Patrick Beverley, who was acquired in the Chris Paul-centered blockbuster trade with the Rockets, is David Kohan’s favorite new addition and he tells us why (Pkantz/Creative Commons).

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David Kohan, best known for co-creating the pioneering hit comedy series “Will & Grace” is actually a huge Los Angeles Clippers fan, attending games as early as the late ‘80s. In this episode, Aaron had the opportunity to talk with David about both the return of Will & Grace after 11 years off the air and his beloved Clippers. We’ll hear about a wide array of topics, including how David processes the loss of Chris Paul, his take on Blake Griffin’s newfound 3-point stroke and why Patrick Beverley is our guest’s favorite new addition. Some non-Clippers areas covered include why the show has returned, what, if anything, is now different with the program and when David might collaborate with his sister, Jenji, who created “Weeds” and “Orange Is the New Black.” Some clips, pun intended, are excerpted below:

*But, first, two quick editor’s notes:

  • Early on, when David is referencing the 2016-17 Clippers’ hot start through 10 games, Aaron remarks, “14-1 or something like that.” In fact, those Clippers began 10-1 and 14-2. So he was close, but no cigar.
  • Between the interview recording and release, rookie point guard Milos Teodosic’s foot MRI results were revealed. He’ll be sidelined indefinitely with a plantar fascia injury.

4:31-4:50: “There was something about last season that felt joyless. In fact, that should have been what it said on the T-shirts: joyless. This year so far, in the two-game sample size, they seem looser and freer. It seems more fun.”

10:30-11:54: “The thing that I will miss about Chris Paul is he was the guy that, in any crunch-time situation, he was the one you trusted the most. I trusted Chris Paul as a scorer, as a defender, as a team leader, as the guy who was going to make the right decision more than anybody else on the team by far. So it was scary initially when he was traded. And the downside of Chris Paul was you would see him constantly chirping at players. I think Blake [Griffin] and DJ [DeAndre Jordan] did a pretty good job for the most part masking their annoyance and their frustration…I don’t think he was a great personality manager, which is a really important part of being a leader. Know who your teammates are, know who the people are around you and make adjustments. Don’t expect people to adjust to your personality.”

14:24-14:37: “In the last two minutes of a close game with a lot on the line, who is the Clipper that I would most want to see take that shot? Is it Blake right now? It might be Lou Williams. I’m not sure.”

22:33-23:22 on bringing Will & Grace back on the air:  “I was reluctant at first. I thought, ‘Well, it’s sort of run its course.’ But I think there was a sense that there was a need for something comforting and familiar to be out there in the public broadcasting sphere that, in really, really bad troubled times like these, would serve a function, would serve to be a comfort to people, if only for a half an hour on Thursday nights. To that end, I thought, ‘OK, well this is now a worthwhile endeavor,’ and, ‘I think I can make it so that we can get all the work done before tipoff on home games.’ And that is my goal. That actually is my goal for the year.”

24:13-24:49: “It’s easy to obsess, to obsess about the work and obsess about the things you should’ve done and obsess about the problems that could arise. And that can be never-ending if you don’t find something to throw yourself into, to really, really get into. I’m lucky that way. I have my family, I have things I love to do, and I have basketball. I have the Clippers, and it completely transports me from what I’m doing on the job. I mean I’m grateful.”

26:25-26:46: “There are so many monumentally horrible and stupid things that are coming at you constantly that seem ripe for parody or satirization, but you can’t… once you do it and if it’s aired four weeks later, we’re like, ‘Oh my god, yeah. When did that happen? Years ago, right?’ There’s a time warp happening.”

31:11-32:14: “If the appeal of the show initially was the novelty of two gay leads, the appeal of the return, the reboot of it, is the familiarity of it. It’s the comfort of it. So our goal wasn’t to reinvent this thing. Our goal was to do what it was, but to just give it a little facelift…It still needs to be what it was. Our goal was not to do anything radical or to reinvent it all. It’s the same characters, the same circumstances, visually and acoustically the same show; it’s just 2017 now.”

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Music: “Who Likes to Party” by Kevin MacLeod