When in Vegas, Let it Roll: Will the Clips Leave Broke?

The Clippers gambled and lost before they even reached the strip.

They pushed all in for LeBron and came away with nothing - so far.

Sure Ryan Gomes is something. Randy Foye too. But Brain Cook? He could be in the best of shape and play well but that name alone evokes a huge sigh from the heart of Clipper Nation. Really? Cookie? From the good old Lakers? - Really?

Mike Miller seemed like a necessary option to shoot for. We need shooters right? Gone. Off to join the new anti-Lakers.

SP had a crush on the Great Fro, Josh Childress - of the "I'm running away to Greece" fame. I think Steve was envisioning him to be the mystical messiah glue guy, that would empower Boom Fizzle, EJ and the great Blake Superior.

We'll never know what could have been if the Fro and Beard joined forces, as he's off to the Suns alongside the Michael Jordan of Turkey (Hedo Turkeyglue, for those not in the know).

Well at least the Clippers drafted well, right? Right?

SUMMER LEAGUE Games 1 and 2: Growing Pains

What were you doing when you were 19 years old? Did you have old dudes staying up late at night writing about how disappointed they are in two games they saw you play in? How unimpressed they were with your performance? How they were wishing for more but are willing to just surrender to the idea that you "just need more time"?

Yeah. It's harsh but when you're drafted top 10, top 20 - there are hopes and expectations no matter how old or young you are.

Aminu has looked lost, intimidated and generally uncomfortable anytime he's forced to put the ball on the floor while Bledsoe has racked up TOs at an alarming rate as he tries to dribble drive way over the speed limit while dishing to ghosts of players past. It does not seem to be a good sign especially since they are expected to perform somewhat well against some of the weak invitees on opposing teams.

Willie Warren seems to be deferring to DJ, Bledsoe and Aminu - in that exact order. He seems to think (or know) that he's the forth option out there and has taken shots when open and tried to facilitate in his role as PG. I don't think he's gotten enough touches yet to be viewed as disappointing, especially since he was drafted deep in the 2nd round.

DeAndre Jordan is still also very, very young. The games so far really show how he might have benefited from a couple more years at Texas. He came out early, got drafted very low and is really having to work himself into an NBA player. He has also built up the hopes of some in Clipper Nation and has arguably underwhelmed in Summer League play thus far as well.

DOOM and GLOOM Ahead?

The draft picks have looked mediocre, DJ hasn't shown improvement, Gomes, Foye and Cook evoke little if any feelings of improvement over Gooden, Smith and Butler - so are the Clippers headed straight for the lottery AGAIN?

Most logical people would say "Of course! IT'S THE CLIPPERS."

Yeah. I'm not a logical person.

moKi: Still a Member of Club Optimism - Why You Should Be Too

Do I have delusions of a Championship? Getting to the finals? Conference finals? Playoffs? Nope.

Am I gonna watch the Clips this season with any expectations at all?

October - December? No.

But from January on? Yes!

(Here I go with my crazy predictions again. Hmmmmm. Maybe I should set an alarm on my calendar to write my "Clippers Set for Big Turnaround" post in January sometime...)

5 Reasons for Optimism

#1. No more Fire Dunleavy guys chanting at games. How depressing was that whole fiasco? Whether you liked Chicken Man or not, it was too much negativity at the games (even EJ said it was becoming a distraction...)

#2. Blake Griffin might actually play this year! Just watching him play a regular season game will be awesome.

#3. Ever see Groundhog Day?

"Something is different."

- "Is that good?"

"Anything different is good"

Seems like every offseason in recent memory has started off fairly well. Clipper Nation hopes have soared to unbelievable heights in the summer, only to come crashing down on opening day.

Well, I think we are far, far away from that right now so THAT's DIFFERENT. According to Bill Murray, that's a good sign! Maybe we will finally get SP's reverse mojo to work in the right direction. How about we finally have a totally disgusting, disappointing offseason and a great regular season? Which explains reason number...

#4 More Disappointment to Come This Offseason!

To make the summer even worse, the Clips will sign TMac or some other washed up, injury prone, bad attitude, crazy, pot smoking, flag burning, or boring guy that some or most of Clipper Nation will hate. Once the last two roster spots are filled with whatever FAs are left, the bad mojo will have run it's course and we will be set to have a "surprisingly good" season "despite" how poor the team looked in the offseason.

#5 Aminu, Bledsoe, Warren - and even DJ Will Look Better in October

Yeah they've looked horrible so far but they've been playing alongside each other as well as some very raw guys who seem to have little or no chance of latching on to any team in the league. I promise you Clipper Nation, Aminu will look much better when he's on the floor with Baron, EJ, Blake and Chris. Bledsoe will also be much better alongside EJ, Gomes, Griffin and Kaman. Ditto for Warren.

How can I promise that?

Have you seen the games? There is absolutely no way they can play any worse and still be on an active roster. Aminu has shown flashes - a hard drive and dunk finish, 3 pt shot made. Bledsoe has penetrated and dished, gotten floaters to the rim as well as making shots from mid - long range. 19 years old. Chances of them improving at this point are still very much in their favor, especially alongside the work ethic of a #1 draft pick in BG.

So Will The Clippers Roll The Dice Before They Leave Vegas?

I sure hope so. I'm hoping the underwhelming play of the SL roster so far pushes the FO into action.

T-Mac, RJ, Josh Howard - whoever they get at this point may seem dubious to most - a total gamble - but I'm ok with that because at least it's a play. You gotta roll the dice if you wanna shot to win something. Anything.