Mitch Lawrence article

by MichaelCage on Jan 26, 2009 4:50 PM PST

Not sure if anyone posted this yet, but a buddy sent this article to me from the NY Daily News. If true, then it's probably time that we get rid of Baron, Kaman, and Ricky Davis...if only to improve morale, pull the team together, and rebuild for next year.

Sinking Clips

Going nowhere, the Clippers are showing signs that they've given up. They're on a pace to win 18 games and Mike Dunleavy has all kinds of trouble on his hands.

Baron Davis has been busy defending himself against teammates' whispers that he's healthy enough to play but taking his sweet time coming back from a hamstring injury. Davis won't be available tonight when he returns for the first time to Golden State since leaving last summer as a free agent.

Chris Kaman, out with a foot injury, has confided in various Clippers that he is in no rush to return to action before the Feb. 19 trading deadline, since he wants to stay in L.A. Ricky Davis recently waved off Dunleavy when he wanted him to participate in a scrimmage. Dunleavy let Davis slide, prompting groans and grumbling from a few players, according to one Clipper.

Summing up all the injuries and bad karma, Marcus Camby said, "It's like no other place I've ever been." Well, it is Clipper-land.

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ya i read this too

but the idea that some nothing new york paper has any insight into the clippers is a stretch at best. New york loves basketball drama and I think they just got tired of writing the marbury buyout crap. lol If our team was this dysfunctional our local coverage would have picked it up, not to mention a blurb on that “inside the clippers” blog by the pest. It wouldn’t surprise me if the camby comment was taken out of context too…

by cantthinkofagoodname on Jan 26, 2009 4:59 PM PST reply actions

Good call.

Why not kick a team when they are down? Oh, and by all means use shady journalism to do so. This isn’t the guy with the absurd trade rumors earlier in the season expressing bitterness that his dreams didn’t come true, is it?

by oneight on Jan 27, 2009 8:49 AM PST up reply actions

Same paper, different reporter

Good catch though. Apparently the Daily News has a ‘print whatever you like about the Clippers’ policy.

In this world, you must be oh so smart or oh so pleasant. Well, for years I was smart. I recommend pleasant. - Elwood P. Dowd

by Steve Perrin on Jan 27, 2009 9:03 AM PST up reply actions

Sloppy and sensationalistic...

I’ve heard the Camby quote, and it was specifically about injuries, i.e. No place I’ve even been has had this many injuries. That’s just a fact.

The Kaman reference is just weird. How does Kaman wanting to be in LA further his premise that there’s lots of trouble?

As for whispers about Baron taking his sweet time, well, duh. Hell, the coach made a veiled reference to it recently. It’s not exactly news, nor is it indicative of major dysfunction. That’s the best we can come up with? Besides, he calls it a hamstring injury – he’s been out with a tailbone injury, and his return has been slightly delayed by the hamstring. Sloppy.

That leaves us with one Ricky Davis anecdote. And frankly, it doesn’t ring true. Why would MDsr let Ricky Davis slide in practice? It’s not like the guy is the leading scorer on the team. The way Davis is playing, if he’s not busting his ass in practice he’ll be out of the league soon.

In this world, you must be oh so smart or oh so pleasant. Well, for years I was smart. I recommend pleasant. - Elwood P. Dowd

by Steve Perrin on Jan 26, 2009 5:18 PM PST reply actions

also about ricky

I don’t think the clips even have practice other than a shoot around, there’s not enough bodies to even scrimmage.

by cantthinkofagoodname on Jan 26, 2009 5:45 PM PST up reply actions

Good point...

Not for a long time, that’s for sure…

In this world, you must be oh so smart or oh so pleasant. Well, for years I was smart. I recommend pleasant. - Elwood P. Dowd

by Steve Perrin on Jan 26, 2009 6:32 PM PST up reply actions

local press

I read the Camby quote in the LA Times too, but the other three incidents are new. It might just be trouble making and rumors by the notorious New York press, but the sad story is that none of the LA papers have anybody of note reporting on the Clippers anymore. I don’t think Lisa Dillman has the access or the experience to pick up on any disgruntlement from the locker room and the AP reporters won’t write about that unless they see an actual fistfight break out.

With regard to Baron, yeah Dunleavy mentioned something about players listening to their agents and sitting the season out, but the more sensational charge is that his teammates are upset at him. Again, not sure if this is true, or if the NY Daily News is just a scandal rag…in these days of internet blogs, unsubstantiated web postings, and declining journalstic standards, who knows what is the truth anymore?

But if I were EJ or Al and I’m forced to bust my ass for 40+ minutes a night while a healthy teammate is resting until he’s 110% healthy, I would be pissed off at them too.

The really sad thing here is that we have to read about Clippers rumors on the NY Daily News. It might or might not be true, but at least they’re not reprinting AP wire reports.

by MichaelCage on Jan 26, 2009 11:08 PM PST reply actions

just a few thoughts...

yes there’s little local coverage, but that would mean there would be even less reliable coverage from a paper on the opposite side of the country. I can’t imagine new york papers are in high demand for clipper news. Seeing as how this is the first report of this behavior from kaman, I would say that it would mostly be unsubstantiated filler material of someone who knows a guy who knows a guy who heard something from someone who knows a guy. It’s like that scene in spaceballs… I am your fathers friends uncles college roommate. About baron, the papers seem to want him to be unhappy so they finally have something interesting to write about the clippers because I think even they get tired of “should lamar come off the bench” stories… Just take every piece of clipper news with a grain of salt, especially in losing seasons. It could either be better, or worse, than reported, but a few scattered reports from a paper in new york is definitely something I would consider unreliable.

by cantthinkofagoodname on Jan 27, 2009 12:25 AM PST up reply actions

If I was EJ or AT

I wouldn’t be that pissed. Even with BD in the game, they aren’t winning, that we all know. This is a good time for the rook and soph to get some experience and to showcase their skills. I’d say EJ is developing nicely….although I think he’s played like a vet since his second start.

by Newton Pham on Jan 27, 2009 8:59 AM PST up reply actions