Also gone is Drew Gooden, signed the full mid-level exception with Milwaukee for 5 years, $32 million.
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TNT57 Reply: July 1st, 2010 at 5:17 pm
I feel like CARNACK the mystic. GAY gone. GOODEN gone. JJ. gone. EVERYBODY ELSE gone. How much would you give to watch the Clippers pres to LBJ? Will he keep a straight face? Great SNL sketch. I don’t even think STERLING made the trip. Now that my friends is commitment.
THRILLED that Joe Johnson and Gay have verbal agreements already. Can breath easier knowing we won’t be the ones overpaying them for the next half-decade.
suns offered channing frye 5 yrs, at about 5 mil per.
i really like what frye can bring us by creating space for blake. i’d like to see the clippers make a competitive offer to him.
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mmoore500 Reply: July 1st, 2010 at 1:13 pm
Did you watch Frye in the playoffs? He choked.
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kenji Reply: July 1st, 2010 at 2:25 pm
did you watch frye during the regular season? he did what he was supposed to do.
did you watch the clippers in the playoffs?
exactly, don’t worry about frye missing shots in the conference finals, because he did good during the regular season, and the clippers need to get to the first round before we can crap on channing’s struggles in the 3rd round.
did you watch how ray allen choked with his shooting in the finals? if you crap on frye’s shooting, you need to do the same on ray allen. but i don’t think anybody is going to give ray much flack.
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mario1p Reply: July 1st, 2010 at 2:32 pm
agree
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Sean Reply: July 2nd, 2010 at 10:59 pm
No thanks, I wouldn’t want a choker when the games really count. I’d take him if he comes of the bench that’s it. He is too soft also.
I read Johnson was still considering other offers? We really need small forward help. I’m convinced we are going to get horrible scraps and win 27 games next year. Sigh.
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Nick Reply: July 1st, 2010 at 2:51 pm
yeah, but we’ll get to watch rookies get 35 min/game and have their confidence shattered by losing and seeing their pg, Baron Davis, give up!!! Wait, I feel like we’ve tried this before…
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Nick Reply: July 1st, 2010 at 2:55 pm
In all seriousness, one of my main worries is that if we don’t get any big free agents, Baron Davis won’t show up to play. Remember how he dogged his first season here after Elton Brand left? Yeah, he followed up well last season when things looked bright after drafting Griffin. But, he’s shown that he’s very temperamental and with the wrong attitude he’ll hinder the growth of the younger players.
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Josh Reply: July 1st, 2010 at 4:03 pm
Get rid of him.
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chris. Reply: July 1st, 2010 at 5:38 pm
With your theory then Baron will show up because he’s getting Blake Griffin in his rookie season. Give Baron a chance until he blows it, no point in the defeatest attitude already. So what if Gay & Johnson are gone, would you want to spend that much money for that many years on either of them?
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Nick Reply: July 1st, 2010 at 7:06 pm
I’m not in the group of people who thinks we should just dump Davis. I thought he was a good player last year, and can do a lot for this team on the floor when he’s playing motivated basketball. I just wonder whether he’ll show up with the same motivation again this year after the disappointment last year, without some sort of outside boost. Yes, Griffin is returning and on the court that’s great! But, there isn’t the same sort of polarizing media blitz about him to build up excitement, now that we’re a year removed from the draft.
To answer your question, I would’ve spent big money for five years on Joe Johnson because I think he would’ve made the Clippers a playoff team. As for Rudy Gay, I doubt he’s the answer at SF, as he doesn’t provide the second playmaker we really need. So no, I wouldn’t have gone hard after him in the first place. Maybe there is someone the Clippers can get in a trade (Deng? Iguodala?).
Never had a chance with any free agents. We have to prove ourselves first. Yeah, we have a “young, good” core but players have seen that from the Clippers before. What needs to be done is start winning and showing future FA that the Clips mean business. Until then, we will always be a gamble. Honestly though, I’m glad we didn’t over pay. Who knows what will happen, maybe we’ll get lucky.
Ps
Boom Tho aka Rod Benson is on our summer league roster. Can we please sign him?
Minny wants to move Al Jefferson and Corey Brewer. Coincidentally, we want to move Kaman and Baron. Minny is desperate for a traditional Center.
Richard Jefferson is available
T-Mac is still on market
Matt Barnes available.
Miami needs salary cap space, Michael Beasley could be had.
Dont count us out since JJ and Rudy already signed deals. Theres older players and younger players still out there that we can position for. In fact, our strongest position may be to acquire players via trade with the cap space we have.
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kenji Reply: July 1st, 2010 at 2:28 pm
who from the clippers organization has every said kaman is being shopped around?
not likely if kaman is named in the group of solid core players as an enticement to other FA’s to come to l.a.
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Newtybar Reply: July 1st, 2010 at 4:59 pm
Al Jefferson for Chris Kaman. Sign me up.
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jlewis Reply: July 1st, 2010 at 5:21 pm
Bro, forget about Brewer/Jefferson for Baron and Kaman. Jefferson is a definite upgrade from Kaman but he’s a PF. The reason that Minn. wants to get rid of him is the same reason he’s not a fit for us.
And Brewer is WORTHLESS. Even the cap relief of trading his and BD’s salaries wouldn’t be worth it. Davis is a + PG even if he’s no longer a star. Brewer is bench filler. A poor man’s Gay. All athletic ability and no game.
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kenji Reply: July 1st, 2010 at 7:19 pm
agree totally on jefferson not a fit for us. he’s not a center. I don’t understand why so many people here keep wanting to through kaman in a trade. What other REAL center out there can do what he does? there are many pure centers in this league with an inside/outside game, which he brings us.
there’s a reason why kaman was named an all-star, not matter what the haters say. with blake coming in, there will be less offensive load put on kaman too psych himself out. his confidence can be kept up.
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JaySee Reply: July 1st, 2010 at 7:56 pm
Reasons Kaman was an all-star:
Too many REAL All-stars got injured.
Kaman’s inflated (but still inconsistent) numbers as the #1 offensive option.
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Bongstradamus Reply: July 2nd, 2010 at 1:36 am
Age and upside.
Of which Kaman is older and whos upside is decreasing each year.
If Jefferson plays 5 like Kaman does in our offensive/defensive sets, we know hell be more aggressive offensively. Hes a bigger more athletic guy. He also has a ton more upside. You want spacing? Jefferson can command a double and finish. Kaman can sometimes barely make a play out of single coverage.
And Im not saying trading both Kaman and Baron, but one or the other. The salaries dont match otherwise and Minny is motivated to move talent. We can move into a slightly smaller contract with Jefferson and we get an option on Brewer past this season. We retain flexibility, fill a need and we exchange similar parts. So why not trade old and clumsy for young and promising?
As for Corey Brewer, hes still young, showed a lot of promise, and is relatively a bargain at his price. He had a year where he was injured and didnt play and just needs more time to develop. He fits in with what we are doing at the position we need to fill. If we are in a youth movement, lets go all out. I said there were good values out there….by that definition Corey Brewer fits the bill. He was a lottery pick after all.
T-Mac is selfish and would be toxic to our team. Jefferson is a less talented version of Kaman. The only legit player you mentioned is Beasley. If Miami would give him up for a second round pick, I say we go for it.
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Don't Trade Kaman Reply: July 1st, 2010 at 5:00 pm
Jefferson a less talented version of Kaman??? Think you have the wrong Jefferson in mind.
Now that the Hawks spent all that money, the Hawks won’t be able to match Josh Childress. Clippers need to go after him now
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mario1p Reply: July 1st, 2010 at 2:35 pm
i was thinking the same thing!!
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Cappy Reply: July 1st, 2010 at 2:44 pm
Same here.
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Clipper Derrick Reply: July 1st, 2010 at 3:34 pm
Oooh … I like this idea.
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jlewis Reply: July 1st, 2010 at 5:24 pm
YES. YES. YES. What do you guys think is too much for him? 3y/$24m? I’d be cool with that. Anything more and I start to get worried. He’s an immediate starter at the 3, can back up the 2 and give Aminu time to adjust to the 3 at the NBA level while giving quality minutes at the 4 as well.
Anyone crying about how the first day of FA panned out needs to wake up. We still haven’t done anything but the best options for us are still out there. Sign Childress, Brewer and Rhino and we will win at least 45 games next season barring injuries.
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chris. Reply: July 1st, 2010 at 5:43 pm
I’m fine with 8 million as long as it’s only for 3 years, not any more years though.
FA panned out for the home teams, nothing the Clippers could’ve done. Lebron was and is our #1 goal (I think he’s going to choose home just like Wade and Stoudamire and Pierce and Dirk will go.) Childress is the next best option. After tomorrow we should know a bit more. After monday we’ll know a lot more because apparently Lebron wants to decided by Monday where he’s going as not to drag this out. No point in going for the Bronze (Childress) when the Gold (Lebron) is still in play. But do get him in here for a meeting after tomorrow.
OMG! 16 mil a year for Rudy Gay!! he is not worth that at all maybe 80 mil for JJ but still! you overpay for all these FA. they are all dropping like flies! Lebron is the only one I think we have a chance at now. Bosh maybe? do you really want Bosh for a max contract? everyone’s price just shot up because New York has the most money and they are starting to get desperet!
Come on Luis Scolia!!!!!
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jlewis Reply: July 1st, 2010 at 5:26 pm
Good thing Memphis gave Gasol away so they could back up the Brinks truck for Gay. Wow, their management is retarded.
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Sean Reply: July 2nd, 2010 at 11:05 pm
That is one thing I really hate. Everybody overpaying for players and seemed to be so dam desperate!!!! I would start hating the Clipper if they over pay another player. Only guys worth Max is Bosh, Wade and Lebron as for right now. JJ offered max? what a Fucckin joke! I can’t wait for Hawks owners to regret it.. I will be laughing.
Can’t believe that BG thought Chicago was the best for LeBron personnel wise. Clippers handled Chicago this year well without BG. Hope BD ain’t involved in making the pitch tor LBJ……
can’t believe gooden got that fat deal! and darko! wtf?! are they insane?
i would’ve guessed those 2 would be getting half of what they got.
as for baron, i have to believe that he will bring a much better game now that he doesn’t have to deal with MDsr micro-management style on a regualr basis. not even gonna judge the kim hughes ‘era’ cause the ship already sailed by then. hopefully he and the new coach have a good vibe, focus on youth getting minutes and blake being what we hope for.
can’t see any takers after last year so let’s hope his ‘tude is right and he is wiiling to play less minutes with a smile on his face.
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Newtybar Reply: July 1st, 2010 at 5:00 pm
Childress is commanding about $7-8 million per year, you ok with that?
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jlewis Reply: July 1st, 2010 at 5:32 pm
Up to $24m/3 or $30/4 and I’m cool. Anything more and it get’s risky. My worry is that someone’s gonna give him silly money in the $9/10m range. Hope I’m wrong.
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chris. Reply: July 1st, 2010 at 5:49 pm
the longer he waits, and we wait, the more he’ll get but we, along with everybody else, is waiting for Lebron. Once that chip falls it is a fire sail to the highest bidder which does get scary but you have to wait it out for Lebron.
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neiljlax Reply: July 1st, 2010 at 10:51 pm
i’m not against anyone getting all they can and good for them.
that goes for an all star or a pizza delivery guy.
just concerned how it relates to cap and future moves.
honestly the only free agents i thought we had a slim shot at was rudy and joe and now that there gone i think the clips have no more suitors, i dont think free agents would wanna come here till they start winning
You know I have some hunches but there are a couple of scenarios I would love to see…First getting Mike Brown to coach us would be off the chain…couple that with Lebron and Ray Allen and I am the happiest ever…funny thing is no one is talking about the Cavs old coach…sure they haven’t come close to winning the even the Eastern Conf but taking a team from nothing to winning 60+ games two seasons in a row and more than 40 in the last 4 or 5 is the kind of leadership we need. Baron Davis will play his heart out for a bunch of guys that has heart and will fight for the collective…but I don’t think he wants to have to be the go to guy like he has done in the past for other teams and during his younger years…I give all the credit to BD though coming back from a knee injury and to still be as athletic as he is goes to what kind of motor he really does have left…end of the day give me a superstar small forward, another taller scorer (6’5 – 6’8) and a couple solid players to come off the bench and we WILL make the playoffs this year!!
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keno Reply: July 1st, 2010 at 5:05 pm
Mike Brown = Off the chain?
First of all, he’s been so out coached every year in the playoffs it’s ridiculous (swept in finals ’07, barely competed vs. orlando last season, and this year, was embarrassed vs the celtics).
If lebron wanted him in cleveleand, he’d still be there. Mike brown is horrible. Can’t get out of the East with the best regular season record the last 2 years? Not good.
Also, pretty disappointed in BG not representing the Clippers for LBJ. Even if you don’t think it’s a possibility, at least fake it. what are you thinking?
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Allen Ray Reply: July 1st, 2010 at 5:44 pm
I feel ya…True he has been outcoached but for what I would consider a newbie coach to have started his career off with progress thats all you can really hope for…He was outcoached this year in the playoffs no doubt…that being said I would still much rather give the guy a second shot over any assistant I can think of (that is willing to move)…Brian Shaw definitely doesn’t seem likely though he won’t have to travel far…just saying I think he is more likely to wait out on the Laker’s gig next year…
Touche…just read the BD spot…ummm yea coulda said more than that…also BG could have also…maybe its just reverse psychology…or maybe not…I hope there is something in the works…
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chris. Reply: July 1st, 2010 at 5:51 pm
agree with everything your saying, from Mike Brown to BG needing to try, it is his job, hopefully he’ll learn that sooner than later.
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RAM Reply: July 2nd, 2010 at 8:59 am
there’s a reason no one is talking about Mike Brown. if you want any shot at getting LBJ. you do not hire Brown.
Total aside. You are running Marco Rubio ads on this site? Blech. I clicked on it to cost them money. And give you money. I’m going to do that another dozen times.
I read an article that Cuttino Mobley hopes to play for the NBA again. I would look into that he could be a good bech player and also a good veteran presence for the young players.
This whole thing proves one thing, BARON DAVIS really carries a lot of influence on these younger players. A letter? Really? A mass mailing? Why not just a P.S. on the bottom of one of those Don Sterling self admiring tributes in the L.A. Times?
I wonder what Sofo & Childress’s relationship is. Where they friends, adversaries, what? Does anyone have a clue on this? I’d like $7-$8 million but once Lebron goes it’s going to be higher when some teams find out they aren’t getting anybody and by the time it gets to $9-$10 million and higher I think we should keep Rasual, Blake & bring in Sofo and see what we got with Blake & Aminu on our team. It’s still a better team than last year thanks to Blake & Aminu (and hopefully Sofo) plus we have a new coach so no need to stress out peeps.
If Sofo & Childress where good friends, bringing Sofo over could only help get Childress and both of their transitions.
Kaman is one of the main selling point for FA. why would they trade kaman??
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kenji Reply: July 1st, 2010 at 8:10 pm
here here.
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JaySee Reply: July 1st, 2010 at 11:01 pm
His numbers will decline this season. Now is the time when we can get the most for him. He’s inconsistent and a headcase. He’s only effective in a half court offense, but now we have a young athletic team that can run. We have Jordan and will most likely bring in Sofo.
while all the teams with max contract space are sitting on their asses waiting on lebron, all the other servicable FA’s are signing contracts. what the hell are the clippers going to do once lebron signs elsewhere??
we’re still not going to be a playoff team if we re-sign the same guys we had last season, even with blake back. olshey needs to get off his ass and sign us some real players rather than just pick up the bottom of the barrell once every other team rejected by lebron starts to panic and scramble to fill up theor rosters.
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Cappy Reply: July 2nd, 2010 at 8:40 am
None of the players who’ve made commitments are worth their contracts. Would you really want Joe Johnson at over 20 million per year until he’s 35? That offer by Atlanta was flat-out stupid. Gay’s isn’t much better.
It would have been nice to have either of those guys for their fair market value, but I wouldn’t lament not signing them for so much more than they’re worth. It’s also nice that they are both staying where they’ve been — in the East, on teams that won’t be contenders largely thanks to these bloated contracts.
I say if the Clippers don’t get anybody in this FA we should wait for next year were Carmelo is being shoped. Olshey should not do what T-wolves are doing and that is getting useless free agents 20 mil 4 years Darko Milicic.
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kenji Reply: July 1st, 2010 at 9:20 pm
too bad melo is on the verge of an extension.
so you suggest signing a bunch on 1 year reject players and tank the entire season before it even starts?
sure, olshey shouldn’t through a darko deal out there, but with only 7 guaranteed players, including 2 newly drafted rookies whom we don’t know how they will adjust to the nba game, we need to sign solid FA’s to make us competitive in the western conference.
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MannyA Reply: July 1st, 2010 at 9:56 pm
First of all, Clips aren’t gonna do anything until after they talk to Lebron PERIOD! Secondly, I’m glad they aren’t signing anybody. They would have to overpay for somebody right now. I rather they wait till everyone else is done overpaying then try to acquire someone with their capspace.
josh childress (multi-year deal, MLE amount)
anthony morrow (2 yrs TO for 3rd, 2 mil per)
Sofo
Rhino (1yr PO for 2nd, 2 mil per)
earl barron (1yr, minimum salary)
janerro pargo (1yr, vet minimum)
we’ll have depth at every position and still be under the cap, and not be in any long term contract other than with childress.
Childress will want 8 mil a year and he’ll play in Greece again if he doesn’t get it. Morrow isn’t a free agent. Sofo they’ll probably sign cus they need players.
Joe Johnson 6 for $119 mil and Rudy Gay 5 for $82 mil… that almost makes Baron’s deal a bargain…. almost. But damn, Memphis and Atlanta just outbid themselves and are going to cry when they finally realize what they just did. That’s superstar money for 2nd tier stars…
I think for both Atlanta and Memphis it came down to having people in the building. Its hard enough for Memphis to hit the 12,000 mark during their home games, just imagine a Memphis team not featuring their best player… they’d probably see a huge drop in attendance. So they pretty much came into this with the idea of offering Gay what ever amount of money was needed just to keep him. Same goes for Joe Johnson… before Atlanta was a regular in the post season, they were one of the laughing stocks of the NBA, and they probably wouldn’t want to go through another phase of irrelevance. I’m just glad we didn’t Over pay, like many of you guys say if we end up with nothing at least we can sign some very good players at decent prices instead of over paying for One player and being stuck in mediocrity until BD and Kaman’s contracts are up.
If the LeBron plan fails (he says thanks but no thanks after Friday’s sitdown with the Clips), I wouldn’t mind revisiting the trade for Luol Deng, and using the rest of our cap space to fill out the roster. Chances are Chicago is feeling pretty optimistic about their chances of landing LeBron and another top tier FA, so would probably give away Deng for very little in return.
The roster then looks something like this:
Baron Davis / Bledsoe
Eric Gordon / Willie Warren
Luol Deng / Aminu
Blake Griffin / Craig Smith or Sofo
Chris Kaman / Deandre Jordan
Not a bad team, and should be able to contend for a playoff spot.
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AfishLClipp Reply: July 2nd, 2010 at 2:51 am
RL, you’re def on the right track, Deng would be a great addition, I don’t know what we could trade tho b/c they would need cap space, Maybe resign Novak and trade him and second round pick?
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Bongstradamus Reply: July 2nd, 2010 at 4:26 pm
Technically, we dont need to trade anything back since we have cap space.
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JaySee Reply: July 2nd, 2010 at 4:53 am
Why help the Bulls and hurt our cap space? Josh Childress for 3/4 years at $8-9 million is a better fit and better deal. Deng’s not worth $11 million a year.
BD – Anyone hating on this guys is straight retarded, if you think Deron Williams is a top 3 PG in the league, look at some of the games last season when BD dominated him!!!
BG – What most people don’t realize is that he can also play SF very effectively ad guard the like of LJ and Melo’s as good as anyone!!!
FA – Sign Sofo (<$2M), Rhino (<$5M), Butler/Outlaw ( <$5/6M), Steve B. ($4M) = +/- $16M
(also, if you get Deng, some of these FA would fall under Bird rights and the Clipps could possibly avoid luxury taxes)
Baron/Blake/Bledsoe
Gordon/Warren/Butler
BG/Deng OR Butler OR Outlaw/Aminu/Rhino
BG/DeAndre/Sofo/Rhino
Kaman/DeAndre/Sofo
Now that's a flexible team!!!
This is an attribute that is seriously under valued when building a team. With this flexibility, a smart coach can mix and match players according to almost any opponent(except Yao)!
Two more things I have to say:
1. We need Kaman (even w/his diminishing value) b/c there are situation when you need a center with an outside shot.
2. Rhino is 1 of 3 unique body type players (others are Big Baby Davis and DeJuan Blair) in the league where teams have trouble matching up against, we cannot afford to lose!!
Take advantage of Bird rights!!! Our two big additions this year will be BG and Sofo!!!
Done!!! Oh yeah, and maybe we should give Mark Jackson a shot
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JaySee Reply: July 2nd, 2010 at 5:21 am
Said with such intelligence… What are you smoking? Bird rights… like DTS will want to spend that much money on such a mediocre team that has no chance in the playoffs. It doesn’t matter if they avoid the tax, that’s a lot of money for nothing.
Deron Williams is consistent and can shoot a 3. He plays every game, not just turn it on when he has a match up he wants to take personal. Any GM and coach would take Williams over Davis.
You obviously know nothing about Childress. Compared to Deng, he shoots better and is efficient. He also rebounds better. He’s also cheaper.
The only thing that makes sense in anything that you said was sign Sofo.
Don’t need Kaman anymore. With a coach that will teach defense and get out on the break, we don’t need Kaman. He doesn’t like running and is only comfortable in a half court set. His outside shot is too inconsistent. The only bright side is if we’re stuck with him he won’t fumble the ball on double teams anymore because he won’t get them anymore. His inconsistent rebounding will be covered by Griffin and Aminu and hopefully Childress.
how do you not need Kaman anymore but you put him as your starting center!?!
You really want to run Jordan out there every night with Skinner as your back up? and maybe Sofo. anyone who wants to get rid of Kaman is an idiot!
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JaySee Reply: July 2nd, 2010 at 10:04 pm
All we need is a big man to defend and rebound that’s willing to run.
Kaman is what we have now, but I’m all for trading him.
Kaman for Okafor + Collison, or Cousins + Garcia.
Kaman and Davis for Granger + Rush + Murphy, or Diaw + Chandler.
Skinner is not a Clipper smart guy. You’re a moron for thinking we wouldn’t get anything in return for Kaman.
Collison/Davis/Bledsoe
Gordon/Bledsoe
Aminu/Griffin
Griffin/Aminu/Okafor
Okafor/Jordan/Sofo
With this we can dump Davis for 1st round picks to the Knicks, or for Granger. Sign Childress to start/backup 2/3.
Davis/Bledsoe
Gordon/Bledsoe
Garcia/Aminu/Griffin
Griffin/Aminu/Cousins
Cousins/Jordan/Sofo
Again, try to dump Davis on the Knicks or Pacers, and then sign Warren as our backup PG. Sign Childress to start or backup the 2/3.
Bledsoe/Warren
Gordon/Rush
Granger/Griffin
Griffin/Murphy/Sofo
Murphy/Jordon/Sofo
Sign Childress to start or backup the 2.
Bledsoe/Warren
Gordon/Bledsoe/Warren
Diaw/Griffin
Griffin/Chandler/Sofo
Chandler/Jordon/Sofo
Sign Childress to start or backup the 2/3.
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AfishLClipp Reply: July 3rd, 2010 at 5:01 am
Yes, Baron can turn it on when he wants, its the potential that you obviously have ignored. Your main point of emphasis is how much you think people will care. Well just for you info, DTS did say that he wouldn’t hold back this year, and when Baron now has a legit team with BG and Kaman, he will turn it on and can still dominate, the only reason they would take D, Williams is b/c he’s younger and comparable.
Btw, how many other PG do you know of with the body type of Baron, Deron or Jameer Nelson? Exactly, he’s a unique player that can and will hang with the best of them. You know nothing!!
Kaman is essential b/c you can’t always be a running team, meaning you need the capability of a half court set. And when you run, you have your swing men and pgs to do that, not your center dumbass
Deng will guard Lebron on D any day over childress!!
Good job realizing Bg can play SF!
Kaman+Bd for Diaw+Chandler?!!! You must be joking right, do you even know how injury prone Chandler is!!!
Do you realize what a drop off at PG you’re talking about, I’m not smoking anything, but you’re def smokin crack, maybe even meth.
Stop trying to act like you know what you’re talking about, you know nothing, go back to home school, stop looking at #s and actually watch games and watch how some of these players play against notable talent.
Don’t think Childress is answer and still has to prove belongs at level above MLE. Think better solution is Prince for one year at $11MM. His work ethic will help the rookies and he is still a productive 3.
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kenji Reply: July 2nd, 2010 at 11:14 am
not worth paying him 11M when he can’t stay off the injured list. we already have baron and kaman on high salaries and high injury prone guys. don’t need another.
I still like Rasual Butler. What are some thoughts on keeping him. He played solid for most of the year. Helps spread the floor and can defend some. He led the team in 3′s…
I have read some team have inquired about him and Steve Blake also..
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kenji Reply: July 2nd, 2010 at 11:15 am
way too inconsistent. he’s not a worthy to be a starting 3 man.
What do you guys think about how Lebron scheduled the 6 teams? (New York and New Jersey on Thurs, Miami and LA on Fri, and Chicago and Cleveland on Sat.)
Does he have some sort of self-predetermined rankings of these destinations? Get groveled by the New Yorkers, listen to longshots out of miami and LA, but really weigh in on the final 2 choices, being Chi and Cle, whom I suspect are probably the only 2 realistic destinations Lebron is considering.
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RAM Reply: July 2nd, 2010 at 10:38 am
I think he did rank them. first day is his long shots. very weak teams. Miami and LA have a better chance. I think we have a better team but they did go to the playoffs. but so would we if we were playing in the east. Chicago and Cleveland with the best chance to sign him. Cleveland can give him the most money and Miami has the best player in D-Wade.
The only way the Clips have a chance at Lebron is if the team was secretly sold to Geffen on the condition of of the signing of Lebron. With the exception of Miami possibly signing Dwade, Bosh…the Clips have the best core to support Lebron, but the only issue is dts.
Thats not a bad idea for a pitch. Give Lebron the keys. Change the logo, change the name, change the face of the franchise, pick his coach, his GM and his VP.
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VH Reply: July 2nd, 2010 at 11:00 am
Unfortunately Lebron had significant input into Cleveland’s roster decisions and now they are likely not even a playoff team without him and will be left with no cap flexibility when he leaves. As great as Lebron is, he is not ready to run a team. We have to prove we have people smarter than him running the show, kind of like Darryl Morey’s pitch to Chris Bosh when he showed up at his door at 12:01 with a series of materials and an ipad full of video explaining how Bosh fits in their offense and they are a 60+ win team with him next year.
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Juicebox Reply: July 2nd, 2010 at 11:11 am
Great read. It’ll be interesting to see what the Clippers present James with. Regardless of the outcome of today’s meeting, I hope they all walk out with their chins head high.
What’s Sterling handing over? I doubt the donald cares about the logo or the name ‘Clippers’. He make basketball decisions like Al Davis does as an owner for the Raiders. He basically gave the keys to Dunleavy after they made the playoffs. He knows how much money Lebron can bring in and I’m sure he’ll let him do whaterver he wants.
agreed. Sterling see’s the clippers as a business asset and acts accordingly, rather than having and emotional connection. he knows the financial gain lebron would bring no matter what lebron wanted to change.
i know the media deems it ridiculous that Lebron would go to the clips because they are well, the DTS led clippers.If you flashback to the Lebron visit to staples this season when he led them to a 4th quarter comeback, the first thing he did after the game was walk over to eric gordon. they embraced and he spoke in his ear for a solid minute. Why does this matter, well he did it before even slapping fives with his own teammates. In all the Lebron games i have watched that was the only instance where he skipped his post game celebration routine to talk to the opposing team. The media may not truly consider the clips but Lebron sure as heck does. As for the bulls being the front runners I do not believe Lebron’s memory is so short that he forgets all the trash talk from Noah during the playoffs. In Lebron’s career no other player has come to close to attacking him the way Noah did. Yet the media has anointed the bulls to be Lebron’s choice, talk about selective memory.
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Respect Griffin Reply: July 2nd, 2010 at 2:34 pm
nice one… I also remember Lebron talking to Griffin for a good minute after the last game in Los Angeles. And I’ve been to Staples when Lebron has been there, it has been electric. I’m sure Lebron felt it
Some notes from the pitch – Olshey made a very emotional pitch to LBJ talking about the team, not the city! He asked LBJ to lead this team and confirmed that Baron is willing to let him lead. He suggested LBJ as the best tutor to Aminu, also the strong PG and C positions we have could compliment his game! We are building a solid bench as well! We are the team, which never won and the only place you can show you are the best OF ALL TIME! Bring a championship to the Clippers and you can easily retire as the very best in this sport!
LBJ confirmed his interest and is now considering the Clippers one of the top 2 destinations with a contract starting at 16.83 mil!
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Qlippers Reply: July 2nd, 2010 at 11:46 am
This has to be a joke, I didn’t see this update from the meeting. Where’s the link?
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kenji Reply: July 2nd, 2010 at 11:49 am
if this is “notes from the pitch”, where’s your source?
ESPN reported just Roeser and Olshey will be meeting with Lebron. On the clipper website, Olshey stated that his main selling points were: the young nucleus of players with all star veterans, the city of los angeles, and the 50 million dollar practice facility. No mention of how to market Lebron as a billionare athlete/mogul. Sounds like Olshey will be all about basketball and will leave it up to Lebron to use the city of LA as potentially his platform to gain worldwide status. No broken promises (like the Heat hoping to get the trinity of Lebron, Wade and Bosh) and no BS (like the Nets with Jay-Z and Nets owner promising riches from businesses outside of basketball). Strictly basketball and championships.
Not a bad pitch, Lebron can figure the rest of the marketing stuff out. Being 1 of 6 teams isn’t bad. Looks like they’re not getting a big name free agent, but they’re selling season tickets at prices like they are.
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Juicebox Reply: July 2nd, 2010 at 11:52 am
I don’t understand why Blake Griffin and Baron Davis aren’t at the meeting. Fine, don’t bring DTS but c’mon, bring your two ‘best’ players. We are the only franchise with an owner that doesn’t have a track record, yet we show up with JUST Roesner and Olshey!?!? Damnit Clippers…
I think it’s to stand out from the rest of them. Just let him know that the Clippers are interested and will give him anything he wants. That’s really all he needs to know. They’re not going to compete with the nets owners in presenation. Lebron knows all the players, he can make up his mind who has the best chance of winning.
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kenji Reply: July 2nd, 2010 at 3:10 pm
agreed. lebron knows the players that are still on every roster, making it overkill to have them sit in. the best we can do is just verbally tell what we have in place to offer and what he would be able to do here. lebron has his own team that would handle his endeavors off the court. i don’t think any team’s presentation is going to be the deciding influence. he knows that every team brings to the table before all these meetings.
After that press release, it’s clear this is just a PR move. The whole thing. I’m not seeing anything here that proves it more than a stunt to prove to season ticket holders “Look! We tried!”
Clippers have a much stronger starting 4 to complement Lebron than the Bulls, Cavs, Nets, Knicks, or Heat. Other teams would have to pull off some serious moves to have a comparable supporting cast and I don’t think it will happen.
If Lebron came over and won the championship with the Clippers and took over the city from Kobe he would immediately be in the “Greatest of All Time” conversation in my mind.
If/when Lebron signs elsewhere: I’d hope that the Clippers will stop, think, and preserve cap space. Why overpay for a player this year? Once the CBA is revised, cap space should have more purchasing power. Let everyone else panic and overspend. Instead, allow the young core of the roster develop with ample playing time. The Clips will then have a coach, a system, and have identified the holes in practice, not theory.
I think matt barnes would be a nice addition to the bench. He’s a decent defender, ok shooter, and can rebound pretty well at the SF. Im for resigning Rasual Butler but if we dont Matt Barnes can hold it down.
138 Responses
Also gone is Drew Gooden, signed the full mid-level exception with Milwaukee for 5 years, $32 million.
TNT57 Reply:
July 1st, 2010 at 5:17 pm
I feel like CARNACK the mystic. GAY gone. GOODEN gone. JJ. gone. EVERYBODY ELSE gone. How much would you give to watch the Clippers pres to LBJ? Will he keep a straight face? Great SNL sketch. I don’t even think STERLING made the trip. Now that my friends is commitment.
Posted on July 1st, 2010 at 12:32 pm
THRILLED that Joe Johnson and Gay have verbal agreements already. Can breath easier knowing we won’t be the ones overpaying them for the next half-decade.
Steve Reply:
July 1st, 2010 at 12:44 pm
Amen to that
Clipper Derrick Reply:
July 1st, 2010 at 3:31 pm
Second
Posted on July 1st, 2010 at 12:35 pm
SO GLAD that Gay is off the table. Gooden too.
Posted on July 1st, 2010 at 12:43 pm
suns offered channing frye 5 yrs, at about 5 mil per.
i really like what frye can bring us by creating space for blake. i’d like to see the clippers make a competitive offer to him.
mmoore500 Reply:
July 1st, 2010 at 1:13 pm
Did you watch Frye in the playoffs? He choked.
kenji Reply:
July 1st, 2010 at 2:25 pm
did you watch frye during the regular season? he did what he was supposed to do.
did you watch the clippers in the playoffs?
exactly, don’t worry about frye missing shots in the conference finals, because he did good during the regular season, and the clippers need to get to the first round before we can crap on channing’s struggles in the 3rd round.
did you watch how ray allen choked with his shooting in the finals? if you crap on frye’s shooting, you need to do the same on ray allen. but i don’t think anybody is going to give ray much flack.
mario1p Reply:
July 1st, 2010 at 2:32 pm
agree
Sean Reply:
July 2nd, 2010 at 10:59 pm
No thanks, I wouldn’t want a choker when the games really count. I’d take him if he comes of the bench that’s it. He is too soft also.
Posted on July 1st, 2010 at 12:44 pm
Nice Griffin interview too. Although I was a little surprised he didn’t at least PRETEND that he thought LeBron should consider Clips.
Posted on July 1st, 2010 at 12:54 pm
the faster these free agents go, the faster we’ll strike out…
weren’t these two the free agents that we had the greatest chance to sign???
oh boy, you guys breath a sigh of relief… i’m getting antsy.
Posted on July 1st, 2010 at 1:12 pm
I read Johnson was still considering other offers? We really need small forward help. I’m convinced we are going to get horrible scraps and win 27 games next year. Sigh.
Nick Reply:
July 1st, 2010 at 2:51 pm
yeah, but we’ll get to watch rookies get 35 min/game and have their confidence shattered by losing and seeing their pg, Baron Davis, give up!!! Wait, I feel like we’ve tried this before…
Nick Reply:
July 1st, 2010 at 2:55 pm
In all seriousness, one of my main worries is that if we don’t get any big free agents, Baron Davis won’t show up to play. Remember how he dogged his first season here after Elton Brand left? Yeah, he followed up well last season when things looked bright after drafting Griffin. But, he’s shown that he’s very temperamental and with the wrong attitude he’ll hinder the growth of the younger players.
Josh Reply:
July 1st, 2010 at 4:03 pm
Get rid of him.
chris. Reply:
July 1st, 2010 at 5:38 pm
With your theory then Baron will show up because he’s getting Blake Griffin in his rookie season. Give Baron a chance until he blows it, no point in the defeatest attitude already. So what if Gay & Johnson are gone, would you want to spend that much money for that many years on either of them?
Nick Reply:
July 1st, 2010 at 7:06 pm
I’m not in the group of people who thinks we should just dump Davis. I thought he was a good player last year, and can do a lot for this team on the floor when he’s playing motivated basketball. I just wonder whether he’ll show up with the same motivation again this year after the disappointment last year, without some sort of outside boost. Yes, Griffin is returning and on the court that’s great! But, there isn’t the same sort of polarizing media blitz about him to build up excitement, now that we’re a year removed from the draft.
To answer your question, I would’ve spent big money for five years on Joe Johnson because I think he would’ve made the Clippers a playoff team. As for Rudy Gay, I doubt he’s the answer at SF, as he doesn’t provide the second playmaker we really need. So no, I wouldn’t have gone hard after him in the first place. Maybe there is someone the Clippers can get in a trade (Deng? Iguodala?).
TNT57 Reply:
July 1st, 2010 at 5:19 pm
DWAYNE CASEY WILL SAVE US!
Posted on July 1st, 2010 at 1:15 pm
Never had a chance with any free agents. We have to prove ourselves first. Yeah, we have a “young, good” core but players have seen that from the Clippers before. What needs to be done is start winning and showing future FA that the Clips mean business. Until then, we will always be a gamble. Honestly though, I’m glad we didn’t over pay. Who knows what will happen, maybe we’ll get lucky.
Ps
Boom Tho aka Rod Benson is on our summer league roster. Can we please sign him?
Chandler Reply:
July 1st, 2010 at 1:56 pm
YES, PLEASE!
BOOOOOOMTHO!!!
Posted on July 1st, 2010 at 1:50 pm
Since JJ and Gay are gone, lets build a good bench shall we?
Posted on July 1st, 2010 at 1:55 pm
Tons of good values still out there:
Minny wants to move Al Jefferson and Corey Brewer. Coincidentally, we want to move Kaman and Baron. Minny is desperate for a traditional Center.
Richard Jefferson is available
T-Mac is still on market
Matt Barnes available.
Miami needs salary cap space, Michael Beasley could be had.
Dont count us out since JJ and Rudy already signed deals. Theres older players and younger players still out there that we can position for. In fact, our strongest position may be to acquire players via trade with the cap space we have.
kenji Reply:
July 1st, 2010 at 2:28 pm
who from the clippers organization has every said kaman is being shopped around?
not likely if kaman is named in the group of solid core players as an enticement to other FA’s to come to l.a.
Newtybar Reply:
July 1st, 2010 at 4:59 pm
Al Jefferson for Chris Kaman. Sign me up.
jlewis Reply:
July 1st, 2010 at 5:21 pm
Bro, forget about Brewer/Jefferson for Baron and Kaman. Jefferson is a definite upgrade from Kaman but he’s a PF. The reason that Minn. wants to get rid of him is the same reason he’s not a fit for us.
And Brewer is WORTHLESS. Even the cap relief of trading his and BD’s salaries wouldn’t be worth it. Davis is a + PG even if he’s no longer a star. Brewer is bench filler. A poor man’s Gay. All athletic ability and no game.
kenji Reply:
July 1st, 2010 at 7:19 pm
agree totally on jefferson not a fit for us. he’s not a center. I don’t understand why so many people here keep wanting to through kaman in a trade. What other REAL center out there can do what he does? there are many pure centers in this league with an inside/outside game, which he brings us.
there’s a reason why kaman was named an all-star, not matter what the haters say. with blake coming in, there will be less offensive load put on kaman too psych himself out. his confidence can be kept up.
JaySee Reply:
July 1st, 2010 at 7:56 pm
Reasons Kaman was an all-star:
Too many REAL All-stars got injured.
Kaman’s inflated (but still inconsistent) numbers as the #1 offensive option.
Bongstradamus Reply:
July 2nd, 2010 at 1:36 am
Age and upside.
Of which Kaman is older and whos upside is decreasing each year.
If Jefferson plays 5 like Kaman does in our offensive/defensive sets, we know hell be more aggressive offensively. Hes a bigger more athletic guy. He also has a ton more upside. You want spacing? Jefferson can command a double and finish. Kaman can sometimes barely make a play out of single coverage.
And Im not saying trading both Kaman and Baron, but one or the other. The salaries dont match otherwise and Minny is motivated to move talent. We can move into a slightly smaller contract with Jefferson and we get an option on Brewer past this season. We retain flexibility, fill a need and we exchange similar parts. So why not trade old and clumsy for young and promising?
As for Corey Brewer, hes still young, showed a lot of promise, and is relatively a bargain at his price. He had a year where he was injured and didnt play and just needs more time to develop. He fits in with what we are doing at the position we need to fill. If we are in a youth movement, lets go all out. I said there were good values out there….by that definition Corey Brewer fits the bill. He was a lottery pick after all.
Posted on July 1st, 2010 at 2:09 pm
HEDO SAYS LEBRON IS COMING TO THE CLIPPERS! take it for what it’s worth– basically nothing, but at least it’s fun to read
http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/category/_/name/free-agent-reports
mario1p Reply:
July 1st, 2010 at 2:38 pm
oh man wouldn’t that be something
Qlippers Reply:
July 1st, 2010 at 4:00 pm
IS he better than Ms. Cleo?
Posted on July 1st, 2010 at 2:17 pm
T-Mac is selfish and would be toxic to our team. Jefferson is a less talented version of Kaman. The only legit player you mentioned is Beasley. If Miami would give him up for a second round pick, I say we go for it.
Don't Trade Kaman Reply:
July 1st, 2010 at 5:00 pm
Jefferson a less talented version of Kaman??? Think you have the wrong Jefferson in mind.
Posted on July 1st, 2010 at 2:19 pm
Now that the Hawks spent all that money, the Hawks won’t be able to match Josh Childress. Clippers need to go after him now
mario1p Reply:
July 1st, 2010 at 2:35 pm
i was thinking the same thing!!
Cappy Reply:
July 1st, 2010 at 2:44 pm
Same here.
Clipper Derrick Reply:
July 1st, 2010 at 3:34 pm
Oooh … I like this idea.
jlewis Reply:
July 1st, 2010 at 5:24 pm
YES. YES. YES. What do you guys think is too much for him? 3y/$24m? I’d be cool with that. Anything more and I start to get worried. He’s an immediate starter at the 3, can back up the 2 and give Aminu time to adjust to the 3 at the NBA level while giving quality minutes at the 4 as well.
Anyone crying about how the first day of FA panned out needs to wake up. We still haven’t done anything but the best options for us are still out there. Sign Childress, Brewer and Rhino and we will win at least 45 games next season barring injuries.
chris. Reply:
July 1st, 2010 at 5:43 pm
I’m fine with 8 million as long as it’s only for 3 years, not any more years though.
FA panned out for the home teams, nothing the Clippers could’ve done. Lebron was and is our #1 goal (I think he’s going to choose home just like Wade and Stoudamire and Pierce and Dirk will go.) Childress is the next best option. After tomorrow we should know a bit more. After monday we’ll know a lot more because apparently Lebron wants to decided by Monday where he’s going as not to drag this out. No point in going for the Bronze (Childress) when the Gold (Lebron) is still in play. But do get him in here for a meeting after tomorrow.
Posted on July 1st, 2010 at 2:21 pm
OMG! 16 mil a year for Rudy Gay!! he is not worth that at all maybe 80 mil for JJ but still! you overpay for all these FA. they are all dropping like flies! Lebron is the only one I think we have a chance at now. Bosh maybe? do you really want Bosh for a max contract? everyone’s price just shot up because New York has the most money and they are starting to get desperet!
Come on Luis Scolia!!!!!
jlewis Reply:
July 1st, 2010 at 5:26 pm
Good thing Memphis gave Gasol away so they could back up the Brinks truck for Gay. Wow, their management is retarded.
Sean Reply:
July 2nd, 2010 at 11:05 pm
That is one thing I really hate. Everybody overpaying for players and seemed to be so dam desperate!!!! I would start hating the Clipper if they over pay another player. Only guys worth Max is Bosh, Wade and Lebron as for right now. JJ offered max? what a Fucckin joke! I can’t wait for Hawks owners to regret it.. I will be laughing.
Posted on July 1st, 2010 at 2:21 pm
any news on the new coach… wasn’t this supposed to be done before today…????
FD Reply:
July 1st, 2010 at 3:06 pm
Gotta wait until Lebron signs to sign the coach.
Posted on July 1st, 2010 at 2:53 pm
I like FD suggestion. Childress needs to probe he belongs to the NBA, he also can help Sofo with the food.
Posted on July 1st, 2010 at 3:28 pm
Bring on Childress
Posted on July 1st, 2010 at 3:30 pm
Can’t believe that BG thought Chicago was the best for LeBron personnel wise. Clippers handled Chicago this year well without BG. Hope BD ain’t involved in making the pitch tor LBJ……
Posted on July 1st, 2010 at 3:56 pm
yes to childress unless it’s crazy $.
can’t believe gooden got that fat deal! and darko! wtf?! are they insane?
i would’ve guessed those 2 would be getting half of what they got.
as for baron, i have to believe that he will bring a much better game now that he doesn’t have to deal with MDsr micro-management style on a regualr basis. not even gonna judge the kim hughes ‘era’ cause the ship already sailed by then. hopefully he and the new coach have a good vibe, focus on youth getting minutes and blake being what we hope for.
can’t see any takers after last year so let’s hope his ‘tude is right and he is wiiling to play less minutes with a smile on his face.
Newtybar Reply:
July 1st, 2010 at 5:00 pm
Childress is commanding about $7-8 million per year, you ok with that?
jlewis Reply:
July 1st, 2010 at 5:32 pm
Up to $24m/3 or $30/4 and I’m cool. Anything more and it get’s risky. My worry is that someone’s gonna give him silly money in the $9/10m range. Hope I’m wrong.
chris. Reply:
July 1st, 2010 at 5:49 pm
the longer he waits, and we wait, the more he’ll get but we, along with everybody else, is waiting for Lebron. Once that chip falls it is a fire sail to the highest bidder which does get scary but you have to wait it out for Lebron.
neiljlax Reply:
July 1st, 2010 at 10:51 pm
i’m not against anyone getting all they can and good for them.
that goes for an all star or a pizza delivery guy.
just concerned how it relates to cap and future moves.
Posted on July 1st, 2010 at 3:58 pm
Yep. The Fro. Let’s get the Fro. That’s a game-changing hairdo.
Posted on July 1st, 2010 at 4:08 pm
honestly the only free agents i thought we had a slim shot at was rudy and joe and now that there gone i think the clips have no more suitors, i dont think free agents would wanna come here till they start winning
Posted on July 1st, 2010 at 4:15 pm
You know I have some hunches but there are a couple of scenarios I would love to see…First getting Mike Brown to coach us would be off the chain…couple that with Lebron and Ray Allen and I am the happiest ever…funny thing is no one is talking about the Cavs old coach…sure they haven’t come close to winning the even the Eastern Conf but taking a team from nothing to winning 60+ games two seasons in a row and more than 40 in the last 4 or 5 is the kind of leadership we need. Baron Davis will play his heart out for a bunch of guys that has heart and will fight for the collective…but I don’t think he wants to have to be the go to guy like he has done in the past for other teams and during his younger years…I give all the credit to BD though coming back from a knee injury and to still be as athletic as he is goes to what kind of motor he really does have left…end of the day give me a superstar small forward, another taller scorer (6’5 – 6’8) and a couple solid players to come off the bench and we WILL make the playoffs this year!!
keno Reply:
July 1st, 2010 at 5:05 pm
Mike Brown = Off the chain?
First of all, he’s been so out coached every year in the playoffs it’s ridiculous (swept in finals ’07, barely competed vs. orlando last season, and this year, was embarrassed vs the celtics).
If lebron wanted him in cleveleand, he’d still be there. Mike brown is horrible. Can’t get out of the East with the best regular season record the last 2 years? Not good.
Also, pretty disappointed in BG not representing the Clippers for LBJ. Even if you don’t think it’s a possibility, at least fake it. what are you thinking?
Allen Ray Reply:
July 1st, 2010 at 5:44 pm
I feel ya…True he has been outcoached but for what I would consider a newbie coach to have started his career off with progress thats all you can really hope for…He was outcoached this year in the playoffs no doubt…that being said I would still much rather give the guy a second shot over any assistant I can think of (that is willing to move)…Brian Shaw definitely doesn’t seem likely though he won’t have to travel far…just saying I think he is more likely to wait out on the Laker’s gig next year…
Touche…just read the BD spot…ummm yea coulda said more than that…also BG could have also…maybe its just reverse psychology…or maybe not…I hope there is something in the works…
chris. Reply:
July 1st, 2010 at 5:51 pm
agree with everything your saying, from Mike Brown to BG needing to try, it is his job, hopefully he’ll learn that sooner than later.
RAM Reply:
July 2nd, 2010 at 8:59 am
there’s a reason no one is talking about Mike Brown. if you want any shot at getting LBJ. you do not hire Brown.
Posted on July 1st, 2010 at 4:19 pm
Total aside. You are running Marco Rubio ads on this site? Blech. I clicked on it to cost them money. And give you money. I’m going to do that another dozen times.
Posted on July 1st, 2010 at 4:39 pm
I read an article that Cuttino Mobley hopes to play for the NBA again. I would look into that he could be a good bech player and also a good veteran presence for the young players.
Posted on July 1st, 2010 at 5:13 pm
I’d take Childress for $7-8 mil, salmons is getting offered 5 years 39mil.
Clipper Derrick Reply:
July 1st, 2010 at 6:32 pm
Is Salmons a SF? Isn’t he more of a SG? If he can play the SF, would he be a good fit?
Posted on July 1st, 2010 at 5:21 pm
This whole thing proves one thing, BARON DAVIS really carries a lot of influence on these younger players. A letter? Really? A mass mailing? Why not just a P.S. on the bottom of one of those Don Sterling self admiring tributes in the L.A. Times?
Posted on July 1st, 2010 at 5:49 pm
I wonder what Sofo & Childress’s relationship is. Where they friends, adversaries, what? Does anyone have a clue on this? I’d like $7-$8 million but once Lebron goes it’s going to be higher when some teams find out they aren’t getting anybody and by the time it gets to $9-$10 million and higher I think we should keep Rasual, Blake & bring in Sofo and see what we got with Blake & Aminu on our team. It’s still a better team than last year thanks to Blake & Aminu (and hopefully Sofo) plus we have a new coach so no need to stress out peeps.
If Sofo & Childress where good friends, bringing Sofo over could only help get Childress and both of their transitions.
Posted on July 1st, 2010 at 5:57 pm
I still think we shoul get tayshaun prince in a trade. If he works for us, give him am extension, otherwise let him walk.
With the remainder of the cap we can sign Rasual and rhino or sofo.
Posted on July 1st, 2010 at 6:03 pm
somethin tells me we’re gonna mess up and sign richard jefferson to a big contract
Clipper Derrick Reply:
July 2nd, 2010 at 2:13 am
NO to Richard Jefferson!!!!!!!!!
Posted on July 1st, 2010 at 6:07 pm
Can John Salmons pay SF effectively? I certainly wouldn’t mind trying to pry him from the Bucks. Dude is a quiet baller.
Clipper Derrick Reply:
July 1st, 2010 at 6:37 pm
Anthony Morrow could be a great option too…
FD Reply:
July 1st, 2010 at 8:55 pm
He’s not a free agent this year though.
Posted on July 1st, 2010 at 6:34 pm
excellent response. he is a nice piece, thats why they want to keep him
Posted on July 1st, 2010 at 7:29 pm
Kaman is one of the main selling point for FA. why would they trade kaman??
kenji Reply:
July 1st, 2010 at 8:10 pm
here here.
JaySee Reply:
July 1st, 2010 at 11:01 pm
His numbers will decline this season. Now is the time when we can get the most for him. He’s inconsistent and a headcase. He’s only effective in a half court offense, but now we have a young athletic team that can run. We have Jordan and will most likely bring in Sofo.
Posted on July 1st, 2010 at 7:41 pm
while all the teams with max contract space are sitting on their asses waiting on lebron, all the other servicable FA’s are signing contracts. what the hell are the clippers going to do once lebron signs elsewhere??
we’re still not going to be a playoff team if we re-sign the same guys we had last season, even with blake back. olshey needs to get off his ass and sign us some real players rather than just pick up the bottom of the barrell once every other team rejected by lebron starts to panic and scramble to fill up theor rosters.
Cappy Reply:
July 2nd, 2010 at 8:40 am
None of the players who’ve made commitments are worth their contracts. Would you really want Joe Johnson at over 20 million per year until he’s 35? That offer by Atlanta was flat-out stupid. Gay’s isn’t much better.
It would have been nice to have either of those guys for their fair market value, but I wouldn’t lament not signing them for so much more than they’re worth. It’s also nice that they are both staying where they’ve been — in the East, on teams that won’t be contenders largely thanks to these bloated contracts.
Posted on July 1st, 2010 at 8:15 pm
I say if the Clippers don’t get anybody in this FA we should wait for next year were Carmelo is being shoped. Olshey should not do what T-wolves are doing and that is getting useless free agents 20 mil 4 years Darko Milicic.
kenji Reply:
July 1st, 2010 at 9:20 pm
too bad melo is on the verge of an extension.
so you suggest signing a bunch on 1 year reject players and tank the entire season before it even starts?
sure, olshey shouldn’t through a darko deal out there, but with only 7 guaranteed players, including 2 newly drafted rookies whom we don’t know how they will adjust to the nba game, we need to sign solid FA’s to make us competitive in the western conference.
MannyA Reply:
July 1st, 2010 at 9:56 pm
First of all, Clips aren’t gonna do anything until after they talk to Lebron PERIOD! Secondly, I’m glad they aren’t signing anybody. They would have to overpay for somebody right now. I rather they wait till everyone else is done overpaying then try to acquire someone with their capspace.
Posted on July 1st, 2010 at 8:56 pm
Lakers are making an offer to Mike Miller. 5 years 30 mil. Yikes
Clipper Derrick Reply:
July 2nd, 2010 at 2:14 am
Mike Miller is underrated. He’s a SG/SF who can handle the ball. I think he fits in perfectly with the Lakers.
VH Reply:
July 2nd, 2010 at 10:31 am
according to this chart:
http://dberri.wordpress.com/2010/07/01/the-2010-nba-free-agent-cheat-sheet/#comments
he is basically the most underrated free agent available.
FD Reply:
July 2nd, 2010 at 11:22 am
Yeah, but he had that hair and headband thing. I think he shaved his head though. He didn’t fit that well with the wizzards though.
Posted on July 1st, 2010 at 8:57 pm
let’s grab:
josh childress (multi-year deal, MLE amount)
anthony morrow (2 yrs TO for 3rd, 2 mil per)
Sofo
Rhino (1yr PO for 2nd, 2 mil per)
earl barron (1yr, minimum salary)
janerro pargo (1yr, vet minimum)
we’ll have depth at every position and still be under the cap, and not be in any long term contract other than with childress.
FD Reply:
July 1st, 2010 at 9:51 pm
Childress will want 8 mil a year and he’ll play in Greece again if he doesn’t get it. Morrow isn’t a free agent. Sofo they’ll probably sign cus they need players.
kenji Reply:
July 1st, 2010 at 10:28 pm
morrow is a restricted free agent.
Posted on July 1st, 2010 at 9:39 pm
Joe Johnson 6 for $119 mil and Rudy Gay 5 for $82 mil… that almost makes Baron’s deal a bargain…. almost. But damn, Memphis and Atlanta just outbid themselves and are going to cry when they finally realize what they just did. That’s superstar money for 2nd tier stars…
Btw, check out LeBron’s facebook page..lol:
http://www.slate.com/id/2258799/
RAM Reply:
July 2nd, 2010 at 9:23 am
that’s hilarious!
Shawn Reply:
July 3rd, 2010 at 1:29 am
Haha! good stuff!
Posted on July 1st, 2010 at 10:34 pm
I think for both Atlanta and Memphis it came down to having people in the building. Its hard enough for Memphis to hit the 12,000 mark during their home games, just imagine a Memphis team not featuring their best player… they’d probably see a huge drop in attendance. So they pretty much came into this with the idea of offering Gay what ever amount of money was needed just to keep him. Same goes for Joe Johnson… before Atlanta was a regular in the post season, they were one of the laughing stocks of the NBA, and they probably wouldn’t want to go through another phase of irrelevance. I’m just glad we didn’t Over pay, like many of you guys say if we end up with nothing at least we can sign some very good players at decent prices instead of over paying for One player and being stuck in mediocrity until BD and Kaman’s contracts are up.
Posted on July 2nd, 2010 at 12:11 am
How did Childress play while in Greece? I never really heard much.
Posted on July 2nd, 2010 at 1:12 am
If the LeBron plan fails (he says thanks but no thanks after Friday’s sitdown with the Clips), I wouldn’t mind revisiting the trade for Luol Deng, and using the rest of our cap space to fill out the roster. Chances are Chicago is feeling pretty optimistic about their chances of landing LeBron and another top tier FA, so would probably give away Deng for very little in return.
The roster then looks something like this:
Baron Davis / Bledsoe
Eric Gordon / Willie Warren
Luol Deng / Aminu
Blake Griffin / Craig Smith or Sofo
Chris Kaman / Deandre Jordan
Not a bad team, and should be able to contend for a playoff spot.
AfishLClipp Reply:
July 2nd, 2010 at 2:51 am
RL, you’re def on the right track, Deng would be a great addition, I don’t know what we could trade tho b/c they would need cap space, Maybe resign Novak and trade him and second round pick?
Bongstradamus Reply:
July 2nd, 2010 at 4:26 pm
Technically, we dont need to trade anything back since we have cap space.
JaySee Reply:
July 2nd, 2010 at 4:53 am
Why help the Bulls and hurt our cap space? Josh Childress for 3/4 years at $8-9 million is a better fit and better deal. Deng’s not worth $11 million a year.
Posted on July 2nd, 2010 at 1:43 am
BD – Anyone hating on this guys is straight retarded, if you think Deron Williams is a top 3 PG in the league, look at some of the games last season when BD dominated him!!!
BG – What most people don’t realize is that he can also play SF very effectively ad guard the like of LJ and Melo’s as good as anyone!!!
FA – Sign Sofo (<$2M), Rhino (<$5M), Butler/Outlaw ( <$5/6M), Steve B. ($4M) = +/- $16M
(also, if you get Deng, some of these FA would fall under Bird rights and the Clipps could possibly avoid luxury taxes)
P.S. Seriously, forget Childress, dude blows!!!
=
=
Baron/Blake/Bledsoe
Gordon/Warren/Butler
BG/Deng OR Butler OR Outlaw/Aminu/Rhino
BG/DeAndre/Sofo/Rhino
Kaman/DeAndre/Sofo
Now that's a flexible team!!!
This is an attribute that is seriously under valued when building a team. With this flexibility, a smart coach can mix and match players according to almost any opponent(except Yao)!
Two more things I have to say:
1. We need Kaman (even w/his diminishing value) b/c there are situation when you need a center with an outside shot.
2. Rhino is 1 of 3 unique body type players (others are Big Baby Davis and DeJuan Blair) in the league where teams have trouble matching up against, we cannot afford to lose!!
Take advantage of Bird rights!!! Our two big additions this year will be BG and Sofo!!!
Done!!! Oh yeah, and maybe we should give Mark Jackson a shot
JaySee Reply:
July 2nd, 2010 at 5:21 am
Said with such intelligence… What are you smoking? Bird rights… like DTS will want to spend that much money on such a mediocre team that has no chance in the playoffs. It doesn’t matter if they avoid the tax, that’s a lot of money for nothing.
Deron Williams is consistent and can shoot a 3. He plays every game, not just turn it on when he has a match up he wants to take personal. Any GM and coach would take Williams over Davis.
You obviously know nothing about Childress. Compared to Deng, he shoots better and is efficient. He also rebounds better. He’s also cheaper.
The only thing that makes sense in anything that you said was sign Sofo.
Don’t need Kaman anymore. With a coach that will teach defense and get out on the break, we don’t need Kaman. He doesn’t like running and is only comfortable in a half court set. His outside shot is too inconsistent. The only bright side is if we’re stuck with him he won’t fumble the ball on double teams anymore because he won’t get them anymore. His inconsistent rebounding will be covered by Griffin and Aminu and hopefully Childress.
Davis/Bledsoe
Gordon/Childress
Childress/Aminu
Griffin/Aminu/Sofo
Kaman/Jordan/Sofo
Pine riders: Warren + 3 nobodies.
FD Reply:
July 2nd, 2010 at 8:01 am
Agree, why would you pay 16mil for those guys.
RAM Reply:
July 2nd, 2010 at 10:31 am
how do you not need Kaman anymore but you put him as your starting center!?!
You really want to run Jordan out there every night with Skinner as your back up? and maybe Sofo. anyone who wants to get rid of Kaman is an idiot!
JaySee Reply:
July 2nd, 2010 at 10:04 pm
All we need is a big man to defend and rebound that’s willing to run.
Kaman is what we have now, but I’m all for trading him.
Kaman for Okafor + Collison, or Cousins + Garcia.
Kaman and Davis for Granger + Rush + Murphy, or Diaw + Chandler.
Skinner is not a Clipper smart guy. You’re a moron for thinking we wouldn’t get anything in return for Kaman.
Collison/Davis/Bledsoe
Gordon/Bledsoe
Aminu/Griffin
Griffin/Aminu/Okafor
Okafor/Jordan/Sofo
With this we can dump Davis for 1st round picks to the Knicks, or for Granger. Sign Childress to start/backup 2/3.
Davis/Bledsoe
Gordon/Bledsoe
Garcia/Aminu/Griffin
Griffin/Aminu/Cousins
Cousins/Jordan/Sofo
Again, try to dump Davis on the Knicks or Pacers, and then sign Warren as our backup PG. Sign Childress to start or backup the 2/3.
Bledsoe/Warren
Gordon/Rush
Granger/Griffin
Griffin/Murphy/Sofo
Murphy/Jordon/Sofo
Sign Childress to start or backup the 2.
Bledsoe/Warren
Gordon/Bledsoe/Warren
Diaw/Griffin
Griffin/Chandler/Sofo
Chandler/Jordon/Sofo
Sign Childress to start or backup the 2/3.
AfishLClipp Reply:
July 3rd, 2010 at 5:01 am
Yes, Baron can turn it on when he wants, its the potential that you obviously have ignored. Your main point of emphasis is how much you think people will care. Well just for you info, DTS did say that he wouldn’t hold back this year, and when Baron now has a legit team with BG and Kaman, he will turn it on and can still dominate, the only reason they would take D, Williams is b/c he’s younger and comparable.
Btw, how many other PG do you know of with the body type of Baron, Deron or Jameer Nelson? Exactly, he’s a unique player that can and will hang with the best of them. You know nothing!!
Kaman is essential b/c you can’t always be a running team, meaning you need the capability of a half court set. And when you run, you have your swing men and pgs to do that, not your center dumbass
Deng will guard Lebron on D any day over childress!!
Good job realizing Bg can play SF!
Kaman+Bd for Diaw+Chandler?!!! You must be joking right, do you even know how injury prone Chandler is!!!
Do you realize what a drop off at PG you’re talking about, I’m not smoking anything, but you’re def smokin crack, maybe even meth.
Stop trying to act like you know what you’re talking about, you know nothing, go back to home school, stop looking at #s and actually watch games and watch how some of these players play against notable talent.
Posted on July 2nd, 2010 at 3:15 am
Don’t think Childress is answer and still has to prove belongs at level above MLE. Think better solution is Prince for one year at $11MM. His work ethic will help the rookies and he is still a productive 3.
kenji Reply:
July 2nd, 2010 at 11:14 am
not worth paying him 11M when he can’t stay off the injured list. we already have baron and kaman on high salaries and high injury prone guys. don’t need another.
Posted on July 2nd, 2010 at 7:10 am
I still like Rasual Butler. What are some thoughts on keeping him. He played solid for most of the year. Helps spread the floor and can defend some. He led the team in 3′s…
I have read some team have inquired about him and Steve Blake also..
kenji Reply:
July 2nd, 2010 at 11:15 am
way too inconsistent. he’s not a worthy to be a starting 3 man.
Posted on July 2nd, 2010 at 7:39 am
What do you guys think about how Lebron scheduled the 6 teams? (New York and New Jersey on Thurs, Miami and LA on Fri, and Chicago and Cleveland on Sat.)
Does he have some sort of self-predetermined rankings of these destinations? Get groveled by the New Yorkers, listen to longshots out of miami and LA, but really weigh in on the final 2 choices, being Chi and Cle, whom I suspect are probably the only 2 realistic destinations Lebron is considering.
RAM Reply:
July 2nd, 2010 at 10:38 am
I think he did rank them. first day is his long shots. very weak teams. Miami and LA have a better chance. I think we have a better team but they did go to the playoffs. but so would we if we were playing in the east. Chicago and Cleveland with the best chance to sign him. Cleveland can give him the most money and Miami has the best player in D-Wade.
Posted on July 2nd, 2010 at 8:08 am
The only way the Clips have a chance at Lebron is if the team was secretly sold to Geffen on the condition of of the signing of Lebron. With the exception of Miami possibly signing Dwade, Bosh…the Clips have the best core to support Lebron, but the only issue is dts.
Posted on July 2nd, 2010 at 8:36 am
http://sports.espn.go.com/los-angeles/nba/columns/story?id=5347874
Thats not a bad idea for a pitch. Give Lebron the keys. Change the logo, change the name, change the face of the franchise, pick his coach, his GM and his VP.
VH Reply:
July 2nd, 2010 at 11:00 am
Unfortunately Lebron had significant input into Cleveland’s roster decisions and now they are likely not even a playoff team without him and will be left with no cap flexibility when he leaves. As great as Lebron is, he is not ready to run a team. We have to prove we have people smarter than him running the show, kind of like Darryl Morey’s pitch to Chris Bosh when he showed up at his door at 12:01 with a series of materials and an ipad full of video explaining how Bosh fits in their offense and they are a 60+ win team with him next year.
Juicebox Reply:
July 2nd, 2010 at 11:11 am
Great read. It’ll be interesting to see what the Clippers present James with. Regardless of the outcome of today’s meeting, I hope they all walk out with their chins head high.
Posted on July 2nd, 2010 at 8:58 am
It’s a great idea. The problem is that Sterling doesn’t willingly hand over anything to anybody. That’s been his problem for a long time.
FD Reply:
July 2nd, 2010 at 10:33 am
What’s Sterling handing over? I doubt the donald cares about the logo or the name ‘Clippers’. He make basketball decisions like Al Davis does as an owner for the Raiders. He basically gave the keys to Dunleavy after they made the playoffs. He knows how much money Lebron can bring in and I’m sure he’ll let him do whaterver he wants.
FD Reply:
July 2nd, 2010 at 10:33 am
sorry, doesn’t make (no edit button)
kenji Reply:
July 2nd, 2010 at 11:18 am
agreed. Sterling see’s the clippers as a business asset and acts accordingly, rather than having and emotional connection. he knows the financial gain lebron would bring no matter what lebron wanted to change.
Posted on July 2nd, 2010 at 10:23 am
i know the media deems it ridiculous that Lebron would go to the clips because they are well, the DTS led clippers.If you flashback to the Lebron visit to staples this season when he led them to a 4th quarter comeback, the first thing he did after the game was walk over to eric gordon. they embraced and he spoke in his ear for a solid minute. Why does this matter, well he did it before even slapping fives with his own teammates. In all the Lebron games i have watched that was the only instance where he skipped his post game celebration routine to talk to the opposing team. The media may not truly consider the clips but Lebron sure as heck does. As for the bulls being the front runners I do not believe Lebron’s memory is so short that he forgets all the trash talk from Noah during the playoffs. In Lebron’s career no other player has come to close to attacking him the way Noah did. Yet the media has anointed the bulls to be Lebron’s choice, talk about selective memory.
Respect Griffin Reply:
July 2nd, 2010 at 2:34 pm
nice one… I also remember Lebron talking to Griffin for a good minute after the last game in Los Angeles. And I’ve been to Staples when Lebron has been there, it has been electric. I’m sure Lebron felt it
Posted on July 2nd, 2010 at 10:34 am
Does anyone have any information about our pitch to Lebron? At least who from the organization is participating?
kenji Reply:
July 2nd, 2010 at 11:19 am
probably just olshey and big andy. don’t think they’d be dumb enough to have sterling in the room.
FD Reply:
July 2nd, 2010 at 11:27 am
Roeser and Oshley,
read here:
http://twitter.com/PDcavsinsider
Malik Reply:
July 2nd, 2010 at 11:28 am
Some notes from the pitch – Olshey made a very emotional pitch to LBJ talking about the team, not the city! He asked LBJ to lead this team and confirmed that Baron is willing to let him lead. He suggested LBJ as the best tutor to Aminu, also the strong PG and C positions we have could compliment his game! We are building a solid bench as well! We are the team, which never won and the only place you can show you are the best OF ALL TIME! Bring a championship to the Clippers and you can easily retire as the very best in this sport!
LBJ confirmed his interest and is now considering the Clippers one of the top 2 destinations with a contract starting at 16.83 mil!
Qlippers Reply:
July 2nd, 2010 at 11:46 am
This has to be a joke, I didn’t see this update from the meeting. Where’s the link?
kenji Reply:
July 2nd, 2010 at 11:49 am
if this is “notes from the pitch”, where’s your source?
Posted on July 2nd, 2010 at 11:01 am
ESPN reported just Roeser and Olshey will be meeting with Lebron. On the clipper website, Olshey stated that his main selling points were: the young nucleus of players with all star veterans, the city of los angeles, and the 50 million dollar practice facility. No mention of how to market Lebron as a billionare athlete/mogul. Sounds like Olshey will be all about basketball and will leave it up to Lebron to use the city of LA as potentially his platform to gain worldwide status. No broken promises (like the Heat hoping to get the trinity of Lebron, Wade and Bosh) and no BS (like the Nets with Jay-Z and Nets owner promising riches from businesses outside of basketball). Strictly basketball and championships.
FD Reply:
July 2nd, 2010 at 11:34 am
Not a bad pitch, Lebron can figure the rest of the marketing stuff out. Being 1 of 6 teams isn’t bad. Looks like they’re not getting a big name free agent, but they’re selling season tickets at prices like they are.
Juicebox Reply:
July 2nd, 2010 at 11:52 am
I don’t understand why Blake Griffin and Baron Davis aren’t at the meeting. Fine, don’t bring DTS but c’mon, bring your two ‘best’ players. We are the only franchise with an owner that doesn’t have a track record, yet we show up with JUST Roesner and Olshey!?!? Damnit Clippers…
FD Reply:
July 2nd, 2010 at 12:03 pm
I think it’s to stand out from the rest of them. Just let him know that the Clippers are interested and will give him anything he wants. That’s really all he needs to know. They’re not going to compete with the nets owners in presenation. Lebron knows all the players, he can make up his mind who has the best chance of winning.
kenji Reply:
July 2nd, 2010 at 3:10 pm
agreed. lebron knows the players that are still on every roster, making it overkill to have them sit in. the best we can do is just verbally tell what we have in place to offer and what he would be able to do here. lebron has his own team that would handle his endeavors off the court. i don’t think any team’s presentation is going to be the deciding influence. he knows that every team brings to the table before all these meetings.
all we can do now is wait.
Posted on July 2nd, 2010 at 11:24 am
After that press release, it’s clear this is just a PR move. The whole thing. I’m not seeing anything here that proves it more than a stunt to prove to season ticket holders “Look! We tried!”
How can you do the pitch without a coach?
Posted on July 2nd, 2010 at 1:20 pm
Clippers have a much stronger starting 4 to complement Lebron than the Bulls, Cavs, Nets, Knicks, or Heat. Other teams would have to pull off some serious moves to have a comparable supporting cast and I don’t think it will happen.
If Lebron came over and won the championship with the Clippers and took over the city from Kobe he would immediately be in the “Greatest of All Time” conversation in my mind.
Posted on July 2nd, 2010 at 1:20 pm
If/when Lebron signs elsewhere: I’d hope that the Clippers will stop, think, and preserve cap space. Why overpay for a player this year? Once the CBA is revised, cap space should have more purchasing power. Let everyone else panic and overspend. Instead, allow the young core of the roster develop with ample playing time. The Clips will then have a coach, a system, and have identified the holes in practice, not theory.
FD Reply:
July 2nd, 2010 at 3:16 pm
It doesn’t look like they’ll even have a chance to overpay anyone.
Posted on July 2nd, 2010 at 1:25 pm
i dont care who we sign as long as we sign someone !!!
Posted on July 2nd, 2010 at 1:46 pm
I think matt barnes would be a nice addition to the bench. He’s a decent defender, ok shooter, and can rebound pretty well at the SF. Im for resigning Rasual Butler but if we dont Matt Barnes can hold it down.
Posted on July 2nd, 2010 at 1:56 pm
steve blake has officially signed with the lakers now hes gone too
Posted on July 2nd, 2010 at 4:11 pm
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