry gave ESPN's Rachel Nichols a tour of the Warriors' new Biofreeze Performance Center, and Nichols said the training facility is a "player practice complex inside" Chase Center. She said, "It's got a court with facial recognition tracking that measures every shot and can tell who shot the ball. An underwater treadmill, sleep pods, a mini-barber shop, plus they put in crazy tall showers so it would fit the seven-footers" ("The Jump," ESPN, 9/18).
