The Los Angeles Clippers introduced Rasual Butler this afternoon to the local media at their training facility in Playa Vista. For those keeping a tally of what’s become of Zach Randolph, Clippers general manager and head coach Mike Dunleavy has now spun him off for the following:
- Rasual Butler (1 year, $3.95M)
- Craig Smith (1 year, $2.5M)
- Sebastian Telfair (2 years, $5.2M, the second year a $2.7M player option)
- Mark Madsen (1 year, $2.84M)
- A remaining trade exception for $3.36M
- $14.63M in salary savings for 2010-11, assuming Telfair picks up his option
- A spot in the starting lineup at the power forward for Blake Griffin
There are no marquee names on that list, and nobody who can match Randolph’s raw numbers, but judging from Dunleavy’s mood on Monday afternoon, he’s over the moon that he’s been able to parlay arguably his worst blunder as general manager — the acquisition of Randolph — into a collection of cheap, complementary assets and tremendous financial flexibility.
The Clippers are almost certain to improve upon their 19 wins of last season. To what extent they’ll be in factor in the Western Conference playoff race is anyone’s guess. But if Dunleavy the GM has accomplished nothing else, he’s starting to cobble together a roster that looks a lot more workable to Dunleavy the coach.
Dunleavy likes to post his guards, and has been imploring the small — but brawny — Eric Gordon to develop a post game, something he showed off in Las Vegas. With Butler, Dunleavy gets a lanky swingmen whom he can use in that capacity.
“If you’re a 2-guard and you’re 6-7, we can throw you down in the post some,” Dunleavy said.
Less discussed, but more relevant is whether Dunleavy will act on his impulse as a tactician: Start Butler ahead of Al Thornton.
“We’ll figure out what makes the best sense for us,” Dunleavy said. “Coming into training camp, it’ll be pretty wide open.”
Dunleavy has coveted a Bowen-model small forward ever since arriving in Los Angeles. He took on defensive stopper Quinton Ross as a project, but Ross was never able to develop a perimeter shot that could stretch defenses. Instead, Dunleavy has had to cope with Corey Maggette and now Thornton. Both are capable creators for themselves, but ball-stoppers, defensive liabilities — and endless sources of frustration for Dunleavy. Butler is no Bruce Bowen, but he’s the corner sniper (45% from there), and long perimeter defender Dunleavy’s been after.
Few teams will come into the season with more elastic expectations than the Clippers. So much is uncertain: Blake Griffin’s ceiling in his rookie season; Baron Davis’ health and resolve; Chris Kaman’s ability to bounce back from injury; Eric Gordon’s progress.
Toward the end of his media session, Dunleavy spoke about the physical regimen he requires of his players — their body fat targets and conditioning programs. He also described a torturous, 60-second, three-man weave drill he had to perform himself as a rookie more than 30 years ago.
“If you can do that,” Dunleavy said, “then you’re in shape.”
Dunleavy paused, then added wistfully, “Last year, I don’t think we ever got to it. Period.”
32 Responses
I’m excited for this upcoming season and actually love what Dunleavy has done. Hopefully, his coaching can follow suit.
Posted on August 17th, 2009 at 6:44 pm
We could use the rest of the trade exception on michael finlay probably later in the season since right now we have two roster spots open and coach is gonna use at least one of them on novak or sessions.
Sessions is still stalling on the unlikely scenario that New york will move some bad contracts so i think that it’s clear that the knicks are always gonna be the frontrunners to sign him as long as they still show any interest which means that sessions will continue to stall until the knicks make a move. If the knicks do in fact sign him then i’m assuming they wouldn’t sign nate robinson and it makes me smile when i think of a backcourt of telfare and robinson.
Chris. Reply:
August 17th, 2009 at 9:00 pm
Dear Pel,
The best use of the trade exception in the future is with one of the expiring contracts should we decide to use it or somehow get Sessions in a sign and trade that I’m against. Unfortunately a backcourt of Telfair and Robinson with Gordon as the 2 guard would be the smallest backcourt since Spudd Webb played with anybody. Sorry, but not what the Clippers need, want or would even think about doing.
pel Reply:
August 20th, 2009 at 6:07 pm
you suggested that we use the trade ex with one of the expiring contracts. I just wanna point out that you cant combine the trade ex with a player or draft pick in a trade.
if we got finlay, he would be a one year rental and would fill minutes at the three so butler could spend more time at the 2.
first off, i didn’t say i wanted robinson in a clipper uniform, but if we are looking for a backup 2 and he is the best player avaliable, why would we not try to get him. He isn’t worthless, plus he has shown that he’s willing to take a one year deal.
Posted on August 17th, 2009 at 6:49 pm
The only player that Im concerned about is kaman. I haven’t heard anything about him working out or following a conditioning regiment. He and Baron are the x factors…Baron has been working out everyday and acknowledges his need for improvement going into next year. kaman, on the other hand, sounds like he’ll still be the lump of shit that is more concerned about firecrackers and the german national team than the clips.
Chris. Reply:
August 17th, 2009 at 9:01 pm
Kaman said he’s not playing for the German National team this summer.
Stian Reply:
August 19th, 2009 at 7:20 pm
Kaman finally had an indoor court built at his house in MI this summer. So at least now he has the facility to get his fat, lazy ass in gear over the summer. I think it finally dawned on him just how unhappy the Clippers are becoming with his unprofessional attitude and everything else they’ve had to put up with from him.
Posted on August 17th, 2009 at 7:04 pm
The success of this team really depends on Baron Davis. If he really is working out hard and dedicated, we should be set.
Ian Reply:
August 17th, 2009 at 9:15 pm
agreed! those are big “ifs” tho.
Posted on August 17th, 2009 at 8:26 pm
Well written, Kevin. Great stuff here.
Posted on August 17th, 2009 at 10:17 pm
The worst mistake a GM can make is to give or take on a big contract that doesn’t produce wins. Ask Milwaukee about Redd and Bogut. Dunleavy lucked out and was able to dump Zach, which may have saved this season. He’s done a great job of putting this team together. The X-factor or Baron. Is he another wasted, big contract, or will he actually contribute to a winner? That remains to be seen.
Having watched him play all of last year, I have serious doubts about him as a leader. He’s not the PG I would want, but he looks like the PG we’re stuck with. Hopefully he keeps his head in the game, plays hard and plays smart, none of which he did last year.
Bongstradamus Reply:
August 18th, 2009 at 11:54 am
I think Bogut is worth much more than he shows. He’s a glue guy and a team player. You could see that during the Olympics. The best thing for Bogut would be a move to a team like Utah. He’d thrive under a coach like Jerry Sloan.
Posted on August 18th, 2009 at 8:36 am
Prediction, Clippers play tight games for the first ten, when in each game with under two minutes left Baron for absolutely no reason starts pull up threes and fade aways clankig off the glas with 21 left on the shot clock. We lose all the games and he starts bitching, then is mysteriously injured and sucks ass or sits out the last 72 games. Go clips!!!!
SamMays Reply:
August 18th, 2009 at 6:18 pm
And that’s why we need Sessions… So that we have the option of benching out 13-million a year superstar if he continues to play like an idiot.
Posted on August 18th, 2009 at 9:28 am
If Kaman is not holding his own – I have no issue with DeAndre having more mins. DJ has been working hard in the off season and had a few monster games last season. Does anybody know what the current status of Novak is?
Shawn H. Reply:
August 18th, 2009 at 11:07 am
While we’re pinning on hopes on Baron, and very rightfully so, we have to also hold Kaman much more accountable too. Kaman is going into his 7th year, and while he’s made gradual improvement over the years, we still can’t depend on him for all 82 games, both physically and mentally. I still question Kaman’s dedication to this team, but at the center spot, he’s the best we have.
Still nothing on Novak.
Posted on August 18th, 2009 at 9:51 am
BARON = DIVA KAMAN = HEAD CASE
Posted on August 18th, 2009 at 3:03 pm
for exchanging Zach Randolph for Rasual Butler,Craig Smith,Sebastian Telfair,Mark Madsen and A remaining trade exception of $3.36M should give Dunleavy the GM respect. Now its time for Dunleavy the COACH to live up to running the team. Everyone on this team is capable of scoring and the potential inside outside game of Butler and Griffin is going to be crazy.
Posted on August 18th, 2009 at 5:41 pm
If Baron doesn’t buy in, the team won’t reach it’s potential no matter what Dunleavy does. And I don’t think we can play like Pheonix or Golden State, which would make Baron happy. Those teams smaller and full of race horses. Our guys are bigger and not as quick… We also don’t have the outside shooting of those teams.
If Baron expects Dunleavy to come around to his way of thinking, he’ll be in for a surprise. Our ideal way of playing will be more conventional. Hopefully without all the isolation plays Dunleavy has used in the past, and with more movement, but Dunleavy will never let this group run like Golden State, nor should he.
I just have a feeling those two are going to crash and burn again. Dunleavy is too controlling and Baron’s too stupid. It’s a marriage that I fear will never work. I think Dunleavy is smart enough to realize he has to change things. I have doubts that Baron is smart enough to meet him half way.
But, I guess that will make for a dramatic season.
Posted on August 18th, 2009 at 8:30 pm
had to share:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exOxUAntx8I
Posted on August 18th, 2009 at 8:45 pm
Did anyone happen to read the SI story on Baron going overseas and “Finding himself”? I hope he found out how to run a team as an actual leader. I hope he’s sincere about it and takes over. Enough of this whiny ass horseshit.
Posted on August 19th, 2009 at 2:58 pm
I love the list of all the assets we got for Randolph. But here’s another way to look at it — going back to the roster we started last season with — that makes Dunleavy the GM look even better: We acquired all of the assets on that list, PLUS Mardy Collins, for Cuttino Mobley and Tim Thomas. Mobley ended up never playing another game because of a bad ticker, and I would’ve paid to have someone take Thomas off our hands for nothing in return. I still think Dunleavy is a lousy coach, but gotta give him props for the job he’s done with the roster.
SamMays Reply:
August 19th, 2009 at 3:58 pm
Would have to agree, though he got very, very lucky finding a franchise dumb enough to bail him out by taking Zach… I would expect Zach to get arrested at least once before the season starts. Maybe he can go for a drive with his buddy Nate Robinson.
Posted on August 19th, 2009 at 3:08 pm
Now that there is strong depth in the second team Duleavy better use it! It fuckin incensed me to watch EJ (the beginning of the year) and DJ on the bench for so many games. There is enough talent to just have a clean rotation of players throughout the whole game. Like defensive linemen in football, you don’t run your best players into the ground the whole game…you bring in fresh players on different downs. I know this is bball, but if a consistent rotation of players off the bench happens than that will be the difference in many of the games. How do you think the lakes beat us all the time? The starters played well against them and many other teams, but then burned out. I know there were a bunch of injuries, but utilize all the talent available.
The lakes had a deep bench that kept the starters fresh. Now the Clips match up well with the lakes—the only concern I have is about artest. Rasual will cover kobe but who will cover artest? EJ? Might have some problems there.
Gordon for President Reply:
August 19th, 2009 at 6:03 pm
Artest has been riding his reputation for at least the past year. If anyone really watched HOU last year, they’d see Artest for what he is now, a relentless shotjacker. All he does now is shoot from behind the arc, missing a large percentage of his attempts. He’s only getting older, and his defensive abilities will fade. Ask Bruce Bowen, I know he’s older, but it happens when you hit the wrong side of 30. I personally feel the Artest signing is very much overrated. I think he can only hurt the team. He’ll be taking shots away from Pau, we all know they won’t be coming from Kobe. It’s a downgrade from Ariza, he worked within the offense, very big difference.
Posted on August 19th, 2009 at 5:11 pm
How was Z-Bo Dun’s biggest blunder when we still have Baron Davis to put up with?
Z-Bo was never a blunder. He was a dire necessity after bRANd backstabbed us. And he would still be here if it wasn’t for us lucking into Griffin. And most of us would be pretty happy about that.
Find another whipping boy, Kevin.
Jax Reply:
August 19th, 2009 at 8:07 pm
Stian – KA is right. MDSr screwed up on EB, he panicked and agreed to take Zbo’s albatross $17M/yr contract to save face (at the expense of the team long term). He got very lucky to find another sucker.
Gordon for President Reply:
August 20th, 2009 at 9:44 am
In hindsight, how can anyone say MDSr. screwed up on EB? Look what’s he’s done to Philly. That franchise is now hamstrung with an $82 million dollar player they have no hope of getting rid of. Good riddance, we really dodged a bullet. How’s that for the Clipper Curse?
Jax Reply:
August 20th, 2009 at 7:28 pm
There is no dispute that MDSr screwed up. You have to ensure that you retain your franchise players. This does not bode well for the future.
Did we get lucky because EB subsequently got hurt? Yes.
Posted on August 19th, 2009 at 7:13 pm
F#$* BRAND!!
Posted on August 20th, 2009 at 1:02 pm
exactly…..couldn’t agree with you more jax….
we lost our franchise player to another franchise…..and it’s not as if they offered him a ton more money or anything……for all practical purposes, it was basically the same amount…..an 80 million dollar contract +/- a few million…..and with that level of cash, a few million doesn’t matter…..
the salient point is that he chose to go to another franchise when he could’ve stayed for the same amount of money……that speaks volumes about how the clippers franchise is perceived by players around the league….and it’s not good….we can look back at the situation and say that we dodged a bullet because elton got injured again…..but hidsight is always 20/20….the fact remains that when it counted, we lost our best player……what if he came back healthy and led the sixers to the ECF’s???
and my final point would be that it’s not that we were lucky that EB got hurt, it was more the fact that the sixers were rather unlucky….
Posted on August 21st, 2009 at 9:14 am
Dunleavy’s done a nice job making up for his blunder of acquiring Zack Randolph by acquiring the players mentioned above, but he still has a lot of work to do. Here’s what I what I would do if I were running the clips;
1) Sign Sessions for close to the full MLE. That might seem a bit much given the Buck’s financial situation and his lack of suitors, but there’s no sense losing out on a really good point guard by risking overpaying him a bit for a year or two. Sessions will be well worth it.
At 6’3”, 190 lbs, he has very good size for a point guard. He’s proven to be a capable scorer (12.7 ppg) and defender (1.1 spg), as well as an adequate rebounder for his position (3.4 rpg). Most importantly he’s not only a good passer, but a willing one that takes good care of the ball. He averaged 5.7 apg last year to only 1.9 tpg. That’s nearly a 3 to 1 assist-to-turnover ratio. Very solid. He’s also gets to the line – 4.5 times per game last year – and makes nearly 80 percent of his free throws when he gets there. The only area of his game that he really struggles is his shooting (a horrible 17.6% on three’s last year). But he only attempted 34 last year so at least he’s not chucking from there.
In sum, Session’s is definitely worth close to the MLE.
2) Trade Baron Davis to the Knicks for Eddy Curry and either Jordan Hill or Wilson Chandler.
This trade works numbers wise and makes a ton of sense for both teams. Davis excels in a free-flowing uptempo offensive system as proven by his success with Golden State. I have no doubt that he’d be back to his old all-star caliber self if he went to the Knicks. The Knicks do this trade because they’ve basically traded Curry (someone who might not even crack the rotation) for Davis – a star player that excels in an uptempo system and will help recruit free agents to the Knicks next offseason. The Knicks get a star player without putting a sizable (if any) dent in their 2010 capspace and only have to give up either an uproven power forward with potential (Jordan Hill) or a player that plays the same position as their 2008 lotter pick Ganillo (Wilson Chandler).
The Clips do it to open up a starting spot for Sessions, spare the team of any bad moral caused by tension between the Dunleavy and Davis, and save themselves nearly 30 million over the final three years of Davis’ contract. In addition, they pick up another good complimentary piece in Hill or Chandler. They can save a little more money by buying out Curry who wouldn’t crack the rotation.
It’s a win-win for both teams.
3) At some point during the season before the trade deadline they should trade Kaman for either Kirk Hinrich or Gortat and Brandon Bass. Kaman would have to prove he’s health and produce like he did before he did before he was injured for either trade to go down.
The Bulls do this trade because although Hinrich is a valuable player, they have Derrick Rose and John Salmons (and Pargo off the bench) at the 1 and 2 (making him expendable) and a huge need for low post scoring. If healthy, Kaman can provide that.
The Clips make this trade because Hinrich has playoff experience, can play both the 1 and the 2, knock down the open 3, plays good defense, and provides veteran leadership. He could easily play close to 30 minutes a night backing up both Sessions and Gordon.
Orlando would consider trading Gortat and Bass for Kaman because Kaman provides interior scoring. He’s good insurance at center if Howard gets hurt or in foul trouble. He could also play power forward for 15 minutes a game along side Howard if the Magic want to go big.
The Clips do it because they get a solid defensive center in Gortat that rebounds well and won’t command the ball. They also get a solid, energetic, back up for Griffin when Craig Smith’s contract runs out.
Personally, I like the Chicago trade better because I think Hinrich is the exact type of player they need and DeAndre Jordan could very well develop to the point where Gortat would be redundant.
4) Trade for Trevor Ariza. This may be a bit of a strectch given that Houston just signed him (probably as an eventual replacement for Battier), but at the very least they should inquire about him. I really have no idea what it would take to do the trick, but I’d offer up a combination or either Thorton and Hill or Thorton and Chandler. That might seem like a lot, but my guess is it still wouldn’t be enough for Houston.
Here’s why the Clips should consider it: Ariza has proven that he excels as a complimentary piece on a good team by knocking down open threes at a high percentage, harass the oppossing team’s best perimeter player with his speed, length, and quickness, finish on the break, and knows his role on the team. If Griffin and Gordon live up to their potential and become all-star caliber players, then Ariza is exactly the type of player the Clips will need at the SF position.
5) Be smart in free agency. Do not go overpaying players when they have no clue how they’re going to fit in with the team. Lebron, Wade, Bosh, and Joe Johnson are the exceptions and the only one that might even consider the Clips is Johnson.
And finally, make these trades (except for the Davis one) near the trade deadline. I think these trades will make the team a lot better, but ideally the Clips would miss the playoffs this year while continuing to develop their young players (Gordon, Jordan, Griffin) and land a lottery pick in next year’s promising draft. Ideally, they’d win it again and take Wall, but if they were able to get a top 5 pick, they might be able to trade Sessions and that pick for Wall. Then they’d have Wall, Griffin, Gordan, and Griffin to build around.
This team would be a perennial playoff contender starting next season and a championship contender in no more than 3 seasons from now.
Posted on August 26th, 2009 at 12:39 pm
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