Clippers 98 - Charlotte 94 - Two in a Row

The primary goal is to win.

IMO to accomplish that (assuming they have adequate talent, which I do), they need to: (1) change coaches; (2) change GMs; and (3) start acting like a real NBA team. Not necessarily in that order.

They have achieved the first – although they do not yet have a permanent new coach most likely. Not sure what’s going on with the second. The third – they are making progress with the practice facility, but little things like being the red headed step child at Staples are tough to overcome and can be deal killers when trying to attract first tier free agents.

At least they are finally doing something other than accepting sub .400 year after year.

That was (and still is to some degree) a very controversial draft pick in Charlotte. I and many others were disappointed that the Bobcats didn’t pick Lopez, but I wasn’t especially disappointed by Augustin either.

Augustin fit more of a need at the time since the Bobcats really only had Ray Felton at PG without a real backup. And Augustin’s perimeter shooting was badly needed in Charlotte.

Still, Lopez did seem to be the best player available, a solid frontcourt prospect for a team that really had only one good frontcourt player in Emeka Okafor. Charlotte had just traded for Nazr Mohammed (and his long, expensive contract) that season. Nazr was supposed to play center with Okafor at PF. But Okafor really struggled trying to defend some of the quicker PF’s, and he and Nazr clogged up the lanes on offense, which also hurt Gerald Wallace and really bogged down the half court offense. So Charlotte was understandably apprehensive about drafting another player that didn’t fit with Okafor.

So DJ wasn’t a bad draft choice, but unfortunately Charlotte didn’t stick to one strategy. The next season they gave up on Nazr and traded for Diop, an even longer and worse contract. Then they had so much money tied up in centers nobody else wanted that they decided to ship out Okafor for Chandler. And now as SP noted yesterday, they have 35 feet of near useless centers on the team.

I mean, they beat the Lakers and Celtics before the roster changes. They lost to the Nets before.

They beat the Bobcats after. I don’t know that there is anything particularly special about the Bobcats either way. Middle of the road team in the East. Probably miss the playoffs in the West.

Its a win and as someone watching the game a win is preferable to a loss. I don’t know that it has any special adjective associated with it.

My concern is that running players off for a few bucks like they just did Camby seems to be particularly a Clipper phenomenon. I wonder how this would affect some of the high level potential free agents like LBJ who seem to be genuinely concerned about their teammates (at least those they like) and how the organization they choose might treat them.

Camby was very well-liked by Clipper teammates (BD for example described him as a great player, a great defender). Is there any concern about how LBJ might react to the decision to trade Camby for less than full value just to save a few bucks short term ? I personally think that such actions do not exemplify professionalism and stand in the way of a realistic chance of snaring someone like LBJ. Which is why I’ve been advocating a new GM for a long time now and why I continue to question the merit of dumping Thornton.

I am saying what Jax wrote, that Camby was too valuable to be traded for what the Clips got, expiring contracts and cash. By value, I mean his productivity, leadership, reputation and entertainment value to the fans. If Dunleavy knew for sure that he would definitely trade Thornton and Telfair the next day, then maybe that would change my thinking a little. But I’m skeptical that the second trade was imminent, and the Camby trade taken by itself would have substantially weakened the team.

The trade also sent the wrong message to the rest of the team. Trading a respected veteran presence doesn’t show the remaining players that their continued hard work and dedication is valued. I doubt that Baron and Kaman both happened to have their worst performances of the season immediately after the Camby trade by coincidence. Going forward, this trade could lower team morale and reinforces the idea that the remaining players are expendable regardless of their performance and effort. We may think players are paid a lot so they should work hard to “earn” their exorbitant contracts, but that’s our perspective and not necessarily that of the players.

Jax makes a good point that future free agents may not look at this trade favorably. Although I wouldn’t expect that to be a primary consideration, dumping players for profit does reinforce the notion that the Clippers aren’t a real team committed to competing with the perenial contenders. I also am concerned about how this trade and constant roster turnover will affect LA’s chances at re-signing its own young players, especially DJ, who seemed to benefit greatly from playing with Camby.

As for outrage over the Thornton trade, I disagreed with that trade, too. I believe the Clips could have traded Thornton and Telfair after the season without too much trouble. Thornton should have been showcased the rest of the season, and LA potentially could have gotten more than just cap space for him. He seems like one of the players who would have benefitted from the coaching change, and he seemed to play pretty well this season when he got consistent minutes as a starter. Even if that didn’t happen, LA still has its first round pick to trade as a substantial incentive for another team under the cap to take on Thornton and/or Telfair later.

Also, I don’t view the trades the same because Thornton was not nearly as valuable to the team this year and last. He may have been liked as a teammate, but he didn’t have nearly the same status and standing as Camby with his teammates and throughout the league. And he didn’t seem too upset at the trade. He may have welcomed it as he’s now with a team that would seem to be a better fit for his abilities. Had Camby not clearly indicated he wanted to be a Clipper and wanted to remain a Clipper, I would not have had as much of a problem with dealing him.

I suspect that Dunleavy either was ordered or felt pressure to make a substantial trade by the deadline. The Camby trade was made to add to the team’s short term profits, and the Telfair/Thornton deal was made to give fans hope for the off-season while cleaning up the roster imbalance caused by the first trade. I believe the trade sequence was not accidental and probably was intentional.