Clips Nation: FanPosts

Chris Paul, Player/Coach

2013-05-19T02:47:16Z

Chris is constantly directing everything anyway, why not? Bring in some experienced assistants to handle a little more than an average assistant (Chauncey?) The Donald saves a salary, Chris is happy, no? If CP3 wasn't already doing a lot of this it wouldn't make sense, but he is. CP3 is smarter than the average cat and I believe he has the respect of his team mates- which is critical. More respect than any coach they might get.

Who should the Clippers draft?

2013-05-15T20:19:07Z

Roundball Daily.com came out with its annual mock draft yesterday, and it has the Clippers taking New Mexico guard Tony Snell at No. 25.

Snell is a great defensive player and can shoot the heck out of the ball. He's a little too passive, but that might not be a terrible thing in this offense.

The Clips could use an extra perimeter player, and this article says Snell "could be a Kawhi Leonard" type. L.A. obviously needs some rebounding help, too. Who do you think can help put them over the top?

Who Should the Clippers draft?

Roundball Daily.com came out with its annual mock draft yesterday, and it has the Clippers taking New Mexico guard Tony Snell at No. 25.

Snell is a great defensive player and can shoot the heck out of the ball. He's a little too passive, but that might not be a terrible thing in this offense.

Who Should the Clippers draft?

Coaching a recurring theme... connect the dots. Blake regressed this year.

2013-05-14T11:39:01Z

As has been much discussed , the Clippers need a new head coach. But it's got to be an elite coach who understands how to develop players, to help them emphasize their best tools and further develop their games.

So much has been said about Deandre being a big disappointment this year, but what about Blake? This season was by far the least impressive Blake has ever been in the nba on the offensive end, and it came with the brilliant Chris Paul running the point. Something is wrong with this picture. True, Blake worked on and improved his jump shot this year. But the problem is that jump shots don't need to be a primary part of your arsenal when you're a power forward with the physical gifts to be an amazing presence inside, and dominate closer to the basket. He took TOO MANY jump shots this year, and was not nearly the factor that we needed him to be down low, unless he was matched up against especially weak defenses, or had the occasional short stretch of brilliance. The same goes for rebounding, he should be dominating on the boards every night given his physical tools and competitiveness.

One of my biggest concerns with the Clippers is what's going to happen with Blake Griffin at this point in his career; will he be a generational superstar who will be remembered as an icon of the position, ala Karl Malone, or will he be an exciting and generally serviceable complement to Chris Paul, who then fizzles out as he ages and athleticism becomes less of an advantageous factor?

In my mind it would be a travesty to see him not take his game to the next level, because he can and should do it. And clearly he wants to do it. But he needs great coaching to put him in a position to best utilize the unique combination of his strength, finesse, and ball handling, that complement his athleticism. He doesn't like to bang down low, but he needs to do more of that, because he's got the strength, power and athleticism combo to overmatch other big men on a nightly basis, even guys like Zach Randolph. He's not using his skills in tandem, in a dynamic way, in the best ways... because his head coach is not an "Xs and Os" guy. Well, "Xs and Os", in addition to a winning team concept, is exactly what Blake Griffin needs, along with DJ, Bledsoe, and even Chris Paul. These guys are hard workers but things should be easier for all of them on the court during games, following the right off the court work and practice sessions. It's about understanding roles and exploiting matchups to your advantage in a methodical way on offense and defense (without micro-managing to the point of taking away creativity), on every possession... probably Del Negro's greatest weakness (and the greatest strength of guys like Popovitch, Thibodeau, and Rivers). Please please please bring us somebody who gets this and can take Blake and the other guys to the next level.

Don't trade DJ...put him with a new coach!

2013-05-14T06:46:06Z

As we all look at the possibility of trading DJ away because of his freethrows, let me echo Lisa Leslie the other day..."KEEP DJ, because athletic 7 footers do NOT grow on trees!"

But even more importantly, I think having DJ grow in his prime years with a different coach (provided vinny is out of course) would allow him to grow more.

I hear great things about Stan Van Gundy and his player development..also, perhaps a bid out there to Phil Jackson also...what the Hell.. But I see the coach FIRST, then I see DJ and how he would grow with them.

As for Bledsoe/DJ for Eric Gordon/lopez....I say NO! Too little playing time, and if we look at our experience with Chauncey and Grant hill...Medics aren't to be trusted in their evaluations and timetables for ankle and knee issues.I think Gordon too risky..Bledsoe and DJ have a GREAT combined playing time...errr.well..not exactly playing time under vinny...but not too injury plagued in their careers...

thoughts?

Okay..I may be a bit of a dunk lover...but who isn't! DJ brings a lot to the table

snackbar

As we all look at the possibility of trading DJ away because of his freethrows, let me echo Lisa Leslie the other day..."KEEP DJ, because athletic 7 footers do NOT grow on trees!"

But even more importantly, I think having DJ grow in his prime years with a different coach (provided vinny is out of course) would allow him to grow more.

thoughts?

Okay..I may be a bit of a dunk lover...but who isn't! DJ brings a lot to the table

snackbar

The Pelican Brief.

2013-05-13T23:37:34Z

I don't know if I am breaking any rules here, but this was on the ESPN rumor blog:

"There is sure to be plenty of buzz in the weeks and months to come about the future of New Orleans shooting guard Eric Gordon and Los Angeles Clippers point guard Eric Bledsoe. Today, Michael McNamara of BourbonStreetShots.com tweets that the two teams could already be considering a deal that involves the both of them.

Here's more on that.

McNamara tweets: "Off air with Clippers writer, he said he has heard a lot of buzz from FO sources that a Bledsoe/(DeAndre) Jordan for EG/(Robin) Lopez deal could go down."

This is sure to get the attention of both fan bases. The Clips are already quite familiar with Gordon, being that the shooting guard started his career there before heading east in the Chris Paul deal. If the team resigns Paul, as expected, and brings in a talent like Gordon, suddenly the Clips potentially have a third top option to turn to along with Paul and Blake Griffin. And replacing Jordan with Lopez would give them a much better contract and arguably a better center. What they'd lose with Jordan, though, is an athletic 5 who could run the floor and block a lot of shots.

From the Pelicans' perspective, this would give them another defensive presence to pair alongside Anthony Davis on the frontline, along with a talented young point guard who could conceivably push Greivis Vasquez to the bench or to shooting guard, depending on the development of Austin Rivers in his second season. That may not sit very well with Vasquez, though, and it's arguable how much the team really needs to address the point guard spot after Vasquez's breakout season.

Again, this is just a rumor for now, but it's something to think about going forward in what could be a very interesting offseason for both teams."

Mods, let me know if this forbidden.

Thanks.

I would do the trade in a heartbeat.

I don't know if I am breaking any rules here, but this was on the ESPN rumor blog:

Mods, let me know if this forbidden.

Thanks.

I would do the trade in a heartbeat.

Sources: Rockets Will Decline Team Option On Francisco Garcia

2013-05-13T22:16:35Z

http://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/227659/Sources-Rockets-Will-Decline-Team-Option-On-Francisco-Garcia

Any interest in Francisco Garcia? Good three point shooter.

What say you? What say you? What say you? What say you? What say you? What say you? What say you? What say you? What say you? What say you? What say you? What say you? What say you? What say you? What say you? What say you? What say you? What say you? What say you? What say you? What say you? What say you? What say you? What say you? What say you? What say you? What say you? What say you? What say you? What say you? What say you? What say you? What say you? What say you? What say you? What say you? What say you? What say you? What say you? What say you?

http://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/227659/Sources-Rockets-Will-Decline-Team-Option-On-Francisco-Garcia

Any interest in Francisco Garcia? Good three point shooter.

BG vs. CP3

2013-05-13T05:38:28Z

Given how connected and trusted Bill Simmons is, this is cause for concern:

Blake Griffin isn't good enough yet. You could rank him higher because he's the most popular Clipper ever, someone who earns his max contract from a popularity/interest/star power standpoint. And you could rank him lower because he's just not that valuable yet, and because his icy relationship with Chris Paul — if ~~any coach who's even remotely competent~~ the next coach can't heal it — is straying into "Him or Me" territory.

For the life of me, I can't understand why Paul and Blake Griffin don't get along, or why two straight Clipper postseasons COMPLETELY self-combusted. Even factoring in the Vinny Del Negro Effect, it's still a little strange — you shouldn't keep self-combusting when you have one of the league's best players.

NBA Trade Value, Part 3

Given how connected and trusted Bill Simmons is, this is cause for concern:

Blake Griffin isn't good enough yet. You could rank him higher because he's the most popular Clipper ever, someone who earns his max contract from a popularity/interest/star power standpoint. And you could rank him lower because he's just not that valuable yet, and because his icy relationship with Chris Paul — if ~~any coach who's even remotely competent~~ the next coach can't heal it — is straying into "Him or Me" territory.

For the life of me, I can't understand why Paul and Blake Griffin don't get along, or why two straight Clipper postseasons COMPLETELY self-combusted. Even factoring in the Vinny Del Negro Effect, it's still a little strange — you shouldn't keep self-combusting when you have one of the league's best players.

NBA Trade Value, Part 3

Poll

If you had to choose one over the other, who would it be?

Byron Scott, a candidate for the Clippers coaching job? Maybe, maybe not.

2013-05-09T21:27:37Z

I came across this tweet from Kevin Arnovitz which I found quite interesting:

In the past, B. Scott has been regarded as too much of a road-trip "golfer" for LAC's taste, however much residual appreciation CP may have.
— Kevin Arnovitz (@kevinarnovitz) May 9, 2013

I came across this tweet from Kevin Arnovitz which I found quite interesting:

In the past, B. Scott has been regarded as too much of a road-trip "golfer" for LAC's taste, however much residual appreciation CP may have.
— Kevin Arnovitz (@kevinarnovitz) May 9, 2013

Derek Fisher fined for flopping

2013-05-07T17:54:32Z

So ESPN reporting that Derek Fisher has been fined by the League for flopping. Is anyone really that surprised? Why did the League take so long? The question now should be when will LeBron James and Manu Ginobili get fined?

Oklahoma City's Derek Fisher was fined by the NBA on Monday for flopping in Game 5 of the Thunder's first-round playoff series against the Houston Rockets.

Fisher's fine was the result of a play in the second quarter when both he and teammate Kevin Martin fell backward onto the floor to take a charge against Houston center Omer Asik. Asik was called for an offensive foul on the play.

Why do the Clippers need a completely new roster?

2013-05-05T21:36:19Z

Besides shipping out Butler, Turiaf, Hollins and Bledsoe the roster is still pretty deep. You can argue we can not resign Paul with this roster, but the chemistry is still amazing if we made a few changes. The Spurs always do it, so why can't we? Here is how I would like to see the roster before the season starts, you can fill in where I do not have spots. I am not a close enough follower of other basketball player besides box scores and other basketball games nationally televised, so I can not accurately fill in FA spots.

PG: Paul/Billups or Bledsoe

SG: Green/Crawford

SF: Hill/Barnes

PF: Griffin/Odom

C: DJ/?

Besides signing the dotted line (which I firmly believe will resign), Chris Paul does not need any improvement in, besides touching up his three point shooting, but other than that he is perfect. He is the Point God after all.

I understand we will lose the majority of the bench defense losing Bledsoe, but when there is a possibility of him giving us assets from trading him to a team willing to have him as a starting PG on another team or the team letting go of Billups I don't see him staying. With Billups in his role, he would be an established distributor and occasional three point shooter when needed to do so. Billups would lead the second unit and increase the offensive output of the other bench players. I don't know what would happen if both Bled and Billups were let go.

I really wouldn't mind seeing Green come back as the starting SG, we won fifty six games with him mainly as the starting SG and it infuriated me when he did not get the nod to start even though Chauncey was back from injury. Green would gladly take the role he played through the whole season because he is such an understanding and humble player, he is honestly my favorite player. I do hope he is able to knock down threes a bit more often than this season next year. I give the nod for Willie over Chauncey because he is more nimble than him and can play up tempo ball still, he already knows how to play with the starting unit, and Billups in the second unit would make more sense.

If DJ stays, he needs to address the flaws he had the whole season, (yes the offense wasn't run through him) the looks he did receive he almost always looked unsure and never attacked. He has to work on his offensive game and finish the looks he gets, so that defenses can't double Griffin or slack of Jordan. FREE THROWS! He must improve to at least a sixty percent free throw shooter, I cringe every time he is sent to the line. I don't understand why Bob Thate can't work with DJ as well. Jordan is improving, but it is too slow for anyone's benefit. His time to step up is this off season and I believe he can do it.

Griffin was spectacular this season, he was criticized for not having a jumper and not being able to make free throws. He has certainly hit one of them, being free throws. According to his stats recorded by Basketball Reference, Griffin improved his FT% from .521 to .660. That is a fourteen percent increase, but his FT shooting did not solidify until the second half of the season so the total percentage isn't reflective of how good of a free throw shooter he really is. He made 21 of 26 free throws in the playoffs this season, yes it is a limited sample, but I believe he will be a seventy percent FT shooter for seasons to come. His mid-range jumper is something I would love for him to work on this off season, as of now his jumper is not consistent I am sure he will be working on it in the summer. I also hope he realizes how much of a monster he really is, he too defers from attacking the basket at times and it's a bummer, he used to be relentless with highlight plays. With the defenses always focusing on him, it opens things up for DJ and the rest of the team. Blake Griffin is an All-Star as of now, but imagine if he is able to sufficiently hit these points in the off season. Also he can work on the three point shot, you never know.

Everyone bashes on the Odom signing, YES he has been disappointing for most of you, but if Odom signs for reasonable price he would be an amazing pickup. He is also very, very close to getting back into shape and the summer gives him the opportunity to focus solely on his conditioning. We don't need him to do spectacular feats as a backup PF and C in our small lineups, we just need him to not look always tired and running with the rest of the team. Odom's jumper is slowly coming back and his shots are slowly starting to fall, like Jordan, we need him to just make the shots he does receive. I do have faith in Odom if we do resign him.

Jamal Crawford, I know we have him for a remaining three years so there is not much to worry about with Crawford. I know everyone everyone has there FA SG's they are pushing for, but I'm pushing for team chemistry and I'll stick with Crawford for the established bench scoring he provides. Side note, imagine if VDN had put Crawford instead of Billups when we were down five in that last game against Memphis.

Grant Hill showed us he could still hang and if he doesn't retire he could do us a great service and he would recieve a more greater role which he can fill easily if we trade Butler away. Hill is still signed for a year if he decides to stay.

Hollins and Turiaf must go in my opinion, maybe Hollins can stay if he signs for the same amount if there is no backup C better we can pick up. What we really need in a backup center is what Reggie and Martin gave us last year, grit and grind defense. If we had those two players how they are playing this year, we probably would have exited the second round in the 2012 playoffs. They are actually scoring this year and I am glad they are thriving in their new teams. If we can find a defensive or even an established offensive backup big it would improve our team by multitudes, for the last two years our bench scoring for our bigs was downright embarrassing, if we could get even a consistent fourteen points from the backup frontcourt, we would have won a few of those close games we lost this year.

Matt Barnes must be resigned, he is the second priority after CP to resign. Matt Barnes was phenomenal this year and behind Paul, he is my team MVP. He is so crucial to our bench and towards the end of the year he became the main SF just as Crawford is. Matt tallied his career high in PPG this season, because of the way he fits in our system. I would be surprised if the FO does not pick him back up, he himself said the Clippers are a team he would love to come back to in his exit interview with Madelyn Burke. LINK:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oL3ZQBuDpT8&list=UURFhhQWfw7TigF_RHvai5VA&index=3

I really believe we do not to explode our team, because we only need changes in the main two players of DJ and Griffin, the conditioning of Odom, and upgrades over Turiaf and Hollins. I know some of you are strongly pushing the Kevin Garnett for DJ/DJ+Bledsoe/DJ+pick, but what happens when some other team transforms DJ to an actual offensive force and KG retires? We'd end up losing in the long run. There are also people who vouch for Afflalo+Harkless for Bledsoe+Butler, it sounds awesome on paper but Afflalo would take up all of Crawford's minutes, so maybe tension would surface with this trade.

These are my opinions, and yes there are a lot of what if's, but I just wanted to put mines out as well.

PG: Paul/Billups or Bledsoe

SG: Green/Crawford

SF: Hill/Barnes

PF: Griffin/Odom

C: DJ/?

These are my opinions, and yes there are a lot of what if's, but I just wanted to put mines out as well.

The VDN-Hijacked Running Diary

2013-05-05T14:11:30Z

The VDN-Hijacked Running Diary

I learned my lesson some time ago. Back in 2011, when the USWNT shrugged off Marta’s oscar-worthy flopping and celebrated a Wambach-header after 121 excruciating minutes of play, I was too busy celebrating to realize what I actually should’ve been doing. Not even an hour later, I opened a text from a buddy that simply read: "Man, that’s going to make for a great column."

When the Red Sox blew their nine-game division lead, going into the final night of the regular season tied with the Rays, I merely sat around a bar and watched as Tampa simultaneously came roaring back from a seven-run deficit and Papelbon botched a save against Baltimore. Needless to say, in the bottom of the 12th, when Longoria sealed the Rays fate with a line drive over the wall in left field, I once again squandered a perfect opportunity, dropping my jaw instead of reaching for a pen and paper (though I’m still waiting for the 30 for 30 covering everything that took place that night). (I’ve even done all the work and created a catchy title: 163. "What if I told you Red Sox nation had a near double-digit lead in the division, only to blow it two weeks later? ESPN Films presents 163, directed by Derek Jeter.")

So, as you can imagine, once ESPN decided to make Friday night one giant mistake by stacking four games onto two networks, I stocked up on paper and surrounded myself with at least 57 pens. Diary moments only come so often, and I’ll be damned if I was going to miss this one.

However, one particular game ended up stealing the show.

Admittedly, my notes for both Eastern Conference games went directly into the trash. Sure, I appreciate the Celts late 20-0 run as much as the next guy, but in the end, they were a team that stopped performing like they somehow had been.

In fact, allow me to skim over the first few diary-sessions by summarizing three of last night’s four games with a single moment.

Atlanta Hawks

Yes, this is your every day run-of-the-mill Josh Smith shot chart. In related news, every Suns fan just jumped out of the closest window.

Boston Celtics

The best comeback-gone-wrong ever. You’re welcome. (Unless you’re, for whatever reason, from East Plano. Than Spoiler Alert.)

Houston Rockets

Twenty years from now, when we reflect back on the 2012-13 Rockets season, this will be listed right next to "Acquiring Harden".

And that leaves us with the Clippers.

Last night, the Notorious VDN displayed a mesmerizing performance of epic proportions. That’s really the only sentence I can use to describe it. In actuality, of course, many things went wrong. But, if we’re highlighting a silver lining, Vinny did his best to help us out.

It can be dubbed numerous things. The Pulp Fiction of coaching decisions. The 5thSymphony of efforts. I’d even go as far to call it the Woodstock of our time. Either way, Vinnie’s last hurrah (the working title of my next book) was one for the ages, and it deserved it’s own diary. Let’s get to it…

1st Quarter 12:00 – Paul-Billups-Jordan-Butler-Odom

8:32 – Paul-Crawford-Jordan-Butler-Odom

5:57 – Paul-Crawford-Jordan-Barnes-Odom

4:52 – Paul-Crawford-Griffin-Barnes-Odom

3:18 – Paul-Crawford-Griffin-Barnes-Hill

:58.9 – Paul-Crawford-Griffin-Barnes-Butler

(So, for the record, we’re a quarter in and we’ve already seen six different lineup combinations. You already know where this is going.)

2nd Quarter 12:00 – Paul-Bledsoe-Griffin-Barnes-Butler

10:29 – Paul-Bledsoe-Jordan-Barnes-Butler

9:17 – Crawford-Bledsoe-Jordan-Barnes-Butler

7:58 – Green-Bledsoe-Jordan-Barnes-Butler

6:38 – Paul-Green-Jordan-Barnes-Butler

4:56 – Paul-Green-Odom-Barnes-Butler

2:35 – Crawford-Paul-Odom-Barnes-Butler

(For those keeping tabs, we’re only at the halfway point and Vinny has now rolled out 13 different combinations, no one lineup repeating itself at any given point. Not only that, but Bledsoe, who quite possibly could’ve had his face imprinted on an American coin after game one, is being completely misused. Like I said, a masterpiece!)

3rd Quarter 12:00 – Paul-Billups-Jordan-Butler-Odom (Our first repeat!!)

7:42 – Paul-Billups-Griffin-Butler-Odom

6:45 – Paul-Billups-Griffin-Barnes-Odom

5:49 – Paul-Green-Griffin-Barnes-Hill

3:31 – Paul-Green-Odom-Barnes-Hill

(One quarter left and only one repeated lineup in the books. Vinny’s sitting at the end of the dugout, taking his no-no to the ninth. And we haven’t even seen Turiaf or Hollins! Have they stopped selling beer yet?)

4th Quarter 12:00 – Paul-Green-Griffin-Barnes-Hill (Sigh.)

10:15 – Bledsoe-Green-Griffin-Barnes-Hill

8:38 – Paul-Billups-Butler-Barnes-Hill

2:29 – Bledsoe-Billups-Butler-Barnes-Hill (Paul ejection, but no repeat?!?!)

And scene. Just in case you weren’t counting, that’s 20 (not a mistype) different combinations used in last night’s losing effort. The starting lineup of Paul-Billups-Jordan-Butler-Odom actually ended up logging the most minutes of the night (7:46), just barely inching out the Paul-Billups-Butler-Barnes-Hill combo. And though he miraculously failed to mimic a previous lineup once Paul was ejected, I can’t help but feel like we’re leaving the stadium having witnessed a one-hitter.

Somewhere, Tarantino and Beethoven are still applauding.

The VDN-Hijacked Running Diary

However, one particular game ended up stealing the show.

In fact, allow me to skim over the first few diary-sessions by summarizing three of last night’s four games with a single moment.

Atlanta Hawks

Yes, this is your every day run-of-the-mill Josh Smith shot chart. In related news, every Suns fan just jumped out of the closest window.

Boston Celtics

The best comeback-gone-wrong ever. You’re welcome. (Unless you’re, for whatever reason, from East Plano. Than Spoiler Alert.)

Houston Rockets

Twenty years from now, when we reflect back on the 2012-13 Rockets season, this will be listed right next to "Acquiring Harden".

And that leaves us with the Clippers.

1st Quarter 12:00 – Paul-Billups-Jordan-Butler-Odom

8:32 – Paul-Crawford-Jordan-Butler-Odom

5:57 – Paul-Crawford-Jordan-Barnes-Odom

4:52 – Paul-Crawford-Griffin-Barnes-Odom

3:18 – Paul-Crawford-Griffin-Barnes-Hill

:58.9 – Paul-Crawford-Griffin-Barnes-Butler

(So, for the record, we’re a quarter in and we’ve already seen six different lineup combinations. You already know where this is going.)

2nd Quarter 12:00 – Paul-Bledsoe-Griffin-Barnes-Butler

10:29 – Paul-Bledsoe-Jordan-Barnes-Butler

9:17 – Crawford-Bledsoe-Jordan-Barnes-Butler

7:58 – Green-Bledsoe-Jordan-Barnes-Butler

6:38 – Paul-Green-Jordan-Barnes-Butler

4:56 – Paul-Green-Odom-Barnes-Butler

2:35 – Crawford-Paul-Odom-Barnes-Butler

3rd Quarter 12:00 – Paul-Billups-Jordan-Butler-Odom (Our first repeat!!)

7:42 – Paul-Billups-Griffin-Butler-Odom

6:45 – Paul-Billups-Griffin-Barnes-Odom

5:49 – Paul-Green-Griffin-Barnes-Hill

3:31 – Paul-Green-Odom-Barnes-Hill

4th Quarter 12:00 – Paul-Green-Griffin-Barnes-Hill (Sigh.)

10:15 – Bledsoe-Green-Griffin-Barnes-Hill

8:38 – Paul-Billups-Butler-Barnes-Hill

2:29 – Bledsoe-Billups-Butler-Barnes-Hill (Paul ejection, but no repeat?!?!)

Somewhere, Tarantino and Beethoven are still applauding.

Early May Rosterbation Thread

2013-05-05T00:54:46Z

Free agents can be found here. Clippers salaries and other notes can be found here. The ESPN Trade Machine can be found here.

Rosterbate away, Clips Nation!

Free agents can be found here. Clippers salaries and other notes can be found here. The ESPN Trade Machine can be found here.

Rosterbate away, Clips Nation!

The 2012-2013 Clippers: It is What it is, But it Can Get Better

2013-05-04T08:01:26Z

It's been a while, and I wish the circumstances were better, but I think that we all could use some early discussion dedicated to the offseason. With that, I've assembled a list of names that are of relevance to the front office's task of constructing a better team for next season. Needless to say, I fully expect Paul to resign with the club, this for a host of reasons that have been and will surely be outlined again by others at the blog.

A critical question to ask is this: will Donald Sterling be open to the possibility of paying the luxury tax, especially after what he must view as an extremely disappointing end to the season? I might not be precisely accurate with the numbers, but this offseason, the Clippers will have something in the 8-7 million range of room before they hit the luxury tax between Green, Bledsoe, Hill (likely to retire), Crawford, Griffin, Butler, Jordan, and I assume, CP3. I think it's a solid bet that Barnes and Odom will resign, both in the 3-5 million range, but beyond those two, there really isn't money to do anything more than fill out the roster with minimum players before crossing the tax line.

http://scores.espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=310323012

I invite you to recall this past performance of the team that sprang to my memory. Notice the production, albeit in a 2OT game, between a perimeter stud in Gordon and the combination of Griffin and Chris Kaman, who, by the way was oh so close to recording that 30 point game that's always eluded him. Right now, there's Chris Paul and a Blake Griffin who our pals at tnt like to remind us, hasn't been imposing his will on games lately like we know he's capable of. He's a better player now for sure, but he's a much more impactful player when he's shooting more than two shots in the second half of ball games and producing 30-15 games more than a couple times a season. DeAndre Jordan is a talented ironman, and the player put on posters with Griffin and Paul early on, but the team can't afford to pay him an eight figure salary to start seasons strong before losing his coach's trust and his confidence in his game before disappearing come playoff time. It feels very distant now, but it was just a handful of months ago that he was serving the team as a force in the low post and as the defensive anchor that he has always had the physical tools to be.

As cited earlier, here's the list of names that arguably fill holes that exist in the team as currently constructed.

Bigs:
channing frye

amir johnson

kevin garnett

al jefferson

ersan ilyasova

luis scola

enes kanter

anderson varejao

marcin gortat

elton brand (oh yes)

shawn marion

samuel dalembert

Wings:

paul pierce

chandler parsons

aaron afflalo

andre iguodala

jimmy butler

tyreke evans

gordon hayward

courtney lee

metta world peace

kyle korver

Ideally, I would like to see them make a sign and trade for Al Jefferson with Bledsoe and Jordan going out, although I don't know if the numbers would pan out to make the trade viable. I'm spit-balling this idea, but after that, I might draft a wing while resigning Barnes, Odom, and, dare I say Billups in the role of backup point guard.Of course, the rest of the roster would be filled out with towel wavers. Who's up for another dose of Rony Turiaf?

http://scores.espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=310323012

As cited earlier, here's the list of names that arguably fill holes that exist in the team as currently constructed.

Bigs:
channing frye

amir johnson

kevin garnett

al jefferson

ersan ilyasova

luis scola

enes kanter

anderson varejao

marcin gortat

elton brand (oh yes)

shawn marion

samuel dalembert

Wings:

paul pierce

chandler parsons

aaron afflalo

andre iguodala

jimmy butler

tyreke evans

gordon hayward

courtney lee

metta world peace

kyle korver

Maybe we weren't as good as we thought we were

2013-05-04T06:23:12Z

In the aftermath of this latest loss, I like most of you need a place to vent. I'm not as disappointed at the loss tonight because I kind of expected it, which brings me to a couple of conclusions.

1. Memphis is a really good team.

I know that many hate their dirty style of play. They've been called fake thugs, floppers etc, but its a style that is effective, and frankly one that is lost in today's league. They may not have a true super-star, but they have two really solid all star type players, a steady functional system, good role players and the most important thing; the league's best defense.

I would not be surprised if they got to the Finals, and won a couple of games. In fact I want to root for them. I have the theory that I would rather lose to the best than just another run of the mill team.

2. Our veterans did not really act like veterans.

Veterans are supposed to be dependable, but for some odd reason ours did not show up or did not play at all. Billups proved to be a disaster, tuff juice, apparently ran out of juice last playoffs, lamar performed ok, and grant hill just did not play barring Vinny's experimental rotations.

3. Vinnie is a decent coach, terrible at adjustments but he was dealing with a good not a great hand.

I along with 99% of people think its time for Vinnie to go, but for those of you who may not have been familiar with the clippers old coach Dunleavy also known as Dumbleavy in these parts, Vinny is not so bad. Vinny proved to be effective at instilling confidence and a sense of freedom for our players. I think he served his purpose in leading us to some playoff success, but for the clippers to advance further I think they need a good/great coach. I think the clips new coach should probably fall somewhere in between Dunleavy who was about total control, and Vinnie who had 4 plays in his arsenal.

3.5-4 We lack both physical and mental toughness.

To be a great team you need to be physically and mentally tough. Memphis exposed our lack of physical toughness, by bullying us into submission. Some of us felt that we had enough toughness even though we knew that we had lost our toughest players from the previous year in Reggie Evans, and Kenyon Martin. Our hope proved to have been misplaced. We know DJ is the antithesis of a player that is mentally tough, Blake sometimes seems suspect at times along with Bledsoe when it comes down to mental focus. I have to agree with Barkley that CP3 has been our toughest player.

5.Going into the playoffs we didn't want to face Denver, Golden State, Spurs nor OkC.

If we did not feel confident going against half of the field in the playoffs, and then lose to a team that we thought we were better, doesn't that prove that we are not as good as we thought. I believe that we had a chance against those teams, but I was not completely confident that we could beat them. I think when you are a great team, you expect to beat any team you face in the playoffs. With the Clippers I always felt that our lack of a great coach along with our suspect perimeter defense would cost us against the above teams. I felt that we had handily defeated the Grizz a majority of the last 10 contests, and that we would defeat them in 6 games. I guess I underestimated the Grizz, and overestimated our Clips.

6. I believe this knockout will make us better next year.

Providing CP3 resigns, I believe Blake will continue to improve, we will get a better coach( hopefully) resign key guys such as Barnes, retain guys such as Crawford, and perhaps green and get rid of bad contracts; Billups, Butler, DJ. With a good coach, a solid Big who can shoot and defend, a big defensive guard, and another shooter or two I think we will be in the mix with the Thunder, Memphis, and the Spurs who should be a little worse as contenders.

So again Clips fans it sucks that we got kicked out, but sometimes getting beat down, only makes you strive for excellence, and let us not forget the many years that we would be waiting till June to see how we could screw up another lottery pick. So with perspective I say to NBA fans enjoy the rest of quality basketball we will see, though are clippers are out, we will be back and better next year.

In the aftermath of this latest loss, I like most of you need a place to vent. I'm not as disappointed at the loss tonight because I kind of expected it, which brings me to a couple of conclusions.

1. Memphis is a really good team.

2. Our veterans did not really act like veterans.

3. Vinnie is a decent coach, terrible at adjustments but he was dealing with a good not a great hand.

3.5-4 We lack both physical and mental toughness.

5.Going into the playoffs we didn't want to face Denver, Golden State, Spurs nor OkC.

6. I believe this knockout will make us better next year.

Please

2013-05-04T04:28:57Z

Sign a new coach: Any of the Gundy's, Nate Mcmillian, Brian Shaw, or, I can dream for Phil Jackson.
Get rid of Dj, and Caron.
Don't sign Billups back please.
Sign/trade for a center who deserves that 11mil per year.
Get a shooter who can space the floor.
A better shooting forward who's productive.
Resign Barnes and Odom if they take the vets min.
I'm still up in the air about what to do with Bledsoe.

Thank you.

Sign a new coach: Any of the Gundy's, Nate Mcmillian, Brian Shaw, or, I can dream for Phil Jackson.
Get rid of Dj, and Caron.
Don't sign Billups back please.
Sign/trade for a center who deserves that 11mil per year.
Get a shooter who can space the floor.
A better shooting forward who's productive.
Resign Barnes and Odom if they take the vets min.
I'm still up in the air about what to do with Bledsoe.

Thank you.