Clips Nation - Clippers Free AgencyWhat it do babyyyhttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/47967/clipsnation_fave.png2014-07-17T12:30:18-07:00http://www.clipsnation.com/rss/stream/56238852014-07-17T12:30:18-07:002014-07-17T12:30:18-07:00Clippers Re-Sign Glen "Big Baby" Davis
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<figcaption>Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>Brad Turner of the LA Times reported that the Clippers have agreed to bring Davis back on a one-year minimum deal.</p> <p>Per the LA Times, the Clippers are bringing back Glen Davis. Davis was the 3rd big for the team after they acquired him mid-season last year, and while he struggled somewhat in that role, he was far more effective than any of Doc Rivers' other options.</p>
<p>This season, with the addition of Spencer Hawes, Davis will be the fourth big, which seems like a better role for him. Unlike last season, it doesn't seem that Davis will be forced to play center now that the Clippers have two very good 7-footers. The particularly gruesome lineups featuring Davis at center and Danny Granger or Hedo Turkoglu at power forward are now thankfully in the past.</p>
<p>Davis averaged 11 points and 8 rebounds per 36 minutes in 23 regular season games for the Clippers last season.</p>
<p>Once this move is official, the off-season is all but over. The Clippers now have their starters and backups at every position, along with their two young reserves, Reggie Bullock and C.J. Wilcox. Doc Rivers only has enough room under the hard cap for one minimum-salary deal, and, fittingly, the Clippers are required by the NBA to carry at least one more player.</p>
<p>Unless a trade is made, it's clear that the Clippers have one signing left in them before putting the wraps on a solid off-season. What's unclear is what the team will look for. They could opt for a 5th big (possibly bringing back Ryan Hollins), look for a 3rd string point guard as injury insurance for Chris Paul and Jordan Farmar, or buy low on a wing player who they think has potential to get minutes at SF, the team's weakest position.</p>
https://www.clipsnation.com/2014/7/17/5913327/clippers-re-sign-glen-big-baby-davisLucas Hann2014-07-15T15:04:18-07:002014-07-15T15:04:18-07:00The Clippers, falling dominoes and settling dust
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<figcaption>Stephen Dunn</figcaption>
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<p>The dust is beginning to settle from a flurry of free agency activity, and the Clippers have some roster holes to fill, and relatively few assets with which to will them.</p> <p>The <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.clipsnation.com/">Los Angeles Clippers</a> targeted free agent acquisitions <span>Spencer Hawes</span> and <span>Jordan Farmar</span> early in the process. Coach/president/ominpotent-yet-benevolent-leader <span>Doc Rivers</span> contacted Hawes and Farmar when free agency opened on July 1, and they were among the "role player" type signings that happened while so much of free agency was clogged up waiting for <span>LeBron James</span> to make a decision.</p>
<p>The Clippers seem very pleased with their new additions, and well they should be, at least based on what we know now. They appear to be excellent fits for the team's needs, and they were certainly bargains given the prices comparable players have been commanding this summer. Farmar probably won't be as good a backup point guard for the Clippers as <span>Darren Collison</span>, whom he replaces. But Collison will be making $5.3M in Sacramento, compared to just over $2M for Farmar. And then again, with Farmar better shooting range, he may be an even better fit than Collison.</p>
<p>But now that James has returned to Cleveland, the majority of the free agency dominoes have fallen, and the dust is beginning to settle. Various players linked in one way or another with the Clippers -- Collison, <span>Danny Granger</span>, <span>Paul Pierce</span>, <span>Trevor Ariza</span>, etc. -- have now signed. There are very few big names left on the market, and none of them seem to be logical targets for the Clippers needs (with the possible exception of <span>Lance Stephenson</span>, who would be out of Doc's price range at any rate).</p>
<p>So where does that leave the process of finalizing the 2014-2015 roster?</p>
<p>The depth chart as of today looks like this:</p>
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<table border="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>PG</td>
<td><span>Chris Paul</span></td>
<td>Jordan Farmar</td>
<td>[Crawford]</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>SG</td>
<td><span>J.J. Redick</span></td>
<td><span>Jamal Crawford</span></td>
<td><span>C.J. Wilcox</span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>SF</td>
<td><span>Matt Barnes</span></td>
<td><span>Jared Dudley</span></td>
<td><span>Reggie Bullock</span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>PF</td>
<td><span>Blake Griffin</span></td>
<td>[Hawes]<br>
</td>
<td>{Dudley]</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>C</td>
<td><span>DeAndre Jordan</span></td>
<td>Spencer Hawes</td>
<td><br></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p>It is important to note that the Clippers used their full MLE on Hawes, which imposes a hard cap at $4M above the luxury tax threshold. By my math, with a total payroll of $78,764,529.00 and the luxury tax next season estimated to be $76,829,000.00, the Clippers are already over the threshold, and only about $2M shy of the hard cap.</p>
<p>In other words, they don't have a lot of flexibility.</p>
<p>The CBA requites teams to carry at least 13 players. Barring a trade, the Clippers are almost certainly limited to adding minimum salary players at this point. (The one exception I can think of is <span>Glen Davis</span>, whom the Clippers could re-sign for a little over the veteran's minimum as their own free agent.)</p>
<p>Losing out on Pierce, whom we know Rivers had contacted and targeted as a sign-and-trade candidate, is a bit disappointing. Pierce wound up taking about $5M per season to sign with the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.bulletsforever.com/">Wizards</a> -- an amount the Clippers could have matched in a sign-and-trade with a package of one veteran small forward (either Matt Barnes or Jared Dudley) and one young wing (either Reggie Bullock or C.J. Wilcox). Did Doc offer one of the youngsters? Did Brooklyn decide they'd rather have nothing than take on the likes of Dudley's deal? It's difficult to believe that they would not have taken a Barnes/Bullock package -- but did Doc offer that? We'll probably never know.</p>
<p>At this point, depending on your feelings about <span>Evan Turner</span>, there probably aren't any sign-and-trade candidates that would be upgrades at the small forward position. Which may leave the Clippers in the position of entering the season with Matt Barnes as the fifth starter again, and hoping that Bullock is ready for a bigger role.</p>
<p>There remains a more glaring hole in the roster, that being a fourth big. As of now, Blake Griffin is the only true power forward on the team, and when he's off the court the Clippers would have to play two centers (Hawes and DeAndre Jordan) or go small with Dudley or Barnes at the four.</p>
<p><span>Ed Davis</span> is still on the market, but he's not going to take a minimum deal. Would he be worth losing one of the younger guys in a sign-and-trade package? Would Ekpe Udoh be available at the minimum? Glen Davis remains a possibility. He can certainly make more money elsewhere, but another season with the Clippers offers him at least four things that have value: a decent role, continuing to play for Doc Rivers, a chance to go deep into the playoffs, and early Bird rights next summer. It's probably not enough, but it's difficult to say what the market for Davis is. (It's worth noting also that Davis will still be receiving a salary from Orlando next season. I don't know whether there's an offset in his buyout, which would make his salary next season irrelevant and make a return to the Clippers much more realistic from a money standpoint.)</p>
<p>Regardless of what happens between now and opening night, it's important to remember that the Clippers added the players who logged the eighth, ninth and tenth most playoff minutes for the team (Davis, Granger and <span>Hedo Turkoglu</span>) after the start of the season last year. The Clippers have already become a destination franchise, and that's only going to be intensified when the ownership situation is resolved and they replace the worst owner in North American sports with the wealthiest owner in North American sports. My strong suspicion is that at least one important player will be added to the roster in February, possibly more than one.</p>
https://www.clipsnation.com/2014/7/15/5902923/nba-free-agency-clippers-spencer-hawes-jordan-farmar-pierceSteve Perrin2014-07-09T22:09:57-07:002014-07-09T22:09:57-07:00Clippers Officially Sign Hawes, Farmar
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<figcaption>Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>As the moratorium ended and the free agent signing period officially began, the Clippers' newest additions put pen to paper.</p> <p>The Clippers officially signed unrestricted free agents Spencer Hawes and Jordan Farmar Thursday night after the moratorium ended.</p>
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<blockquote lang="en" class="twitter-tweet">
<p>Welcome <a href="https://twitter.com/JrFarmar">@JrFarmar</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/spencerhawes00">@spencerhawes00</a> to the Clipper family!!! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Clippers?src=hash">#Clippers</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SweetShortsSpencer?src=hash">#SweetShortsSpencer</a> <a href="http://t.co/vPKuo3H6Uf">pic.twitter.com/vPKuo3H6Uf</a></p>
— Los Angeles Clippers (@LAClippers) <a href="https://twitter.com/LAClippers/statuses/487092517091811328">July 10, 2014</a>
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<p>Hawes, the sharpshooting 7' 26-year-old who is expected to be the Clippers third big, signed a deal for 4 years and $22.65 million, the full value of the non-taxpayer mid-level exception. He is expected to have a player option for the fourth and final year.</p>
<p>Farmar, a two-time NBA champion who will fill the void at backup point guard, signed for a two year deal for just under $4.25 million, the full value of the bi-annual exception. Farmar will also reportedly have a player option for his final season.</p>
<p>This is relative non-news for the Clippers, as reports of these signings were leaked days ago. However, this is the first that teams could officially sign contracts and announce these signings to the media and fans.</p>
<p>The most significant outcome of this is that Spencer Hawes has been signed outright. There was some rumor, and much speculation, that the Clippers were interested in turning Hawes' deal into a sign-and-trade with Cleveland, which would allow the Clippers to retain their mid-level exception for use on another free agent.</p>
<p>However, Cleveland would have to agree to such a deal, and completing any such salary-adding trade before LeBron James makes his free agency decision would eliminate their chances at signing their hometown hero (turned villain, perhaps). Therefore, Cleveland would at least wait until the James decides, meaning that the Clippers would have to wait that long too. Instead of keeping the Hawes deal pending until LeBron made up his mind, the Clippers have decided to go ahead with the Hawes contract now.</p>
<p>This doesn't completely eliminate the possibility of a sign-and-trade for the Clippers however, it just means that it won't be involving Spencer Hawes. The team could still trade for another free agent. They also have cap room to sign two more free agents for the veteran's minimum.</p>
https://www.clipsnation.com/2014/7/9/5886533/nba-free-agency-2014-clippers-officially-sign-hawes-and-farmar-noLucas Hann2014-07-09T14:55:04-07:002014-07-09T14:55:04-07:00Mike Woodson to Join Clippers Coaching Staff
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<figcaption>Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>According to Ken Berger, Mike Woodson has reached and agreement with the Clippers.</p> <p>Ken Berger of CBS Sports has reported that the Clippers have added Mike Woodson to their coaching staff.</p>
<p><span><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>The Clippers have reached agreement to add former Knicks coach Mike Woodson to Doc Rivers&#39; staff, league source tells <a href="https://twitter.com/CBSSports">@CBSSports</a>.</p>&mdash; Ken Berger (@KBergCBS) <a href="https://twitter.com/KBergCBS/statuses/486989285598724096">July 9, 2014</a></blockquote></span></p>
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<p>Woodson has a record of 315-365 in in 8 full seasons and one partial season as a head coach. He has been the head coach of the Hawks and Knicks, and made the playoffs in five of his nine seasons. He's been an assistant in Milwaukee, Cleveland, Philadelphia, and Detroit.</p>
<p>He also played for the Clippers from 1986 to 1988.</p>
<p>Berger also revealed that the Clippers are interested in adding Lawrence Frank and Sam Cassell.</p>
<p><span><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Rivers also pursuing Lawrence Frank (his former assistant in Boston) and Wizards assistant Sam Cassell, source says. Nothing final there.</p>&mdash; Ken Berger (@KBergCBS) <a href="https://twitter.com/KBergCBS/statuses/486989906246647809">July 9, 2014</a></blockquote></span></p>
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<p>Frank has a record of 279-335 in seven full season and two partial seasons as a head coach. He's been the head coach in New Jersey and Detroit. Last season, he was Jason Kidd's lead assistant in Brooklyn before clashing with Kidd.</p>
<p>Sam Cassell has been an assistant coach in Washington after recently retiring from a successful playing career. Cassell played for the Clippers in the mid 2000's, notably being the starting point guard on the playoff team in 2006 that featured Elton Brand, Corey Maggette, Cuttino Mobley, Chris Kaman, Shaun Livingston, Quinton Ross, and all those old fan favorites.</p>
<p>Clippers head coach Doc Rivers needs to hire assistants after he lost Tyronn Lue to Cleveland, Alvin Gentry to Golden State, and Kevin Eastman to a front office position within the Clippers organization.</p>
https://www.clipsnation.com/2014/7/9/5885429/mike-woodson-to-join-clippers-coaching-staffLucas Hann2014-07-09T14:29:53-07:002014-07-09T14:29:53-07:00Cap and Tax Levels Lower Than Expected
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<figcaption>Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>The NBA released the official salary cap and luxury tax levels for the 2014-2015 season, and they are slightly lower than the projections.</p> <p>According to multiple reports, the NBA's salary cap and luxury tax will be lower than projected for the upcoming 2014-2015 season. The cap level will be $63.065 million, slightly lower than the $63.2 million projection. The Luxury tax will be $76.829 million, again slightly below the $77 million projection. This also means that the apron, which is acting as the hard cap for the Clippers and several other teams, will be moved down from a projected $81 million to $80.829 million. These slight decreases won't make much of a difference for any team, but they are a disappointment to front office executives who were hoping for the number to be above the projection, closer to $64 million.</p>
<p>It's a largely insignificant difference, but it could mean that the Clippers don't have room to add a 10-day contract in January, or pick a player up after he is released at the trading deadline.</p>
<p>Currently, the team has $77,654,769 committed to Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, DeAndre Jordan, J.J. Redick, Jamal Crawford, Spencer Hawes, Jared Dudley, Matt Barnes, Jordan Farmar, and Reggie Bullock. The team's 11th player will be rookie C.J. Wilcox, who has a rookie scale cap hold of $924,800, but can be signed for as little as 80% or as much as 120% of that. It's worth noting that teams nearly almost always give their rookies 120% of scale.</p>
<p>So after Wilcox is signed, the Clippers will have between $78,394,609 and $78,764,529 in total team salary, leaving them with between $2,064,471 and $2,434,391 to sign at least two more players. Since the cap hit for a veteran's minimum contract is $915,243 (and, when speaking in terms of the apron, so is the cap hit for the rookie and one-year veteran's minimum), it seems that unless a trade is made (<a href="http://www.clipsnation.com/2014/7/8/5878661/sign-trades-danny-granger-heat-spencer-hawes-cleveland-jordan-farmar-lakers-clippers-los-angeles#comments" target="_blank">perhaps a sign-and-trade</a>), the team's last two moves will be to sign two players for the veteran's minimum.</p>
<p>However, the team has one more avenue with which to offer a free agent more than the minimum, but it is quickly expiring. There is a TPE for the Eric Bledsoe deal which expires tomorrow, July 10th. If the Clippers either absorbed a salary or acquired a player in a S&T, they could use the TPE to take in between about $1.1 million and $1.5 million, depending on Wilcox's intended salary. It's not much, but it's slightly more than the minimum.</p>
<p>Of course, if the team is able to negotiate a sign-and-trade with Cleveland for Spencer Hawes, then everything shifts depending upon the package that the teams agree to. But we'll cross that bridge when (if?) we come to it.</p>
https://www.clipsnation.com/2014/7/9/5885323/nba-free-agency-2014-salary-cap-and-tax-levels-lower-than-expectedLucas Hann2014-07-08T17:07:47-07:002014-07-08T17:07:47-07:00The Practicality of Sign-And-Trades
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<figcaption>Howard Smith-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>There's been a few signings made, both by the Clippers and by other teams snatching LAC's free agents. Could these deals become sign-and-trades?</p> <p>After every transaction having to do with the Clippers, or a Clippers free agent, this summer, people seem to have one lingering question: can it be a sign-and-trade? Let's clear up the misconceptions around this issue:</p>
<ul>
<li><span><b>Can Spencer Hawes be signed-and-traded? Can the Clippers use their TPE? Why does this matter?</b></span></li>
</ul>
<div>Yes! Spencer Hawes is the best candidate for a sign-and-trade. However, due to the rules where a TPE cannot be used in aggregation with outgoing players, that isn't an option here. A potential Hawes S&T would have to involve the Clippers sending back actual player salaries. Any of the following potential packages work financially: Jamal Crawford; Jared Dudley; Jared Dudley and Reggie Bullock; Matt Barnes and Reggie Bullock, along with a few other combinations. Cleveland would have to accept any deal, but as Steve Perrin noted earlier today:</div>
<blockquote>
<div>If any team in the NBA could use one or more of the semi-serviceable players crowding the Clippers depth chart at small forward, it's the Cavs, who are losing Luol Deng and C.J. Miles this summer, and who missed badly on Earl Clark last year. Jared Dudley's trade value is next to nothing -- but given that the alternate for the Cavs is the aforementioned nothing, they are the one team who might actually take him. Frankly, they'd be stupid not to take Barnes or Bullock if the Clippers offer one of them.</div>
</blockquote>
<div>This matters because it would basically re-allow the Clippers to use their full mid-level exception. Essentially, they could chase another Hawes-level player (probably on the wing) with the actual money and flexibility to carry out the move. They've been linked to Paul Pierce but it's unclear on how well he'd fit, and if he's capable of being the defensive upgrade the Clippers need. The team could also opt to split the MLE between multiple backup players, or use a portion of it now and save the other portion for a mid-season acquisition. The flexibility increases immensely.</div>
<div><br></div>
<ul>
<li><span><b>Can Jordan Farmar be signed-and-traded? Can the Clippers use their TPE? Why does this matter?</b></span></li>
</ul>
<div>Maybe. Jordan Farmar could potentially be signed-and-traded using the TPE, but it's hard to see all parties cooperating, specifically Jordan. The Lakers do not have Farmar's bird rights, meaning that they can't offer him a large enough starting salary using his free agent rights. However, if the team cleared their massive amounts of cap holds in order to create space needed to sign free agents, then they could use part of that cap space to sign Farmar and trade him into the Clippers TPE. In return, the Lakers would get a new TPE of their own and some other basketball incentive, like a protected second round pick.</div>
<div><br></div>
<div>For Farmar, this would shake up how his contract is built. In a S&T, the player being signed-and-traded must have a contract of at least three years. This is built into the CBA to prevent teams from acquiring a player's bird rights after a one-year S&T deal, and then re-signing him for more the next summer. Currently, Farmar's reported deal is a 1+1 contract, with the 2014-15 season guaranteed and the 2015-16 season a player option. Presumably, Farmar structured his deal like he did so that he could re-build value and opt out next off-season for a bigger contract, a la Darren Collison. Making the deal a three-year contract, or even at best a two year deal with a player option for year three, presumably makes it a less desirable deal for Farmar.</div>
<div><br></div>
<div>The Lakers, on the other hand, don't even have Farmar's bird rights with which to sign him to a deal worth the bi-annual exception. They would have to first renounce cap holds to clear room, and then sign-and-trade Farmar with that room. Presumably, they'd get a second-round pick back for their trouble. It's certainly possible but if it doesn't fit in with the Lakers' other off-season plans it's not worth sacrificing other aspects of their plan.</div>
<div><br></div>
<div>For the Clippers, they could give Farmar a slightly higher salary, starting at $2,626,474 if they wanted to. This contract could now run for three or four years, shedding the bi-annual exception's limitations. At the end of a three-year deal (the minimum number for a S&T deal), the team would also have Farmar's bird rights. Most importantly, however, this would allow the Clippers to use their bi-annual exception on another player to strengthen their bench.</div>
<div><br></div>
<div>Ultimately, I could see the Clippers and Lakers being willing to do this deal, but I doubt that Farmar would be overly interested in it. But, if he would rather have a longer guaranteed contract and not worry about building value for his next deal, then it could be possible.</div>
<div><br></div>
<div>
<ul>
<li><span><b>Can Danny Granger be signed and traded? What can the Clippers get? Why does this matter?</b></span></li>
</ul>
<div>No. Danny Granger will almost definitely not be signed-and-traded to the Miami Heat. Similarly to the Farmar situation, the Clippers do not have Granger's bird rights. The most money the Clippers could give him would be a little over $1.5 million, meaning the total salary would be about a million less than his reported 2 year, $4.2 million dollar deal. The Clippers also can't go the Lakers route outlined above. It would be far more difficult for the Clippers to clear room. All the Lakers have to do is renounce salary; the Clippers would have to trade away several players. And for what? A $2 million TPE and a second round pick? It's outlandish.</div>
</div>
<div><br></div>
<div>If Granger agreed to take a pay cut, and have that reduced salary for an additional year (remember S&T deals must be three seasons), then a deal could be made. But it's preposterous that a player who is clearly looking to re-establish himself next season and then claim a much larger contract would lock himself up at a lower rate for a longer period of time when he's already agreed to terms for the BAE.</div>
<div><br></div>
<div>Without giving him his own section, it's also worth noting that this is the same reason that Darren Collison will not be signed-and-traded. The Clippers can only pay Collison slightly over $2m, a fraction of what he is reportedly set to make in Sacramento. Again, it would be impractical for the Clippers to clear cap for such a move, and inconceivable for Collison to take that enormous of a pay cut.</div>
https://www.clipsnation.com/2014/7/8/5878661/sign-trades-danny-granger-heat-spencer-hawes-cleveland-jordan-farmar-lakers-clippers-los-angelesLucas Hann2014-07-07T14:24:09-07:002014-07-07T14:24:09-07:00NBA Free Agency: Hawes and Farmar on the Clippers
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<figcaption>Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>The Clippers' first two moves of the off-season have been to plug big holes at the backup point guard and third big with Jordan Farmar and Spencer Hawes. Does that make them a better team than last season? Let's have a look.</p> <p><span>Spencer Hawes</span> and <span>Jordan Farmar</span>. Jordan Farmar and Spencer Hawes. What to make of the first two free agent signings of the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.clipsnation.com/">Los Angeles Clippers</a> as the team tries to take the most difficult step in reaching a championship level, the step from really good to great.</p>
<p>The Clippers have five starters and the reigning Sixth Man of the Year already signed for next season. That's from a team that won 57 games and went nose-to-nose with Oklahoma City in the Western Conference semi-finals. There's a tendency to think that the Clippers might still have pretty far to go, given that they still have yet to reach a conference final -- but let's not pretend that Indiana was a better team just because they played in a weaker conference. By any measure, the Clippers were one of the four best teams in the NBA last season. That's not bad.</p>
<p>The Clippers should improve moving forward simply by virtue of experience together. The stars and coach of the other three top teams had been together much longer: the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.hothothoops.com/">Heat</a> for four seasons, the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.welcometoloudcity.com/">Thunder</a> for six and the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.poundingtherock.com/">Spurs</a> for 106. Or maybe it's just better luck and fewer injuries that will make the difference for the Clippers, who lost 88 starter games to injury last season.</p>
<p>But the first job in the off-season is to try to make the <i>roster</i> better. Expecting <span>Blake Griffin</span> to take yet another step forward, or hoping that <span>DeAndre Jordan</span> can continue to improve, or planning for the defensive schemes to gel in the second season of the <span>Doc Rivers</span> eras -- those things would all be great, but the best plan is to put together a better roster.</p>
<p>Enter Hawes and Farmar.</p>
<p>Last season's depth chart looked something like this during the playoffs:</p>
<table border="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>PG</td>
<td><span>Chris Paul</span></td>
<td><span>Darren Collison</span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>SG</td>
<td><span>J.J. Redick</span></td>
<td><span>Jamal Crawford</span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>SF</td>
<td><span>Matt Barnes</span></td>
<td><span>Danny Granger</span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>PF</td>
<td>Blake Griffin</td>
<td><span>Glen Davis</span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>C</td>
<td>DeAndre Jordan</td>
<td>(Davis)</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p> </p>
<p>Those nine players appeared in all 13 playoff games. Others made appearances, but for the sake of this discussion, let's say that was the rotation.</p>
<p>As of now, with the additions of Hawes and Farmar, the nine man rotation entering next season would look like this:</p>
<p> </p>
<table border="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>PG</td>
<td>Chris Paul</td>
<td>Jordan Farmar</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>SG</td>
<td>J.J. Redick</td>
<td>Jamal Crawford</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>SF</td>
<td>Matt Barnes</td>
<td>Jared Dudley</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>PF</td>
<td>Blake Griffin</td>
<td>Spencer Hawes</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>C</td>
<td>DeAndre Jordan</td>
<td>(Hawes)<br>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p> </p>
<p>Is that an improvement? Probably not, but it's not bad. Note that I'm comparing the end of season team (that included players who were acquired in February during buyout season) from last year to the start-of-season team going forward. If we were doing an apples-to-apples comparison opening day 2013 to opening day 2014, Hawes would be a massive upgrade over the likes of <span>Byron Mullens</span> and Antawn Jamison. I'm also leaving <span>Reggie Bullock</span> and <span>C.J. Wilcox</span> out of the discussion for the time being. It would be great if one or both of them were able to contribute this season, but I'm not counting on it.</p>
<p>Prices on the free agency market have been quite high so far, which has handcuffed the team to some extent given their salary cap imposed limitations. Then again, those same prices are bound to limit the other contenders in their attempts to improve as well. The Thunder have already lost one starter and a key reserve from a thin rotation, and if you're lukewarm on Jordan Farmar, imagine how you'd feel if <span>Sebastian Telfair</span> were your big acquisition to date.</p>
<p>It goes without saying that we're still early in the process and a lot can happen. The big free agent dominoes have yet to fall, but when they do things will change quickly. For instance, the Thunder are said to be a contender for the services of <span>Pau Gasol</span>, but nothing will happen with him until he knows what teams still have money after <span>LeBron James</span>, <span>Carmelo Anthony</span>, <span>Chris Bosh</span> and <span>Dwyane Wade</span> have landed. And there's always the outside chance, however remote, that the Clippers can land one of the big fish via a sign-and-trade.</p>
<p>If the Clippers use their mid-level exception to sign Hawes and their bi-annual exception on Farmar, as appears likely, then they'll be incredibly limited moving forward. The only means for signing any free agent outright at that point would be veteran's minimum contracts. But you can expect the Clippers to aggressively pursue one or more sign-and-trade transactions as well. When the free agent moratorium is lifted on Thursday and deals start becoming official, we may find out that Hawes is coming west via sign-and-trade (if any team in the NBA could use one or more of the semi-serviceable players crowding the Clippers depth chart at small forward, it's the Cavs, who are losing <span>Luol Deng</span> and <span>C.J. Miles</span> this summer, and who missed badly on <span>Earl Clark</span> last year. <span>Jared Dudley's</span> trade value is next to nothing -- but given that the alternate for the Cavs is the aforementioned nothing, they are the one team who might actually take him. Frankly, they'd be stupid not to take Barnes or Bullock if the Clippers offer one of them.) If the Clippers can indeed work an S&T for Hawes, then suddenly their full MLE is back in play, which would be a huge advantage.</p>
<p>Hawes and Farmar are by no means spectacular additions -- but they're pretty damn solid. Importantly, they both seem to be good fits on the roster. Since arriving in LA Rivers has been searching for a stretch big as a complement to starters Griffin and Jordan. Hawes made 128 three pointers last season -- <a href="http://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/psl_finder.cgi?request=1&match=single&type=totals&per_minute_base=36&lg_id=NBA&is_playoffs=N&year_min=2014&year_max=2014&franch_id=&season_start=1&season_end=-1&age_min=0&age_max=99&height_min=82&height_max=99&shoot_hand=&birth_country_is=Y&birth_country=&is_active=&is_hof=&is_as=&as_comp=gt&as_val=&pos_is_g=Y&pos_is_gf=Y&pos_is_f=Y&pos_is_fg=Y&pos_is_fc=Y&pos_is_c=Y&pos_is_cf=Y&qual=&c1stat=&c1comp=gt&c1val=&c2stat=&c2comp=gt&c2val=&c3stat=&c3comp=gt&c3val=&c4stat=&c4comp=gt&c4val=&c5stat=&c5comp=gt&c6mult=1.0&c6stat=&order_by=fg3" target="_blank">the only players 6'10 or taller to make more were Kevin Love, Channing Frye and Dirk Nowitzki</a>, and Hawes hit a higher percentage than any of them. He's also a good rebounder and an excellent passer for a seven footer.</p>
<p>Farmar replacing his former college teammate Collison as the Clippers backup point guard is a bit trickier. Collison was incredibly valuable for the Clippers as the starter in the 20 games that Chris Paul missed -- but Farmar might be the better fit overall, particularly if Paul can avoid a prolonged absence. Poor Doc has been desperately trying to add shooting on the Clippers roster, yet somehow the first Rivers team somehow shot worse from deep (.352) than the last <span>Vinny Del Negro</span> team (.358). Farmar is a significantly better range shooter than Collison, a surprisingly good athlete, and a tenacious defender. He's not big, but he's bigger than Collison, and while he won't be able to attack the rim as Collison could, he should be much better at stretching the floor.</p>
<p>As the first two acquisitions of the off-season, Hawes and Farmar may not be home runs -- but they're base hits. If the Clippers can manage to get Cleveland to agree to take something back for Hawes in a sign-and-trade, they'd be stretching the hit for extra bases. There's still a lot to be done, but I'm pretty pleased with what's happened so far.</p>
https://www.clipsnation.com/2014/7/7/5878301/nba-free-agency-how-do-hawes-and-farmar-fit-on-the-clippersSteve Perrin2014-07-07T12:48:56-07:002014-07-07T12:48:56-07:00Danny Granger Signs With Heat
<figure>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/xi8sH9_M9fzrY3bu8q_kNbseKPg=/0x218:4000x2885/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/35302012/20140421_lbm_am8_044.JPG.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>According to Yahoo! Sports, former Pacers and Clippers forward Danny Granger has agreed to terms with the Miami Heat.</p> <p>According to Woj, the Heat have made their second signing of the day, agreeing to terms with former Clipper Danny Granger. Grangerp layed the last part of the 2014 season with the Clippers after spending his entire career with Indiana.</p>
<p>Despite a very productive career, excessive injuries in recent years have caused Granger to be a shadow of the player he once was. He was hardly effective in his limited time with the Clippers, shooting 27.5% from the field and 22.7% from deep in 13 playoff games. Furthermore, from viewing the games it was clear to see that he had no explosiveness left in his knees and couldn't move very well on defense either.</p>
<p>Granger receives the Heat's bi-annual exception in the same exact deal that Jordan Farmar got from the Clippers yesterday, worth $2,077,000 in the first year with a player option for the second.</p>
<p>The Heat also used their mid-level exception today, signing Josh McRoberts. It's kind of interesting, I'd take Spencer Hawes and Jordan Farmar over Josh McRoberts and Danny Granger as my two FA signings any day.</p>
<p>For the Clippers' purposes, the team now no longer has a cap hold for $915,243 under Granger's name, and loses one of the four players (Granger along with Turkoglu, Hollins, and Davis) that they could use non-bird rights to give a salary slightly over the league minimum. It's safe to say, however, that Granger isn't much of a loss.</p>
https://www.clipsnation.com/2014/7/7/5878271/nba-free-agency-2014-clippers-f-danny-granger-signs-with-miami-heatLucas Hann