A Farewell to Kaman and Gordon

EJ: You will have to forgive me but I wasn’t super psyched when we drafted you, after all we needed a PG and you were a pure SG. I was disappointed at the time, however my disappointment couldn’t have been more misplaced as you turned out to be a gem in what was a very rough couple of seasons. Throughout drama and injuries and disappointment you maintained a calm and stoic demeanor, you just showed up every night put your hard hat on and went to work. You were a quintessential pro even as a rookie. But you were more than that, you were a sparkling bit of hope in what at times seemed a hopeless time. Your steady improvement was our little team secret, we saw you rise and sang your praises and bemoaned how the media ignored you.
However now you unfortunately have been forced to move on. But know this, clippers nation has a long memory. We cling to good memories in a sort of defense mechanism. We will always remember you EJ. We will always cheer for you and I know that you will not let this move slow you down, you will continue your upward ascent into stardom and we will all look on and smile at your developmental years. Good luck and Good health!
Kaman: How does a team with out Kaman work? I don’t know the answer to this question as I have never watched a clippers team without you at the five. I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t awed by your Mchale like post moves, that were made even more amazing by the delayed movement of your long hair. I can not recall a time where you weren’t working down low pummeling the opposing center in a way that new shooter first centers are afraid to do. I do not also recall a time where your amusing on and off the court persona did not provide a laugh or to in what often were dire times.
You are also the last member of what was the greatest clipper team of all time, that gave us reason to hope and stopped the trend of failure. After Sam, Brand, Livingston, and all the others left in one way or another, you remained. You served as a reminder of what the team was and could be again. However now that the clippers seem on the brink of reclaiming this glory you have been plucked away. You have been removed, but not forgotten. Your contributions have been immortalized and will always stand as an important part in what will hopefully be a new chapter in clippers history.

Can we chant, “WE LOVE EJ” when EJ goes to the line for freethrows?

I’m not gonna lie, I teared up when I heard that he was part of the deal…

WE LOVE EJ…..WE LOVE EJ!

I am Eric Gordon!

LOL, nah…I wish I was a pro basketball player, getting paid millions, getting to play the sport I love, that would be the life.

Anyways, I have been a Clippers fan on and off for the last, we will call it 15 years.

I followed the Clippers with Elton Brand, I followed the Clippers with DMiles, QRich, and Odom, I thought the Clips had the most dominant big man when they drafted…I am not even going to mention his name, lol. But no player made me more proud to be a Clippers fan than Eric Gordon. I walked around my small town in Illnois telling people, with pride, that I was a Clippers fan. People always asked me why, and I told them. I said I like their young players Eric Gordon and DeAndre Jordan. The first two seasons were tough, but last season, when EJ was paired up with Blake Griffin many of the people that doubted my fan-hood understood why I was a fan.

It will be sad not seeing Eric Gordon be part of the RISE of the Clippers. I will continue to watch most every Clippers game, even though I am not a fan of this trade. My honest opinion is this trade gutted the Clippers of their youth, depth, and future, but only time will tell.

Needless to say, I will be following Eric Gordon on the Hornets just like I did when he was at University of Indiana and the Clippers.

EJ has yet to change his sideways twitter picture with his Clips hat on.

who the biggest Gordon fan actually is?

I know NBAfan8 is considered the favorite by most Vegas odds, but I’m certain there are a few other less vocal and less spend free on memorabilia that can still be considered big fans, myself being included.

I’m going to check with some mathematicians and and economists for a ready formula for this….

when artest had a charity event at the congo room and he invited both teams to the event. and eric gordon and theo ratliff were the only two to show up. ej class act didn’t deserve to go, but it’s CP3 and thats one player hard to say no too. I love you ej.

kaman through all the hard times you’ve mad me laugh when we were down by 30. you always did something insanely dumb one play, and next thing you know you’d do something genius. what a character, i will always remember you chris, you and EB are the reason i became a clipper fan in the first place.

EJ was definitely my boy…he was such a good Clipper that I think he helped define the brand as a player, or at least had under-dog characteristics, and the fans could really relate and appreciate his work ethic, understated demeanor and his level of seriousness toward the game when most other players around him were much more aloof.

Kaman of course was the link to the playoff run, and longest tenured clipper. Will miss his half cocked interviews and remarks, but won’t miss his game much. Too much of a fumbler/bumbler/momentum killer, that I had already moved on long ago.

EJ: I became an instant fan of Eric’s the moment I first saw him play in high school. I knew that I wanted him on my team. With Elton Brand’s injury and Shaun Livingston on the shelf, I knew that we were going to have a pretty bad record, so I made it a duty to watch more college basketball and scout different players. The most hyped players were Derrick Rose, Michael Beasley and OJ Mayo, but the player that I watched the most was Eric Gordon at IU. He started the season off on fire and was considered a top-3 player in the upcoming draft. After suffering the wrist injury, questions arose by the prognosticators and his stock took a slide. He played through a wrist injury that was more serious than most believed it to be. Thankfully, 6 teams passed on him and allowed us to scoop him up at 7. At the time, a lot of fans wanted Jerryd Bayless if they couldn’t get OJ Mayo. Gordon was the player I wanted on this team. He quickly erased any doubt that any fan may have been having.

He’s a hard worker, diligent, humble, low maintenance and committed. You’re going to be hard pressed to find a more complete shooting guard in this league and the guy is still under the age of 22. I absolutely hated to part with him and will definitely miss him. Even though the media and outside fans only care about Blake. Gordon was my favorite player on the team and there are many Clippers fans that share the same sentiment with me. It was hard to see him go, because we know that he was a huge part in the rebuilding of the brand. We wanted to see him get his props from everyone else and help lead this team to the promised land. Now, he’ll have to do that somewhere else. If New Orleans doesn’t pay him, someone else surely will. I’m going to be a fan of his for the rest of his career and support him. The Hornets will definitely be a team that I put a great deal of effort into catching their games. Thanks Eric.

Kaman: Wow! It’s been 8 years. I said this on another board that Chris was a bridge spanning the 2 most recent eras of Clipper basketball. Not the Baron Davis era, but the Elton Brand era and the Blake Griffin era. In all-time great draft, Kaman’s name will be a testament to its depth. He’s seen a lot of bad years here in Clipperland, but he’s also seen the absolute best. 2006 was a dream season and what most of us have had to hold onto and savor until the 2011-12 season. Laker fans don’t know nothing about that. Rooting for a team with such limited success over the years is a true test in genuine fandom. Kaman may not have been the scorer then that he is now, but his defensive effort helped contribute to one of the league’s best defenses and the best season in LA Clipper history. He was the lone surviving member of that roster after Cat was traded. Kaman is player that probably drove you crazy more often than not, but he surprised us all in becoming an all-star. I don’t care if it was as a replacement, he was an all-star and deserved to be there. I never would have imagined that day would ever come. His personality, quirks and his offbeat nature will always stand out and make him one of a kind.

Even prior to this trade, we all knew that there would come a day when Kaman would have to be moved for the betterment of improving the roster. Even then, it was bittersweet. I see him climbing the leader board in numerous categories of Clipper records and wanted him to continue. To find out that he loved California as much as he did surprised me, but I love that he enjoyed his time and didn’t really want to leave. We have had so many players over the years liken their stay here to that of jail/prison, torture, or as being on a team that apparently didn’t play in the NBA. Chris will missed. I hope for him nothing but the best. He’ll be heavily sought after next summer on the free-agent market and hope that will end up in a great situation that allows him to play in May and possibly even June. He deserves it. Thanks for the memories Chris.

I’ve been a Clips fan since 1984. I was at the first game that they played at the Sports Arena. Over the years I’ve seen a lot of players come and go. Although I can’t say that EJ was my favorite all time Clippers player, he was definitely in my top 5. There is one game that sticks out in my head from last year. It was against Utah relatively early in the season and it was a very close game. EJ TOOK OVER that game in the last 5 minutes. That, to me, was EJ saying that this is my team and I will do whatever it takes to win.

Kaman – I remember going to the Spurs game his rookie year. He didn’t start in the beginning of the season and he played about 20 minutes during this game and I remember he had a monster dunk on Tim Duncan and I was like “wow”! He made a few bonehead plays during the game (a precursor for his entire Clippers career), but I always loved his hustle and enthusiasm for the game. The past 3-4 years I would always tell my friends that he was a top 5 center. He was a “true” center in that he had low post moves and developed an outside shot that eventually made him an allstar.

They both will be missed. I was so sad to hear that both players had to leave in the trade for CP3. I understand why the Clippers made the trade – I’m all for the trade – but it doesn’t make it any easier for me that they had to go.