From Jonathon Givony of DraftExpress.com:
“Al-Farouq Aminu reportedly canceled his workout in Detroit. He much prefers going to the Clippers. Has a promise from them. Pencil him in.”
There are still plenty of wild card teams drafting ahead of the Clippers, but it sounds as though Aminu will be the selection at pick eight if he falls to that spot. We’ll have more on Aminu and his scheduled workouts as information becomes available.
As DJ Foster noted of the recently concluded NBA Finals, there is much that the Clippers franchise can learn from the Lakers as they enter this year’s draft and free agency market. During Lakers-Celtics series, I became fixated on the opposing personalities of Lamar Odom and Kobe Bryant, and what this has meant for the Clippers organization. When the Celtics began to exert their will on the series and grumbling about Lamar’s ineffectiveness from Lakers fans reached a fever pitch, I was reminded of the same refrain from Clippers fans years before, back when Lamar’s heart was lighter and his future seemed brighter.
Lamar was once a beacon of hope for the Clippers franchise, of course. I still remember sitting in the upper reaches of the Staples Center a decade ago, when I first returned to LA, and watching Lamar put up 30 points and grabbing 12 rebounds in his rookie debut against the Sonics. We knew that the 20 year old from Rhode Island was talented, but we never expected that type of dominance and grace in someone so young. Lamar played with a mixture of fear and abandon that day. He played as if he wasn’t sure that he belonged in the league and his life and career depended on it. After the game, Donald Sterling bounded ecstatically into the locker room and embraced his new rookie with whispered promises of future riches and the keys to the Clippers kingdom. At long last, the Clippers seem to have drafted a superstar that had eluded them through all the long years of futility. We left Staples Center that night buzzing about the future of the team and the bright promise of Lamar Odom.
The Clippers would finish that 1999-2000 campaign with a 15-61 record. Lamar would go on brief stretches of dominance interspersed with baffling periods of comatose inactivity. And even in games where he scored 20-25 points, there was a disquieting sense that he was holding something back, as if exerting his will and superiority on the game was an affront to his sensibility and deliberate nature. He would not break the 30 points barrier again until the final game of his rookie campaign. It was a fitting end to a rookie season that had begun with so much promise and ended in hopeful affirmation of Lamar’s great unfulfilled destiny.
Ten years and two teams later, that bright potential of Lamar Odom remain shimmering just beyond the horizon, the distance never getting closer but never quite receding as a mirage. In the few dark days of the Lakers-Celtics series, when Boston exerted their defensive intensity, I heard a lot of angry diatribes against Lamar from hysterical Lakers fans. Here was a guy who doesn’t live up to his considerable talent and contract, they would say. How can someone that long and athletic, disappear so completely within crucial games? How can someone with so much amount to so little?
There is obviously something about Lamar’s nature that makes him a perfect fit on a Lakers team loaded with talent, dominated by the inexorable will of Kobe Bryant. Lamar is a rare player who isn’t envious of his teammate’s success. He is serenely content to play a selfless game, to do the dirty work, and be the fourth option on a team even though he has the skill and talent to be the alpha wolf in another lesser pack. That same sense of selflessness and almost reluctance to seize the spotlight haunts his teammates as much as it benefits them. Lamar is the perfect cog in a well-oiled machine, but when the machine grinds down, when you need Lamar to step up, you don’t know if he is capable of seizing the moment and delivering on the potential that lies dormant within. There is almost a reluctance to showcase his abilities, as if he were unworthy of such blessings or is embarrassed by it.
The media don’t quite know what to do with Lamar. Though many pundits echoed Phil Jackson’s remark about Lamar taking games off, they can’t help but like him. In contrast to the glowering visage of Kobe who treated the media with a palpable disdain, Lamar remained gracious and answered every question, no matter how poorly he played. As reporters overflowed into his locker area, Lamar stood patiently off to the side, waiting for the crowd to disperse, sheepish about claiming his own locker and interrupting a teammate’s interview. In hindsight, Lamar’s nice guy demeanor; his desire to blend in, and his reluctance to lead, should have been clear indications that despite his considerable skills and athleticism, he lacks the crucial competitive intensity to become a star in this league. But none of us knew that then, in November of 1999. We saw only the silky smooth left handed drive to the hoop, that length and ease in which he dominated the game, seemingly without effort.
In contrast with Lamar, Kobe Bryant’s intensity and competitive desire is almost overwhelming. Mental toughness and intense focus is crucial to every great NBA player, of course. It is what drives them in the off-season to seek every edge, to hone their already dominant skills, to become better than the best. But the fierce, angry determination that Kobe displayed in these last two Playoffs has been on a whole other level. It seems to reach beyond pure competitive desire into a darker reservoir of rage. It is almost as if Kobe has grown tired of a charade, of smiling and hiding his fangs for the benefit of his young fans. In these last two playoff runs, which culminated in Lakers championships, Kobe has played the game and sat through the interviews with a barely constrained contempt.
As the New York Times’ Howard Beck, writes after the Lakers’ Game 6 victory:
The Lakers’ determination beamed from Bryant’s steely expression during pregame introductions. He did not smile, bounce or skip, or even look at his teammates as he slapped a row of hands. He projected intense focus or mild irritation, perhaps both, after losing two straight games in Boston, despite his own superhuman efforts.
Bryant was serenaded with “M.V.P.” chants all night and left to a standing ovation with 3 minutes 21 seconds left. He is closing in on a fifth championship ring but showing little joy in the moment.
As fans and commentators began buzzing about a Game 7, Bryant practically sneered.
Indeed, the spectacle of Kobe trying to impose his will on these NBA Finals has been awesome to behold. His scoring barrages often erupt like a force of nature, as sublime and terrible as a hurricane. You get the sense that Kobe’s teammates were more terrified of him than the Celtics were. For the Celtics need only to survive the brief barrage of the storm, but his teammates have to live in the aftermath of his fury.
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As the draft draws closer, let’s take a look at Kansas freshman Xavier Henry and what he brings to the table.
Shooting
Sources close to the situation confirm that Greek center Sofoklis Schortsanitis will be visiting with the Clippers in Los Angeles in what can best be characterized as a meet-and-greet. The trip is primarily an opportunity to introduce Schortsanitis, whose NBA rights belong to the Clippers, to Los Angeles and the organization’s principals.
Several contractual and financial issues to consider:
Regardless of how you feel about the Celtics and Lakers, there’s no denying that those two clubs have established a winning formula that’s worthy of emulating. In past years the Clippers have never really been in a position to copy the formula due to a variety of reasons, but they head into this summer essentially starting from scratch. With one coach, two draft picks, and at least five free agents to sign, Neil Olshey can mold the Clippers however he would like to.
From The Ground Up