LA Clippers.

[soonerfan28]

This is the starting lineup for the LA Clippers or at least it was for 16 games and that was the most consistent it got.

C- Marcus Camby 10.3 pts 11.1 Rbs (62 games)
PF- Zach Randolph 20.9 pts 9.4 Rbs (39 games)
SF- Al Thorton 16.8 pts 5.2 rbs (71 games)
SG- Baron Davis 14.9 pts 7.7 ast (65 games)
PG- Eric Gordon 16.1 pts 2.8 ast (65 games)

They also have Chris Kaman and DeAndre Jordan. I don't know how they plan to get there moneys worth out of all the post players they have but it would seem like to me that they should go w/a player like Rubio because they could use more help at the guard position then the post. I know that Blake is #1 and in any other draft half of the projected top 10 wouldn't be in the top 15. However Dunleavy has been quoted as saying "This guy is the No. 1 pick. We're extremely excited. He's the guy." In reference to Blake.

[JLEW1818]

yep. Baron Davis and Griffin should be good together. They were doggin him on espn today, saying he was only 6'8 1/2 .

[King Crimson]

having watched Camby in Denver for 3-4 years (his best as a pro)...there's nothing he does that makes him worth the horrible shots he takes. he thinks he's got a top of the key stroke type range. he's a good guy apparently, but he's making too much money wherever he is.

[picasso]

yep. Baron Davis and Griffin should be good together. They were doggin him on espn today, saying he was only 6'8 1/2 .

of course he's not 6'10". but he might play bigger than that.

and thanks again to Doug Gottlieb for pointing that out every 5 minutes this past season.

[SbOrOiNaEnR]

Clippers' Web site has the Blake Griffin "You just got F'd in the A" picture on their home page advertising 2009-2010 season ticket packages. Of course, Ricky Rubio is on there too, so I guess you can't be 100% positive.

[soonerfan28]

Dunleavy was in Spain watching Rubio when he got the news that they had gotten the 1st pick in the draft and w/an $8,000,000 buyout in Rubio's contract and a rule that only allows NBA teams to put $500,000 towards a buyout I would say they'll probably take Griffin.

From ESPN this morning.

3. Oklahoma City Thunder

If the pick is Thabeet, then it's no worries for the Thunder. They would get the shot-blocking big man they were looking for when they made the revoked Tyson Chandler trade in February.

If it's Rubio, things get a lot trickier. Oklahoma City already has Westbrook at the point, and he had an exceptional rookie season considering his youth and inexperience at the position. It's not as simple as moving Westbrook to the 2, either. He has the size to play there, but he's not a good shooter. Since Rubio is a lousy shooter too, it would invite opponents to double- and triple-team Kevin Durant while sagging way off the Thunder's guards.

Yet the Thunder don't seem anxious to trade Westbrook either, not after the season he had as a rookie, and not when his aggressive mentality seems to be exactly what the team was looking for as the yin to Durant's laid-back yang.

So we need to at least ask the question: Would Oklahoma City trade down a spot with Sacramento? The Kings are dying to get Rubio, while at No. 4 the Thunder could snag a much-needed wing sniper like James Harden and earn a few other goodies in the process. As enticement, Sacramento could offer its No. 23 pick and/or Spencer Hawes, or agree to swap Jason Thompson for Thabo Sefolosha.

[PDXsooner]

my biggest concern is how Blake will respond when being surrounded by such COMPLETE IDIOTS as Zach Randolph and Ricky Davis, two of the most worthless people in the NBA.

Sounds like Griffin is pretty well grounded though. Hopefully he'll resist the 'NBA Culture' as much as possible. You won't be able to tell if he's successfully resisted it until about his 2nd or 3rd year. Many a well-spoken, grounded rookie fall prey to the life of thugery, self-entitlement and spoiled recklesness.

[sooner94]

my biggest concern is how Blake will respond when being surrounded by such COMPLETE IDIOTS as Zach Randolph and Ricky Davis, two of the most worthless people in the NBA.

Sounds like Griffin is pretty well grounded though. Hopefully he'll resist the 'NBA Culture' as much as possible. You won't be able to tell if he's successfully resisted it until about his 2nd or 3rd year. Many a well-spoken, grounded rookie fall prey to the life of thugery, self-entitlement and spoiled recklesness.

I was REALLY disappointed when the Clippers won the lottery.

Good point above. Would be nice if there were some good character guys for Blake to play with.

But my biggest concern is how the Clippers organization has ruined the careers of so many promising players. Donald Sterling (the owner) is the Al Davis of the NBA. He is a complete wierdo and the organization has a loser mentality.

They play in the shadow of the Lakers and get second rate treatment at the Staples Center (the Laker deal with the Staples Center is MUCH more lucrative than the Clipper deal).

I really hope OKC can pull a miracle and work a deal with the Clippers.

[badger]

I just got my ESPN Mag a few days ago in the mail and finally flipped through it... there's a lengthy article (actually there's two, but the other's on the misfortune of the Pittsburgh Pirates) on the misfortune of the Clippers and their miserly owner behind the organization.

To sum things up, he's a racist, he's only out to make money, but is the first to complain when his team doesn't win despite the fact that he doesn't like to spend money on free agents and that's why he's been in 20 of the first 25 NBA lotteries.

We may have to wait four years (the length of rookie contracts) to get Blake to come home, but something tells me he will be more than ready to leave when that time comes.

If there's anything positive to be said, I'm sure this rich a$$hole is just like all the other rich a$$holes who own pro sports teams, it's just that his a$$holery is more public than other's a$$holery... well, 'cept for Mark Cuban. His a$$holery is quite well-publicized.

[sooner94]

Badger- What was written in that ESPN mag article has been known in LA for years. I lived out there for about 7 years, and at least once a year the LA Times would write a piece about Sterling's idiotic and bizarre behavior.

That is why on the rare occasion the Clippers do draft a guy that becomes a good player, they leave when their initial contract is up.

[sooner94]

I liked how ESPN mag called out Sterling for buying full page ads in the LA Times to congratulate himself. I remember seeing those adds once a month.

Who does that? Seriously?

Freaking wacko.

[badger]

I don't follow the Clips, so I was unaware of the ownership situation and such... when I saw that LAC got the No. 1 pick, I was slightly worried, knowing the track record of that franchise recently (they had announced previously that night that LAC had 20 lottery years in the 25 seasons of the lottery).

So, again, not knowing the ownership situation and trying to stay positive, I was thinking "Well, Blake's a good guy, he'll be all like 'I want to help turn this franchise around' and be a good thing for a struggling organization."

After reading more on the miser behind the Clips, I doubt this organization can be turned around, unless the owner's willing to make a commitment. I wonder if Blake qualifies as a so-called "poor black boy" in the miser's eyes? Blake deserves so much better

EDIT: Here's the article so you all can groan with me

[SteelClip49]

The Clippers are NOW a power to be reckoned with and you will all see the greatness that becomes of them. Yes, the Clippers have an idiot owner and a sappy coach in Dunleavy but Dunleavy has a decent resume and I think Clipper Nation is in for a real treat!

All hail the Los Angeles Clippers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[boomersooner28]

All I know is that we have Sam Presti. Presti built the San Antonio Spurs. Presti has A LOT of options to work with in OKC. He is probably licking his chops as we speak. We hired him for this exact reason and I trust him to make the correct decisions. All of the "expert analysis and predictions" are already getting old.


Oh, wait. This is a thread about the LA Clippers. They suck. Poor Blake.

[the_ouskull]

My take on Blake's, uh... "situation" is as follows. As always, feel free to disagree and be wrong.

-----

Blake is screwed. The Los Angeles Clipper franchise is horrible now, and has been horrible for a long, long time. Management is a large, large part of that reason.

First of all, since becoming the L.A. Clippers, their best record is a 47-win season four years ago. The only two players that remain from that team are Chris Kaman, and Sam Cassell, who doesn't even play anymore. In fact, other than Blake, Sam Cassell might be the Clippers number one asset right now, assuming that Sterling pulls his head out of his *ss anytime soon, fires Dumbleavy, and hires Sam-I-Am as the head coach. Since THAT won't happen, sadly... the Clips' assets, in order, are:

- The rights to the #1 pick in the 2009 NBA draft
- Sam Cassell, potential head coach
- Baron Davis, motivated
- Marcus Camby's expiring contract
- Eric Gordon
- Al Thornton
- Baron Davis, normally
- Deandre Jordan

Needless to say, this isn't a good situation for ANY player to walk into. Another look at the roster reveals even more problems...

There are a total of two players on their roster that would be considered "decent" defenders by NBA standards. (Spare me the, "Nobody plays defense in the NBA," crap, too. Ever considered that most of the players in the league are so skilled offensively that, to your untrained eyes, it just looks like nobody's playing defense...? Hmmm...) Anyway, nobody else on the Clips really cares much about defense... so Blake's bound to have trouble staying on the floor when he starts doing what he'll do, and try to do too much.

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Their draft history is a lesson in "How Not to Do Things." I will back up 20 years, just to be safe...

Danny Ferry. Bo Kimble. Lamond Murray. Antonio McDyess. Lorenzen Wright. Michael Olowokandi. Lamar Odom. Darius Miles. Tyson Chandler. Chris Wilcox. Chris Kaman. Shaun Livingston. Eric Gordon.

Those are their Top-10 draft picks since 1989. First of all, notice that, since 1989, they've had 13 picks in the Top 10. Second, notice that, of those Top 10 picks, only two are still with the team. If the Chandler trade had gone through, then more of the Clips picks would have played for the Thunder this season than have played for the Clips. Sadness, thy name is Clipper. Another thing to notice about those picks is that, with the (potential) exception of Gordon, the recent exception of Odom, and maybe half of another one or two, none of them are any good. The Clippers don't do draft good. I'd be scared for them to take Blake much in the same way that I'd be scared to see A.D. on the cover of Madden in the near future.

-----

Zach Randolph.
Eddie Curry.
Ricky Davis.
Baron Davis.
Marcus Camby.

What do all of these players have in common? They're all talented players that teams were willing to get rid of, or let go, for next to nothing in return. (Except for Davis, who only came to L.A. 'cause Elton Brand was there. Elton, the piece of Duke that he is, then promptly bolted for Philly. Nice.)

Four of them also have in common playing for the Clippers. Randolph is the biggest piece of sh*t in the league, in my humble opinion, 'cause, offensively, he's got all of the talent in the world. He's a GREAT guy to have on a fantasy team. Sadly, he's a horrible guy to have on a real team, 'cause, even though he's a 20/10 guy who will shoot around/above 50%, he plays zero defense, and he's a locker room cancer.

He plays the same position as Blake.

Unless the Clips plan on trading Randolph, and his $33 million he's due over the next two seasons (yeah, good f*ckin' luck with that) then we can expect to hear stories of a "locker room divided," etc... pretty much the second that they take Blake.

-----

Baron Davis.
Eric Gordon.
Al Thornton.
Blake Griffin.
Chris Kaman.

That's a playoff starting lineup. (In the West, they're a lower seed, but still...) But, sadly, the bench still has to see SOME time on the court... especially considering the injury histories of Davis and Kaman...

Is Camby going to be cool with coming off of the bench? Is Ricky Davis going to be his typical, "I'm the best, I'll jack up the shots to prove it," self? The lineup I just listed is the best starting lineup for this team to move forward into the future... What's more likely, then, with Dumbleavy coaching this squad, would be this...

Davis.
Gordon.
Jordan.
Randolph.
Camby.

Griffin, Kaman, Thornton coming off of the bench would make this team a lot deeper, but, with only Thornton being a decent defender (Blake's unproven) in the league at this point, they're not going to be able to cut into the lead that the other team will have built up by this point with the human turnstiles of Davis and Randolph out there. Ditto for Camby, since, since he left Denver and got old, he's settling for jumpers instead of playing close to the basket... on BOTH ends...

-----

As long as Mike Dunleavy is the head "coach" of the Clippers, they're going to suck. In fact, Clippers fans called into their ticket office at an alarming rate once they found out that Dunleavy got re-upped for this coming season. The team's reasoning? (I love you, Donald Sterling...) Well, we're going to have to pay him $8 million either way, so I don't want to lose money. WHAT ABOUT THE MONEY YOU WILL LOSE WHEN ALL OF YOUR SEASON TICKET HOLDERS JET ON YOU!? See what I'm saying? Idiots. Oblivious idiots. I don't want Blake stuck in that quagmire. (What, did you think it was just a fake person's name...? Get out more...)

-----

It scares me a great deal, FOR Blake. He'll be living in a city like L.A., paid like he deserves to be, and surrounded by a bunch of complete f*cking idiots, from top to bottom, in his organization; on his bench, etc...

Consider this a three-year audition for his next team. God bless free agency.

the_ouskull

[badger]

If Donald Sterling were really all about the money, he should go for that whole "trade draft pick" scenario that we all would love here (well, cept for the Clips fan that's been chiming in here - hi FmrEmp!).

1- Rookies are cheap. They have structured contracts as per NBA rules that mean they get a certain amount of money that is a lot less than veterans get.

2- You can trade picks for cash. More money Donnie? Who wants money? That's right! You do, dearie! Money, money money!

3- You can also trade away crappy contracts with the pick. Got a contract you want to dump, but just can't find a way to part with it because it's so awful? Send it WITH the pick and it's suddenly not your problem anymore!

4- Fans like rookies. You might have a coach your fanbase hates, you might have a franchise that basketball fans don't care about, but hey! Rookies are new blood that can attract (a) college fans of the player, (b) foreign fans of the player (c) attention on draft day!

Trade the pick, miser. End this crap immediately.

[SteelClip49]

Badger!

I have witnessed my Cardinals go to 2 World Series and win 1; I have witnessed my Steelers go to 3 Super Bowls winning 2; I have witnessed my Clippers as a yearly disappointment with the exception of the 2005-06 season. If Sterling was to think about the money more than the team in this instance, then, imo, the team should fold or relocate with better ownership.

The Clippers seem to be the only franchise in the NBA who never care about winning, just playing enough to develop young and talented athletes so they can go elsewhere. The Clippers have the image of being the next step up from the NBDL and then after a stint with the Clippers, you really get into the NBA. I am a Clippers fan til I die but reality is, the Clippers franchise is nothing more than an NBDL organization (Tier 2- only tier 2 entity).

[badger]

I would "shout" your name, but it's a little bit long

Besides, something tells me all of our pestering to get the Clips to trade will not work.

Yes, that is the infamous "Blake pointing at Warren while dunking" picture on the Clippers' home page

[Sooner04]

Skull is beyond correct on his assessment.

If they existed, Blake would rather play for the Siberia Seals or the Vladivostok Vulcans than for the LA Clippers. He may be in Los Angeles, but he won't be in Hollywood. He'll be in Carson, or Compton or Long Beach. It gets no worse than the LA Clippers.

Until you look at who they've got on the roster. Zach Randolph once left the team to go to his grandmother's funeral only to be spotted at a strip club later in the evening. And he didn't pay his tab.

And Ricky Davis.......we don't have enough time for that guy. It would be a work of Tolstoyian length.

[the_ouskull]

By the way, Bill "The Sports Guy" Simmons, an internet writer whom I love to read, (espn.com) answered a fan mailbag today, and these were some of the letters. (He's a Celtics fan, but living in L.A., he got Clipper season tickets. 'cause he hates the Lakers. Did I mention he's a Celtics fan? Lol.

Q: Did your Clippers just win the draft lottery or did Blake Griffin lose it?
SG: Both

Q: Does God hate Blake Griffin?
--Bill, Danville
SG: Possibly.

Q: As a Longhorn fan, I was rooting for the Clippers to get the No. 1 pick just so I could see them destroy Oklahoma's Blake Griffin. What a franchise!
--Ray, Austin
SG: Yup.

Q: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!
--Blake Griffin's Knee Ligaments, Oklahoma
SG: (Shaking my head.)

EVERYBODY that knows basketball right now, feels badly for Blake Griffin. He has a shot to become the evolutionary Karl Malone, but, could, DUE to his amazing play in college combined with an antiquated lottery process, instead be relegated to becoming the next victim of the Los Angeles Clippers.

I hope that they screw this up and don't take Blake.

I mean, honestly, it's not like Baron Davis is good at staying healthy, and it's not like they've got a suitable backup for him on the roster. Ricky Rubio could learn the game from one of its best offensive minds, since he won't be playing any defense either. It's going to work out very, very well for you to take Rubio. It's what Ricky wants too, Senor Dunleavy.

Lo siento, Blake. Soy triste.

the_ouskull