Clippers Waive Ruben Patterson

by Steve Perrin on Dec 13, 2007 11:44 AM PST in News Comment 7 comments

I had a feeling this was coming.

There has not yet been a press release, but according to Jonathan Abrams in the LA Times, the Clippers have waived Ruben Patterson.

With the roster sitting at the maximum 15 and Patterson carrying the only non-guaranteed contract, the move is entirely about roster flexibility (Patterson's contract would have become guaranteed this Saturday). And say what you will about Clipper management, the fact that they got Ruben agree to come to LA and play without any guarantees was a pretty shrewd move. If it worked out (and early in the season it looked like it would), that's great. But with the team having lost 13 of their last 17, the benefit of carrying a veteran like Patterson is short term, while the thinking has to be long term. The fact that so much of the team's limited offensive arsenal (Cassell, Mobley, Maggette not to mention Brand and Livingston) has spent all or part of the season hurt makes a one-dimensional defender like Patterson less appealing. He's valuable in situations, like guarding Ron Artest - but the Clippers need more shooters on the floor in every game, and he can't shoot.

What the Clippers do with the roster spot remains to be seen. Abrams says that they're concerned with the point guard position, given Cassell's injury. But the shooting guard is even thinner, with Mobley playing hurt and Ross currently out. So picking up a combo guard might be the most logical move. Of course their former second round pick, Guillermo Diaz, is right down the road in Anaheim. He's never proven to be an effective point guard, and he has little more size than Dickau (the diminutive Clipper points being a problem right now), but he can score, and at least he has upside.

I'll pass along the press release when it is available.

Update [2007-12-13 15:50:38 by ClipperSteve]: Here's the text of the press release. It doesn't add anything, but just to be official:

The Los Angeles Clippers today waived forward Ruben Patterson. Signed as a free agent by the Clippers on Aug. 29, Patterson has appeared in 20 games for the Clippers in 2007-08, starting five. Patterson averaged 5.1 points and 3.2 assists this season with Los Angeles.

Also (hat tip to citizen Googs) Abrams updated his LA Times piece with the information that the Clippers have signed Richie Frahm, making them the only team in the history of the NBA with two guys from Gonzaga (I made that up, but it's got to be true, right?) Frahm can shoot - and not a lot else. Frankly it's the kind of pickup I've been intrigued with for awhile as the Clippers have so long lacked outside shooting. Matt Carroll, Jason Kapono... how exactly are they different than Richie Frahm, if Frahm is making his threes (career 36%)? At the same time, the 28 year old Frahm would hardly seem to be the guy to take a chance on. Isn't there a second round pick who got cut in training camp that would have more upside than Frahm? Frahm after all has bee kicking around pro ball and semi-pro ball for 5 years. What about Marcus Williams, the 33rd pick in this year's draft who was cut by the Spurs?

0 recs | Comment 7 comments

Story-email Email Printer Print

Comments

Who would you pick up?

Diaz? Earl Boykins? Penny Hardaway?

by Steve Perrin on Dec 13, 2007 11:57 AM PST reply actions 0 recs

None of the above

Looks like none of the above. Says on the LA Times piece, the the Clips are signing Richie Frahm. Why not give a young player like Diaz a shot, rather then another guy who will collect splinters like Frahm. I know Frahm is supposed to be a shooter, but what's he done in the league? Another head scratcher by the Clips.

by Googs on Dec 13, 2007 12:14 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

Predictable

It doesn't really matter who takes the 15th roster spot, especially on an 8-13 team. They haven't come close to using Josh Powell either.

Did Frahm play with Dickau? I can't remember.

Frahm is probably a pretty good shooter, but these guys need to be absolutely extraordinary in order to be effective. It's like there's a line that they have to be above. Kapono has managed to get above the line, Korver is above it, and Piatkowski in his prime was above it. Basically, everything they throw up pretty much has to go in. Casey Jacobsen has been below the line, and my guess is that Frahm isn't quite good enough.

It's kind of funny how the standard is different for guys like Tim Thomas, Radman, and other guys who are a couple of inches taller, and why that logic didn't apply to Korolev. Makes me idly wonder what YK would have done and where the Clippers would be if he had played T2's 724 minutes this year and somehow taken 139 3s. Just curious.

by zhivclip on Dec 13, 2007 12:45 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Dickau and Frahm - only in practice

Frahm's last season with the Zags was 99-00. Dickau red-shirted that season after transferring from UDub. So they played together in practice, but never in a game. Frahm was the shooter on the Elite Eight team that first put the Zags on the map. Matt Santangelo was the point guard and Casey Cavalry was their big guy.

by Steve Perrin on Dec 13, 2007 12:58 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Hmmm

I didn't realize this was a possibility. It makes sense, and explains some things, especially Patterson's desire for some more minutes, him getting opportunities to post-up and make things happen, playing him ahead of Thornton. It turns out that he was around on a trial basis.

Happy to see him go, mainly because he was taking minutes away from Thornton and other young players, and also just the fact that he wasn't a very skilled basketball player. He had a whole lot of extremely makeable shots that didn't go in, and a fair amount of his hustle plays were negated because he couldn't shoot free throws. And Dunleavy has a tendency to overplay this type of veteran and settle for mediocre results. The fact that he won't be around as an option seems like a good thing. It would have been nice if it had worked out and he had played his way to the contract getting picked up, but it didn't happen.

There's also not only the factor of the injuries and lack of shooting in the backcourt, but also the eventual return of EB. At that point the minutes are going to be much harder to come by.

by zhivclip on Dec 13, 2007 12:24 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

On the basketball side

He was taking minutes for Thornton, and more importantly TOUCHES from Kaman. Over the course of the season, and especially the last few games, there has just been a ramp up of him using possessions outside of the offense and, even worse, outside his game.

I was thinking the other day, what if it was EB using those possessions instead of Patterson?

At this point, the Clippers should cut everyone who isn't passing Chris the ball.

by John R on Dec 13, 2007 2:12 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Yeah

Some of the play calling and minutes from the last few games make better sense now, since it turns out that RP was making a desperate attempt to keep his spot.

I don't really blame him for trying to make plays and to show that he could score, given his situation, but I'm glad it's over. He would have had a much better chance if he could have hit some free throws--he did a good job of going to the basket and getting fouled, but it was extremely frustrating to watch those plays turn into empty trips.

by zhivclip on Dec 13, 2007 4:51 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs