Last year the Clippers signed Baron Davis to a $65 million contract only to see their franchise player struggle to perform all year (health being a significant part of that). "Which Baron shows up for camp (and beyond)?" is a huge question for LA.
Top pick Blake Griffin was impressive over the summer in Las Vegas but he strained his shoulder in the process. Will he be hampered in any way at the start of camp? He's not expected to be but if there's one thing that always seems to bite the Clippers - it's the injury bug.
Which center will fit better in the starting lineup alongside Griffin - Chris Kaman or Marcus Camby? Can DeAndre Jordan develop quickly enough to make either expendable?
Was last year an outlier or is Ricky Davis' career at its end? He did have a severe case of tendinitis - can he contribute? Regardless the Clippers have added Rasual Butler to round out the bench.
One remaining question was just answered, Steve Novak re-signed on Friday.
Camp Questions: Pacific Division - Basketball News & NBA Rumors - HOOPSWORLD
This is Eric Pincus' Clippers section of the Pacific Division Camp Questions on HoopsWorld.
11 months ago
Steve Perrin
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21 hours and no comments here? Some kind of record. Hate to spoil it.
The interesting thing in this post, aside from the guarded enthusiasm, is what it doesn’t say. Guarded enthusiasm is probably being too generous. It’s more like, will Blake Griffin be injured? The answer is no. At least not from the summer league tweak. But thanks for mentioning the curse. Will Pau Gasol get dinged up at Eurobasket and miss Laker training camp? He won’t? Okay. Good to know.
—Let’s start with Baron Davis. Fair enough.
-“Can DJordan develop quickly enough to make either (Kaman or Camby) expendable?” This is kind of a side view of things, but the initial question-who is the better fit as a starter—is a good one. Kaman and Camby aren’t in the same situation at all. Can Kaman play well enough to have value, and even if he does, should he be traded? Camby has a sizable expiring contract. And how does DJordan fit into that complex equation?
—next item: Ricky Davis? huh? Again, a bit of a strange twist on things. Here at ClipsNation our expectations for Davis2 are minimal at best. He’s an afterthought, a nice piece if he’s not done. The issue is phrased well, and works as an intro to Butler, but it’s literally the last item on the list. And I mean the last item: it almost comes below the possibility of bringing Sofo over this year, but maybe that’s just me.
—no Eric Gordon.
—no Al Thornton. This is significant because he should probably be the intro for Rasual Butler, not Davis2. And the starter question between Thornton/Butler promises to be just as intriguing as it is between Kaman/Camby.
—no Craig Smith.
—no Sebastien Telfair.
—no Mardy Collins. That one actually makes some sense. Got a little Steve Novak as a chaser, however.
—And you know what the biggest Clipper question of all is? How they position themselves for the next offseason, both through their play on the court and the moves they make off of it.
I don’t read Pincus very often but he seems to work as hard on the Clips as anybody out there besides our own blogmeisters. I know this is just a quick pass, but the fact that it misses on so many counts shows how intriguing the Clips are right now, going into the season.
oops
did a little strikethrough there; didn’t mean to
by citizen zhiv on Sep 15, 2009 11:42 AM PDT up reply actions
The Deadness is Palpable
Just a waiting game now, though Football is helping me stay entertained…
Good news about Griffin being cleared obviously, we had been waiting for that.













