Clippers sign Rasual Butler

25 Jul 2010

Tweet
Pin It

The Clippers have brought back small forward Rasual Butler on a one-year deal. Financial terms of the contract have yet to be released.

Butler was sort of the forgotten man this offseason. He was drawing interest from teams around the league, and most expected him to bolt to a contender, so this signing comes as a bit of a surprise. Butler will serve the role of stop-gap at the three again this season while Al-Farouq Aminu adapts his skills to the NBA setting. Despite not shooting a terribly high percentage from beyond the arc, Butler did set the Clippers record for most three pointers made in a single season.

Butler is a known entity for the Clippers. He’s proven to be a good outside shooter who can heat up in a hurry and can hold his own on the other end. Butler’s deficiencies are more evident when he is forced to make plays off the bounce or try and carry the scoring load, as he often had to last season. With that said, some of the best lineups the Clippers put on the floor last year included Butler at the three.

We’ll have more on the roster and how it’s shaping up for the season very soon.

Cappy

I’m glad. Rasual’s a good player when he’s not asked to do too much. Does this mean McGrady’s out.
Ivann

Looks like we got a solid three that can atleast hold that spot down for a little bit. I like him alot better then T-mac eventhough Tracy might of sold more tickets because of his name. I really like gomes to come off the bench and AFA developing over the course of the season. Plus we get to keep some of our cap space to give us alot of flexibility. So this move may not make a big splash but i like it
Aaron

It’s certainly not sexy, but this seems like a good, low-risk move for the Clips. It would be really nice if they could get another shooter to spread the floor though, as I’m not sure we can totally rely on Butler to provide that on a regular basis.
mark

I was convinced he would sign with the heat. The heat’s loss is our gain. I am glad to have him back.
Robert Lehrer

In addition to Rasual’s skills that D.J. summarized, he’s a good character guy. My great concern though, is that the team is no stronger than it was before Blake injured his knee last fall. It may even be weaker due to the loss of Marcus Canby.

Unless the Clippers add a significant piece to their roster in between now and October, it’s going to be a very long season.
- Five O
  
  Robert: I can see what you mean on the surface but adding Blake to the starting lineup does alot. In basketball one guy can make a big difference in the line up and throw in a hopefully better strategy to utilize all the skills; enter Vinny! The bench is definitely better than last year. Having guys like Foye and Gomes will be a huge boost who are young veterans that are proven players. Sprinkle in some young and hungry talent like Bledsoe, Warren and Aminu which will provide many energy buckets. Eric Gordon should be a better ball player with an extra year on his side.
  
  If the clips win 40 games this year which is a hefty goal playing in the West I would consider the year great and put us in a position to lure better free agents. We have to start winning consistently for players to come and for players to stay.
- Larry
  
  It’s SO clear that you guys don’t know these players. He’s a good “character” guy. Ok.
  - http://www.hh4law.com Deez Nutz
    
    Then educate us, @ Larry. Please tell us all about these players. We bow to your all-knowing and omniscient nature.
http://Clipperblog Alfonse Capone

I was watching an old re-run of the 2001 Slam dunk contest and Baron Davis was competing in it. Funny to see Baron throw down 360 reverse windmill dunks !!! Good signing, I like Rasual Butler, he was one of the few bright spots about last season.
- Josh
  
  It was funny to see him just whiff on the blindfolded one.
  - http://Clipperblog AL
    
    Thats right !!!lol…
Javyg

Not a huge splashy signing but real good. What now helps the Clips is that 4 of the 5 starters have already played together. It’s a lot easier to add 1 piece instead of 4.
Robert Lehrer

Javyg, yes, it’s nice that 4 of the 5 starters have played together. But this squad won just 29 games last year. The Miami Heat is adding quite a few new pieces to their roster and they’ll be just fine!
dial4bux

A solid signing. He knows the guys, good in the locker room and is a known, useful piece.
Between him and Gomes, VDN doesn’t need to force-feed Aminu. Also, in a pinch, Rasual
can slide over to the two, if EG or Foye has foul trouble or physical issues. So far, I like the
way NO is going about his business.
http://Espn Jramir

Glad we resigned Rasual, but I don’t get why we signed him and rhino to only 1 yr contracts? They’re both good quality players that u would think the organization would want to keep around for a few years. Hopefully they don’t try and use them as trade bait
- Wil
  
  One year deals offer much in the way of financial flexibility heading into 2011 and beyond when there will be an owner friendly collective bargaining agreement (CBA). By not locking them in beyond the coming season there is opportunities to get a mid to high profile free agent next summer (Noah, Affalo, Carmelo, Ming, Brewer, Tony Parker). Also, the Clipps will no doubt use them for trade bait if some team looking to clear someone off their books in return for Rhino and/or Rasual’s “Expiring Contract(s).” These were business moves, as opposed to basketball moves.
- http://aol ClipperMarc
  
  Jramir, I was thinking the same thing, a lot of pieces that can be used as bait.
- Shawn
  
  I think they are also expecting the youth to slowly take over the team and if they don’t these short contracts allow them to pick up better free agents in the near future.
NRM

You smell that? it smells like… a decent season. I wonder whats up with that 1 year deal though (Rhino’s too). I wonder if it has to do with getting MIN draft pick next year.
- TNT57
  
  I smell it. It smells like 27 wins and another decade of lottery picks. Oh, wait, that’s my dog, she just crapped on the carpet. Come to think of it, they both smell about the same.
  - Steve
    
    LOL!!!! Awesome
  - NRM
    
    by decent i was thinking 38 wins. i forgot about the marcus camby-less effect though.
http://www.jaxguitar.com John

I’m still upset the Clippers were never mentioned when it came to Matt Barnes. He would have been perfect at the 3 and it wouldn’t have cost us much (relatively speaking). This has been a very dissapointing offseason. I mean c’mon-BRIAN FREAKING COOK?!?!?
- SJ
  
  Or maybe Matt Barnes never mentioned us. Who’s to say we didn’t offer him something and he simply ignored with a clear preference for singing with a contender.
  
  Cook is the one head scratcher of the off-season.
Average Jose

I like Casual and Rhino. Both are good contributors and good character guys. Casual, Rhino, Griffin, Foye and Gomez are all character guys. DJ and EJ are young and working on it. AFA and Bledsoe have much to prove as all rookies do.

I really believe that having guys like Kaman and Boom Diz as the “core” of the team is a mistake. Too streaky, unpredictable and inconsistent. You just never know who is going to show up. Kaman has battled a chemical inbalance his entire life. I know he’s got it under control now but to rely on him as a core contributor is foolish. Watching BD last year, he had his great moments but so many bone headed games it was embarrassing. Wish we could trade them for consistently intense guys, even if they were lesser talents I think it would translate to more wins for the team.
Jeezy

Sign Shaq for a one year deal with the rest of our salary cap!! Bring Shaq back to L.A.!!
- Five O
  
  Jeezy, go back to bed.
- Bongstradamus
  
  Heck sign Shaq, AI and T-Mac and we can call it the Old Big 3. Itll be like a living legends tour!
  - http://www.hh4law.com Deez Nutz
    
    DTS would do it if the numbers penciled out. And of course I don’t mean wins & losses (because wins are irrelevant to DTS, that cocksucker).
  - Clipper J
    
    Hell I would take them over what we have right now and we would have cap room next year. So tired of hearing in a couple years these guys would be great that fine and all lets trade trade the guys who will be great in a couple of years and be good now!!
jmay

Wow – reading this wondering if any of you guys actually went to Clippers games last year. I’ve been a season ticket holder for 10 years – and this has been one of the worst off-seasons I can remember. We lose Camby – and the 2 solid guys we got in that trade go elsewhere. Outlaw and Blake — were better than Foye and Gomes. We pitch for Lebron and settle for resigning Butler, a rookie who’s not ready to shoot or guard NBA 3′s and Brian Freaking Cook? Butler’s % last year was horrible — but worse with a few exceptions — he seemed to miss big shot after big shot…and we couldn’t get an upgrade on that at the 3 this year? So we’ve got Gordon and no one else who can really shoot. Gonna be a long year. I like Bledsoe – but he cant shoot either. There’s got to be a shooter out there…I would have loved MCGrady. Even at half of what he was — so much better than where we are.
- dial4bux
  
  Outlaw struck gold in NJ. Did you really want to outbid $35M/5 yrs? All of a sudden, Gomes, who’s an equivalent value player, looks like a serious bargain at $12M/3 yrs.
  Blake made it clear from the jump that he didn’t want to come back. Foye is a useful
  contributor at either guard spot. His only mistake was being traded for Brandon Roy on draft day by Kevin McHale. At $8M/2 yrs, we got a solid guy who wants to be here.
- Trapp
  
  We have plenty of shooters. Foye, Gomes, Gordon and Butler can all shoot the 3. Bledsoe also had good numbers from college 3 during his 1 season in Kentucky (he hit 8 threes in one game).
- eddie mack
  
  OK so you forget Willie warren can shoot with a consistent shot, a lot more speed so far as youth and you put your team in a position to trade for some pieces just in case we have a problem mid season, so would you have proposed trading kaman and keeping camby who is about 2yrs from retirement? and at this point my only grip with the team is the vets so far as kaman bd and rasual are all out of shape thus showing we wont be running this year. Pro’s to this season faster more high profile players, winning players at the last level, a coach with a defensive and shooting mentality, and and decent players in your front and back court. Cons are lack of aggressive wings, big man defense, and no veteran leadership in the form of winning or wanting to win
- Five O
  
  Jmay, I could not agree more with the responses you’ve received. Outside shooting this year will be far better than last year. Keep in mind Butler got off to a bad start and got better closer to December and then faded in March like everyone else. We will have better balance with Griffin in the line up and Butler will not have to do so much. We have guys now like Foye and Gomes who can get their own shots. Willie Warren and Bledsoe already have the ability to use their speed to get off shots. This will also make it easier on BD.
  
  Clips were wise not to match any kind of play on the money Travis Outlaw received. I would have like Steve Blake back but having Bledsoe now makes it better. That kid can flat out play and just needs time to develop.
  - jmay
    
    5-O
    Yes Outlaw and Gay were both overpaid. But not getting Igoudala or a solid 3 – and ending up with Gomes and Butler is very weak. These guys are fringe rotation players on a good team — and we’re counting on both for a major role.
    
    The Camby trade – I know we were looking at being under the cap – but wouldnt it have been better to grab Webster or Rudy Fernandez…someone on the Blazers who could have contributed this year?
    Now we’re scrambling and resigning ourselves to Butler — who was maddingly inconsistent last year. I’m frustrated. And Brian Cook to a multi-year deal pushed me over the edge. I was holding out hope for a McGrady or…Martel Webster…or someone who can shoot at a more consistent pace then Butler. We already have Baron — how many streaky shooters can we survive with??
    I’m hoping we’re not done.
    Bledsoe and Warren are quick – can pass and score — but still not shooters..when the double team comes on Griffin and Kaman – aside from Gordon — who do you trust to take the big shot??
    - Five O
      
      Hey Jmay, I dont entirely disagree with you and appreciate the passion. By the way, I love Webster too and surprised he was traded to the Wolves, he is a guy on the rise who can really fill it up now that he is healthy. Perhaps we can get him eventually but perhaps Kahn stumbled onto something with him not willing to part with. Rudy is okay, great athlete and a so so shooter. For big shots on the perimeter we have one solid kid in Gordon and a few others in training. I got a chance to watch willie warren play a ton on TV and that kid has cold blood in his veins. If he can regain form, watch out. Reality is for this season, its up to Gordon and Butler to knock down shots. Butler can do it, he is a veteran with a repuations for knocking down shots. He did hit some big ones for us last year when games counted early on. Have faith my friend! That is what we clipper fans are good at.
    - Clipper Derrick
      
      Martel Webster fell of the second half the season majorly.
- Josh
  
  Outlaw and Blake are not better than Gomes and Foye. Sorry. That being said, Camby is one of the most underrated players in the game.
Trapp

I’m EXTREMELY dissapointed that Olshey wasn’t able to address our starting SF spot this off-season with 17 mill in cap space at his disposal, hopefully we’ll be able to make a deal at the trade deadline between all of our expiring contracts and our left over 2-3 mill in cap space.

With that said, at this point, when you compare our roster on opening night last season with the roster we have now, we’ve essentially swapped:

- Camby for Griffin
- Thornton for Gomes
- Telfair for Bledsoe
- Ricky Davis for Foye
- Novak for Cook
- Kareem Rush for Aminu

Not to mention Dunleavy for Del Negro.

We’re clearly upgrading with every one of the player trade-offs aside from maybe Camby/Griffin (although that could turn out to be an upgrade or a wash as well), and Novak for Cook (a wash and not really that important). Griffin and Gordon are going to be the keys that will determine how far we can go this season.
- http://www.hh4law.com Deez Nutz
  
  A very coherent and optimistic analysis. Thanks for that. There is some massive addition by subtraction, and hopefully there’s even some addition by addition.
  - SJ
    
    I wouldn’t quite call it “massive.” Bledsoe and Aminu have yet to play a game so it’s hard to call them upgrades. Cook is no better than Novak at this point. I agree that Gomes and Foye are upgrades in so much as they’ll be more reliable on both ends of the court. I’d call Griffin and Camby a wash until Griffin plays a full season. Sounds like a 5-10 game improvement at best.
    
    Now it does set us up well for the 2011 off-season, but we were saying that about this off-season.
TNT57

Boy, those guys in the front office must be exhausted. I mean, think about all the wheeling and dealing it must have taken to sign GOMES and the other stiff whose name escapes me. Is it too soon to start whispering about Executive of the year? Man, the greatest assembly of unrestricted talent in league history and the Clippers are set to strike with nearly 20 million in cap space, they must have really gotten aggressive and primed the team for a playoff run! Uh, no. Not even close. I can’t wait for the marketing push for season tickets…”CLIPPERS, we make the KNICKS look smart!” Please don’t feed this corrupt and greed driven machine by buying tickets! Please, lets lock out Donald Sterling in his own house and force him to do the right thing! He has absolutely no respect for the fans, the game or the players, why do you think nobody wants to play here?
TNT57

Most every fan base is anonymous. Faceless. Voiceless. That’s exactly how men like DONALD STERLING want it to be. They count on us giving up and buying any crap they toss out on the court. I would suggest that this off season is a new high in how low a franchise can sink. Last year was an abomination. And STERLING was able to shift the blame to Dunleavy. TWICE! Before that it was Elgin and before that a parade of pretty good coaches including LARRY BROWN and ALVIN GENTRY. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see what’s going on here. GREED. Where do you think all those millions of dollars that weren’t spent on players is going to end up? You think Donnie is going to cut ticket prices? Think again. He’s counting on us to do what we’ve always done…forget about it and buy tickets. We can be heard. If everyone stands together and says ‘no more’. If we don’t, Sterling will get more wealthy and the Clippers will keep losing. Think about that sickening feeling of driving home after spending a few hundred dollars and witnessing another ass kicking. Even the players don’t care because they’re getting rich too. We’re the only ones getting screwed night anfter night and I’m sick of it.
- Five O
  
  TNT 57; I recommend Green Tea for your stress and pick a new team to watch.
  - NRM
    
    Bigelow green tea. Joe Torre swears by it.
    - Josh
      
      Smoke a bowl or two, also.
  - TNT57
    
    Explain to me why because I want something better that I need to pick another team? I would suggest that you grow some balls and stop being such a passive victim. I hate losing. Some guys, like yourself, accept it as a part of their life. I hate being taken advantage of. You accept it. I want something better for the Clipper fans. You seem perfectly content with watching shitty basketball. And I’m not stressed. Why do you think that? Does passion equal stress in your simple little life? I have stress at work. I’m just passionate about seeing Sterling do the right thing for this loyal fan base. FIVE-O, you ever see an old western movie where the hero is trying to rally the towns folk to stand up against the evil cattle baron and take back what’s right? Remember there’s always some simple minded farmer that stands up and says, “Why are you all stirrin’ up trouble with this man? We can’t beat him. I say we all just go back home and hope for the best.” Well, you’re that farmer.
    - http://www.hh4law.com Deez Nutz
      
      I’m not sure what you’re advocating. Are you saying that we should all be passionate fans who rise up and stay away? I’m all ears but DTS isn’t. It’s a Utopian dream for a dystopian franchise.
      
      Here’s the problem I have: as a sports fan, effectively you’re following an owner. The Clippers are DTS until he dies. So either we are resigned to hoping DTS dies or we pack up and follow another organization. I’m stupid enough to continue following DTS, as much as I hate his f-ing guts.
- Chandler
  
  hey,
  
  i’ve been checking these threads for a while now… and i’ve got to agree.
  
  maybe take a class in a little optimism as well.
  - TNT57
    
    You are a dope. What exactly are you optimistic about? 30 wins? You make no sense.
    - Chandler
      
      =]
      
      how bout we make a deal. i take a class in coherency, you take a class in optimism!
    - PDP
      
      I’m with you TNT. Optimism for winding up with Gomes, Foye, Butler, and Smith in “the biggest free agency in history” is pretty embarrassing and demoralizing. I don’t care how big of a Clipper fan you are (and I am a huge one), but accepting this and convincing yourselves these were great signings is a complete joke. Stop drinking the kool-aid and realize that this team isn’t going to win much more than 30 games at best.
      
      You guys do remember that before free agency, Olshey said something along the lines of “we have tons of cap room, and we’re going to spend it!” Bet none of you expected the haul of crap we ended up with did you?
      - Chandler
        
        hey, i’m with you on this too PDP…
        I’m not all that happy with the way things turned out with the clippers this free agency. I’m just hoping the moves they made aren’t going to turn into a 30 win season.
        
        What I’m simply trying to say is TNT’s been spitting nothing but negatives here. NOTHING but negatives. Regardless of what the moves were, they are all negative. Regardless of the speculation, NOTHING but negative. It doesn’t hurt to be positive once in a while… hey it might actually be HEALTHY.
    - Chandler
      
      one more thing.
      
      TNT why do you follow this blog so religiously?
http://Clipperblog Alfonse Capone

TNT 57 why so negative ? Your probably not even a real Clipper fan. I know Sterling has an atrocious reputation as a tightfisted owner. But, he still has paid players like Elton Brand and Corey Maggete when the moment was right. I’m sure he’ll pay Gordon and Griffin also. So quit being a hater, peace.
- Steve
  
  It’s not about paying griffin or Gordon, WTF are you talking about? It’s about getting decent players in place with almost 20mm in cash this summer and yet we are basically back to where we were last summer, jeez what a surprisej.
  - Harris
    
    Who were we really supposed to get?
    James??? He already decided 3 years ago where he was going.
    Gay or Johnson- Max contract with same team .., can’t blame clips
    Iggy- we still have a chance mid-season but Philly is not desperate enough to trade him for cap relief right now.
    T-Mac??? He was one of my favorites but I wouldn’t want the young guys to be influenced by his negative behavior when the team hits a rough part in the sched.
    
    So honestly, who were the clips supposed to get???
    
    I think the clips did great, no one expects a championship, hopefully a playoff spot, but realistically, with our youth and inexperienced players plus new coach and system, .500 ball would be great.
    
    From a former Clippers season ticket holder, I say be positive it’s only a game.
    - Martin
      
      Agreed
    - Christian
      
      PREACH
    - VH
      
      Couldn’t agree more. It turned out the the 3 position was the most coveted of free agency. Every available 3 signed for huge amounts of money (often more than their worth *cough* rudy gay *cough cough* joe johnson). There just aren’t that many impact 3s in the league right now. I’m glad we didn’t break the bank trying to get a big name who wouldn’t actually help the team. It wasn’t a perfect offseason but next year we will be right back in the mix with many players signing 1 year deals and the prospect of playing with Griffin hopefully will seem a little more realized for potential FAs.
    - TNT57
      
      ‘BE POSITIVE, IT’S ONLY A GAME’. This should be the slogan for all losing franchises and their fans. Why not, “HEY, IT DOESN’T MATTER IF WE LOSE, IT’S JUST A GAME.” Man, you people are the biggest collection of losers I’ve ever seen. ‘WHO CARES? IT’S JUST A GAME!” Dude, no offense, but I would never want you on my team for anything. OK, I’m Donald Sterling and I’m in my lab creating the perfect Clipper fan. First, I need someone who doesn’t care about winning. Someone who accepts defeat as a way of life. I need someone who is weak minded and too lazy to ever promote change. A person who will not only accept a losing effort but will defend it! If I can create someone like that I’ll become rich beyond imagination. But who would be crazy enough to go along with something like that? Who indeed?
- SamMays
  
  The Clippers are a great team to root for, so long as you don’t have money invested… I had season tix for seven years, from 88-94 and that was a disaster… Once I wised up and stopped buying them, I’ve been very happy as a Clipper fan… There is always plenty of drama. Lots to complain about… When I go to games, I get the tix for about a quarter face value on Ticket Liquidator…
  
  And when you lose, you draft high, which means there’s always hope… I just know Aminu is going to be better than Lebron… All he has to do is learn to dribble, pass and shoot…
  - TNT57
    
    I feel your pain SAM. I finally dumped my season tix this year but I still want the team to win and I’d come back if changes were made. The hardest thing in life is change. Smoking, drinking, drugs, oil, food, pollution etc.etc. We know it’s wrong and it’s bad for us but it’s just so much easier to sit back and do nothing. That’s just about ALL I hear on this blog. I think we’re doomed as a society because as a nation we’ve become apathetic to everything. The situation with the Clippers is a microcosm of society. Ah, it’s just water, who cares! It’s hard to have the ability to think out of the box. To go against what’s easy. It’s scary that nobody else on this blog seems to be able to see that without change nothing will ever be any better than it is right now.
- Clipped
  
  AC, what’s your definition of ‘True Clipper fan’?
  
  A sedated ONE?
- TNT57
  
  I would argue that I’ve spent quite a bit more money supporting this circus that you have. Yeah, what is a true CLIPPER FAN? Somebody that enjoys taking up the rear end year after year? If that’s it, you’re right, I’m not. But maybe it’s someone who wants and demands something better. I love the comment about being more optimistic. Dude, have you been watching this team for the past 30 years? Where do you find anything to be optimistic about? You guys are a bunch of sheep. I feel sad for anyone who accepts such an inferior product and even defends it. Do you enjoy losing? I don’t even understand it anymore.
- TNT57
  
  Bite me. You’re a born loser if you support this owner and the non-moves made this season. I can support the team by fighting for something better. I can’t imagine the mundane, tragic day to day existence of someone who defends this horse shit.
  - http://www.hh4law.com Deez Nutz
    
    So you had season tickets, apparently for years, and something happened this offseason that you think is different from how the franchise has been run for 30 years? I really am not understanding your point at all, assuming you have one. Have you finally rebelled by canceling your tickets, only to promise to repurchase them under DTS’s stewardship assuming you sign off on a move or two? If you were dumb enough to own season tickets to follow DTS’s band of rejects and losers for a number of years, that’s on you, not us. Apparently in your head that gives you more credibility to bitch. To me it just makes you poorer and shows a lack of judgment.
    - TNT57
      
      It’s not that hard to follow DN. I had tix and now I don’t. If the owner sells or decides to actually spend some money on some quality players I would consider coming back. I’m not paying 110 dollars a seat to watch GOMES, COOK, BUTLER etc. Understand? I actually bought tix when the team seemed to be going in the right direction. They had L.O., BRAND, Q RICH, etc and then SAM CASSELL showed up and things got exciting and now we have this pile of castaways. I could draw you a diagram but I can’t. All these promises were made about being aggressive in free agency. Right. I want a team that can compete. What we have now is the NBA equal to the WASHINGTON GENERALS. I won’t pay to watch them get their brains beat out. Will you?
  - PDP
    
    I’m not sure half of these guys watched Rasual play, if you are content with some bonehead jacking up stupid shots time after time, than Rasual is your guy. Yes, he hits some 3s, but you are bound to if you take enough of these idiotic shots.
    
    There seems to be a lot of hate for Baron on this board, but if he had some better teammates that would actually catch some of his passes and make some shots maybe he wouldn’t have to force things so much. Not that I am completely exonerating him for his sins…
    - Josh
      
      Way to be a Baron enabler. Way to
Bring Back Elton Brand

If EB is in a good shape physically and has the desire to play his game, Clippers should talk to Philly. Offer them nothing in return. ‘Cause they don’t want him and have no clue how to use him.
- Newtybar
  
  If BG plans out, there is no need for EBrand (remember there is EBledsoe now)
- Newtybar
  
  plus it was MDsr who knew how to use Brand. He’s no longer here.
neil

avg player for a avg. team Not hard to understand…
Dan S.

Like someone already said, in basketball one guy can have a huge impact. Look at Cleveland without Lebron or the Magic without Dwight Howard. Hopefully The Griffinator can be that guy for us in the near future. It should also be said that teams with good chemistry that play smart can sometimes put together a surprising number of wins even with so-so talent (that Princeton team that beat UCLA in the tournament a few years ago comes to mind), so hopefully the guys can play together.
Clipped

Blake Griffin is a good kid. I wish him well. But I doubt his toughness which is required to last longer in NBA. He wants to do great things but his body is going to be his worst enemy.

Like Shaun Livingston, Griffin might face an uphill battle to survive in NBA.
- acd
  
  wow…that’s hilarious…
Clipped

And this is exactly why Clippers remain a failed franchise. They tend to draft good character guys with soft physique who cannot sustain grueling demands of NBA grinder.

I can remember few: Kandyman, Odom, Korolev, D.Ewing, Livingston, Eric Gordon(the best pick so far) and Griffin.

They tried to draft physically tough kids(Wilcox & Thornton) but forgot to check their skill level.

Most of these happened under Laker loyalist Elgin Baylor. So we can forget about the past for a while.
- griffin
  
  Are u on drugs have u ever seen blake griffin workout hes a beast this guy trains like a marine griffin is gonna open up the double team while leaving kaman and eric gordon open with skill like griffin it will be easier for bledsoe and aminu to quickly develope in the nba they are a playoff team considering u playing against suns with no stoudamare and and steve nash not as good anymore jazz lost boozer so there no going the only ones who have a shot at playoffs this season coming is
  
  Lakers
  Clippers
  Blazers
  nuggets
  Spurs
  Mavs
  thunder
  Hornets and memphis
  
  Houston no way
  Sacremento no good
  Jazz aint the same since they got sober
  Suns lost there shine to the knicks
  Golden state might got it
  Bucks in the shadow
  Wolves havent been wolves since kg so of course clippers have a shot at playoffs when u look at how the western confernce teams are now
  - Petey Pablo
    
    I think the Kings might surprise this year. Or I would not be surprised if they sniffed the playoffs. Their young team ; Tyreke Evans , Demarcus Cousins, and Landry seem hungry and talented.
    
    Jazz and Suns have been counted out the past 2 seasons, yet put together a strong season…
    
    Clearly , LA needs to put in work .
  - Newtybar
    
    Houston got close last year without Yao, so why no way?
    Sacramento is going to suprise. Cousins is a beast.
    Jazz are definitely in the running. They have Al Jefferson now.
    Suns got Childress and Hedo, I think they will be in the mix as well.
    Golden State looking solid too…
    
    West is still very deep.
    - Clipper Derrick
      
      Didn’t Houston lose Luis Scola? Thats a big loss…
      - Bongstradamus
        
        No he resigned with the Rockets
    - griffin
      
      Yes im back and yes typo with bucks but who cares kings time has pass just like lakers after this season to become shadows of younger teams but i admit kings are doing something now but dont expect a playoff appearance suns have childress and hedo but there lacking decent players beside them oh and nash but not enough jazz seriously don t make me choke for laughing al jefferson is one good guy not good enough houston sprockets yao ming dont want to play no more
  - VH
    
    Hard to see your reasoning there. If the Jazz don’t make the playoffs it would be a huge surprise. and the Bucks play in the east…
  - TNT57
    
    I’ll bet you a thousand dollars that the CLIPPERS don’t make the playoffs. Right here. We’ll have it witnessed. You are nuts. It’s this insane thinking that allows this nightmare to continue year after year after…. well, you know. You just completely ignore reality and …”Hey, man, this Clipper team is stoked for the playoffs. We have some great character guys man. No basketball players! But some really solid citizens. ” Every time I think I’ve read the dumbest thing possible I scroll down this blog. Wow.
http://www.firedunleavy.com FD

Clippers have a chance if you want to blame Dunleavy. If Baron, Kaman, and Gordon all play great now that the Dunce is gone, it will be a good team. The golden state BD, plus an improved gordon, will make a big difference. Add blake griffin and they have a shot if the chemistry is there. Only question is what does BD have left. I reallly dont’ know either way, but I’m not expecting much.
- Bongstradamus
  
  If Baron becomes a pass first guard we could have a pretty decent year.
Petey Pablo

Eric Gordon played well in the USA scrimmage game on saturday. He made a few threes and made some strong drives to the rim that resulted in free throws. Oh and a couple of dunks off of a steal and fast break.

He did not look hesitant to make a play or to shoot . I am expecting the offense to go through EG , Kaman and BG with BD having more of a facilitator role.

Without BG this squad ( more or less ) played .500 for the first half of last season. And that was with Ricky Davis, Telfair and Thornton sucking off the bench.
- Josh
  
  That was with Marcus Camby,
  - Petey Pablo
    
    I left out Marcus Camby. I am assuming that BG replaces most of the rebounds with a little more offense.
    - Josh
      
      It’s not just rebounds. It’s being a captain and free safety on D that comes with length, experience, effort, and defensive intelligence. There’s one other player who offers this value more than Camby, and it’s Kevin Garnett. Look at the Celtics D when KG is out, and look at the Clippers D before and after Camby. Watching him play for a half of a year, and then watching Drew Gooden the next half, I saw a .500 team go to a .250 team, even though the PF was putting up better numbers. But the team D went to hell.
      
      I presume Blake will be smarter and work harder on D than Gooden, and he’ll more than make up the difference in scoring and rebounding that he will be a net positive. But that goes to how much I like BG, because Camby offered a massive difference in D and professionalism. Rubbed off on Kaman and Baron too.
      
      I can only hope Blake’s energy, effort, and enthusiasm rubs off on everyone.
ryan

I agree that there is no way we should have overspent on the 3rd and 4th tier players. We knew we were a long shot to get Lebron but took our chance to get him. After that, there was no reason to overspend on guys like Travis Outlaw. It became a players market the second Lebron, Wade, Bosh teamed up. Alot of cash to spend and not enough players looking to move. So we were wise not to overspend.

The only thing I wish we would’ve done different is sign T-Mac. I don’t think he has the bad attitude everyone has started to say he has. But, who knows, it’s not like we were there at the workout. He didn’t show a ton of promise with the Knicks and there’s no way to know what kind of player he is now. If he comes back strong i’ll be really sad we didn’t offer him something good, but more than likely he’ll be a normal role player and I’ll realize it wasn’t the end of the world that we signed Rasual over him.

I still feel like we need to target a decent SF some way. We really don’t have a pure SF on the team. Aminu can’t shoot and is a PF in a SF body. Gomes is a SF in a PF body. Rasual is a SG. To make matters worse, as much as I love Gordon (he’s one of my fav players), he is a small SG so we need a little more length at SG too. Our 2 backup SGs are hybrid pg/sgs (Foye and Warren, and Bledsoe for that matter).

My 2 cents
- Five O
  
  I love Gordon’s game Ryan but I agree some length at the two would be good. Aside from Rasual who can play the two we have a bunch of 6’3″ to 6’4″ guys. They are sturdy and strong but no length. Perhaps this is something we can get in next years draft.
  - ryan
    
    thats exactly why i wish we signed tmac. we have the cap space. I wouldn’t even mind signing him to start at sf and let butler back up gordon at the 2. slide foye over to back up baron at the point and let bledsoe learn the ropes for a year. Then we can have 14 players, we can let willie warren not dress like we did with brian skinner all those games. He’s still young and we can afford to let him develop.
Chandler

meh. butler…

tmac would have been entertaining.

its going to be a LONG time til season starts.
joeluis

IF… that’s a big ‘IF’ baron comes in golden state shape, we’re playoff bound no matter what.

Im not mad nor dissapointed when clips didnt get t-mac nor r gay nor any of the big freeagents. the frustration came in when we didnt aproached barnes nor j kapono both frm UCLA and would’ve loved to be back to LALAland.

I’d take this team over last years anytime.
gordon looking better and better every year,
Griffin back , should be exciting to watch what he can do. also bledso is as exciting as they come.
Davis has a fresh start a fresh canvas with this yourgsters in his tail coming from Africa trip where he plomised he’ll be better at what he does.
VDN in command. This team needs motivation and i’ve heard vnd is good at it so we’lll see.
and finally, hopefully Kaman shot as many jumpers as he could last season and is fed up of that Sh.. and again , hopefully is mentally ready to play ball.

All that’s left is to hope for a better season than last like always. and if we’re thinking long term results, we should start thinking about melo?
- http://www.firedunleavy.com FD
  
  I agree it’s a big ‘IF’, and I don’t think it will happen, but there’s a chance (I’m not about to buy season tickets on it either). We’ve really never seen these Clipper players with good chemistry and motivated.
Matt

Great for depth, but we still have massive hole at the starting SF position – and Ryan Gomes isn’t a quality starter.
NRM

DAMN i wish we kept Camby. I think getting rid of him was Dunleavy’s final fu*k you to DTS. He mustve known what was going to happen.
jmay

We have to hope fragile Gordon gets cut from the Team USA tryouts. That’s all we need is him getting hurt.
Acim1234

Anybody seen Kaman’s new video? I was like the 5th view.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Au008ZqKbyc
- Chandler
  
  wow
Isaac

Are you all insane?? This team is now worse than it was last year at this time. The debate was whether or not Rasual Butler could steal the starting spot from Al Thornton for christ sakes. Rasual Butler is a Me-first guy, and seems to have a terrible relationship with Eric Gordon. Butler was the ultimate guy taking ill-advised shots so he could get his stats up and get a good contract this off-season.

T-mac wouldve been a 10x better pick up then Butler. I’d rather have ryan gomes in.. at least he could body up bigger guys. Butler is a turnstyle on defense and his offense only shows up about once every five games.

HIRE KEVIN PRITCHARD NOW
TNT57

I can answer the first question. YES. They are insane? Pathetic is more like it. Do you think we swept in and stole Butler out from under some other team? NOBODY WANTED HIM! He is the definition of a streak shooter. And mostly he’s cold. Again, a guy with no swagger or attitude. I’d rather have MATT BARNES out there biting off peoples ears and stirring things up than Butler jogging down and launches 3′s. Here’s why we got him and most of you guys should appreciate this…HE WAS EASY! CHEAP AND EASY! In fact, that should be the new team motto…CLIPPERS…CHEAP AND EASY.
- http://www.firedunleavy.com FD
  
  I wouldn’t call this years team worse. Getting rid of Dunleavy is a big plus. Gordon is 1 year older and maybe he’ll get better instead of what happened last year. Also, the season hasn’t started yet, there could be more changes to come.
AlandAl

So we are now full of guys, who can hit 3′s but we have only 2 centers…if Kaman goes down, who will cover DeAndre…Cook???
Dump Davis

Baron Davis has been the worst point guard in the league for the last two years. He’s a terrible shooter. He’s slow and lazy and can’t play defense. He can’t remember plays. How can anybody realistically think that this season he’s somehow going to be good?

The Clippers have been pushing a PR pipedream about Davis. They want fanas to think Davis is a star. Forget it. There is no foundation for it. It’s all smoke and fantasy. Wake up.

Why do you think Golden State refused to match the Clippers offer for him? Because they knew first hand what he’s really like, and they wanted nothing else to do with him. Now after two years here, Clipper fans understand that first hand too.

The only hope the Cli[ppers have is to dump him before he contaminates the young upcoming stars.
mattv

TNT I am sick of your bitching on every thread. They made a run at Lebron, rid themselves of a bad coach, and they didnt overpay any free agents. The team has a young core and we own rights to a Min lottery pick. We also have a lot of financial flexibility. This is all positive.
- http://www.sportsciencelab.com pez
  
  second all of this
  - ryan
    
    especially now that twolves have thrown away all their best this year. seriously, i was frustarted with dunleavey…look at what khan is doing in minny. this pick from minny is gonna be sweet! is it unprotected? #1 hear i come…harrison barnes!
- TNT57
  
  I don’t care what you say. I’m right period. They made a run at Lebron?! REALLY? How do you figure? Lebron made them look like chumps and EVERYBODY except you knew he was never coming here. I’ve heard that ‘young core’ jazz forever and it’s just as tired today as it was 20 years ago. Just answer me this genius. How is wanting the team to do the right thing bitching? You’re obviously a born loser with a born loser’s mentality. Tell me how this summer was positive? We didn’t get any better. Oh wait, Sterling got richer. Is that what you mean? Bah! Hear that MATT? That’s the rest of the sheep being called to the ticket window. You better hurry, you don’t want to miss Brian Cook’s debut.
  - http://www.johnpezzetti.com Pez
    
    Wanting the team to do the right thing is not bitching…Bitching is bitching, and you are bitching. Constantly.
    - TNT57
      
      Your so sensitive PEZ. Chill out boy. It’s just a sports rant.
closstastic

Sure, Baron’s a chucker. Look beyond that, and you’ve got a pretty good point guard.

However, the problem we had last year is he had three options:

1) Drive and score/dish out to Hobbitt
2) Pick n’ Roll w/ Kaman
3) Shoot

The first two options only work when he’s feeling 100%. If his back is bugging him, there’s no way he’s going with plan 1 or 2.

Thus, bringing the ball up slowly against the zone left him with…. LUCKY NUMBER 3.

Baron wasn’t left with many options to create. The addition of Griffin as a scoring threat should space the D a bit more. If Aminu can consistently sink that outside shot, I think we’ll see a solid playoff team. However, from all appearances that development is still a year away.

Hopefully Gomes can be that guy instead, but it may have to be Butler.
- JaySee
  
  He had option 4, let “Hobbit” run the pnr with Kaman. Option 5 let Gordon’s shooting or drive draw the defense. On man defense he could dump it into Kaman.
Wet Fart

Listen up, FOOLS! The Clippers never had a chance to sign LBJ/Wade/Bosh and Johnson/Gay/Amare/Lee/Outlaw/Gooden/etc were all way overpriced. A bad contract is the worst thing that can happen to your team. Be THANKFUL that the Clippers didn’t sign one of those CHUMPS to a multi-year deal. The Clips have to build this team like OKC – from the draft. Free agents don’t want to play for Donald Sterling, so you gotta draft them. Kaman/Davis/Griffin/Butler/Gordon is good for 37 wins… no playoffs… enjoy the season.

Sterling will die in seven years. Until then the Clippers will win an average of 30-40 games a season and make the playoffs once or maybe twice. Book it.
- http://www.hh4law.com Deez Nutz
  
  Concur all the way around. That’s our future – deal with it.
clippafan4life

Last season our bench played well and our starters weren’t very impressive. I think our bench is still good and the starters still won’t work. We should’ve added a scorer because all baron is really good for these days is creating shots for other guys. Gordon and Kaman aren’t going to offensively murder you, most games they can put up good numbers but by themselves don’t amount to much. We needed a free agent scorer and got nothing. Blake Griffin isn’t going to answer our scoring problems, seeing as how all great players are flocking to the same teams (lakers, celtics, heat) teams like the clippers will be the last on the list for free agents. Pat Riley has pull and got players we have nothing and will continue to have nothing.
SamMays

I think it’s interesting that Butler was resigned AFTER Olshey got a good look at Aminu in summer league… Basically, he came to the conclusion that the guy is going to be useless this season and will possibly be a Korolev-type bust and he’d better get another SF fast.

If Aminu looked even remotely servicable, Butler isn’t resigned and those minutes go to the rookie…
- SJ
  
  Not quite. It’s a one year deal and an admittance that Aminu isn’t ready THIS year but may next. And if he does magically come around, then there’s no harm done casting Butler aside. Decent move just not earth shattering either way.
- TNT57
  
  Another draft day screw up.
joeluis

Prior to signing butler i was under the impression that we were going to sign T-mac due to the fact that he would’ve sold more tix. sign him for one year and if he doesnt work out we bench him. No harm no foul. He either must’ve Sucked at tryouts real bad for us not to even consider him or he prob asked for Max salary to play for clippers , i wouldn’t doubt it. lol
- TNT57
  
  He never wanted to play for the Clippers and was using them to get to the Bulls. Do you read the newspaper or ESPN.com?
  - Chris McD
    
    Well, looks like he isn’t going to the Bulls either.
    
    http://www.cbssports.com/mcc/blogs/entry/22748484/23457304
AlandAl

Great news with the possible Blakely signing, but from a whole at SF we end up with 4 SF’s…they overdid it a bit! We need another center!!!!

PG – Baron / Bledsoe / Warren
SG – Gordon / Foye / Butler
SF – Gomes / Butler / Aminu / Blakely
PF – Griffin / Smith / Aminu / Cook
C – Kaman / Jordan
- SJ
  
  The Blakely deal is reportedly only partially guaranteed, so he’s essentially on an extended tryout.
  
  I agree we do need a center.
  
  Too bad we couldn’t swing the Sessions/Hollins deal that the Cavs made.
eddie mack

As reported by DraftExpress, Marqus Blakely is is signing a two year partially guaranteed contract with the Los Angeles Clippers.In his senior year with Vermont Catamounts, the forward averaged 17.3ppg and 9.3rpg.
TNT57

I realize I’m the most hated voice on this blog. That’s cool. Dissent and change is hard and it’s always easier to accept the way things are and not rock the boat. I get that, I do. It’s so obvious to me now that the Clippers will remain an inferior team because nobody is demanding they be anything else. When the Lakers slipped a few years ago Kobe demanded they be better. Chris Paul is demanding the Hornets do more to become a power. Not one Clipper player has said a word. They just quietly slip away when the opportunity presents itself. I seem to be the only one on this blog demanding that things need to change. I have always been an independent thinker and have never run with the crowd. I feel like if everybody is thinking one thing there’s a pretty good chance that it’s wrong. All I know is you guys will never have the team you dream about as long as you continue to go along with the way things are now. Change takes rebellion. As far as I can see there aren’t many rebels on this blog. Mediocrity is like a warm bath and it’s easy just to soak in it until you just drift off to sleep for another 10 or 20 years of nothingness. I honestly don’t care if I annoy you people because I’ll never let myself accept inferiority as a way of life. Supporting this awful off season is crazy to me. Defending it is unthinkable. The year we had Sam I Am and we nearly beat the Suns to go to the Western finals was the most fun I’ve ever had as a sports fan. I watched a team, players and fans all unite as one force and it was very emotional to stand in Staples and feel that power and energy. Look how fast and how far we’ve fallen in that short amount of time. So many bone headed decisions made by men who I believe aren’t qualified. We need a real GM. Someone with a history of success. Why wasn’t Sam Cassell brought back as an assistant coach? I watched him on the sidelines this summer and it gave me goosebumps. His excitement is contagious and exactly what these young players need to see and hear every day. He could have recruited better players to come here based on his own career and his personality. I would pay just watch him roam the sidelines every night. I just wish someone had a vision for something great instead of throwing together all these disjointed parts. Signing Brian Cook means nothing in itself, but it means everything in the message it sends not only to us but to these young players. It means we’ve given up. There must be 50 players out there better than Cook, but we jumped in and signed this guy before Summer league began. Messages. I just think we can do better. And that’s all I’ll say so you guys can get back to pumping each other up about how great this season is going to be. I just can’t go along with it. Out.
- http://www.sportsciencelab.com pez
  
  You’d rather have players who complain publicly about being clippers…you’re rebelling against a blog…Cassell has a job already + del negro brings energy (and maybe not much else)…I can’t disagree with you about the cook signing.
  
  I think the Clippers did a good job not giving any terrible contracts, they added a couple of guys that will help and whose contracts are quite tradeable…they had an offer to one of the few SFs available who could’ve helped (miller)…on the other hand they let some guys (childress imho) pass who could’ve helped.
  
  I mean, really–this ‘best FA ever’ was pretty much just a handful of guys, and outside of the miami three most got more $$$ than they’re worth.
  
  I guess after thinking it through I only disagree with you about 70% TNT. If you really want to rebel and make change then start mailing your blog comments to DTS.
  - TNT57
    
    Another dope is heard from. Sam could have been hired BEFORE he had a job. Did I really have to point that out? ESPN says the Clippers spent the summer reconstructing the 2008 Timberwolves and you’re satisfied. Enough said about you. And I guess I missed it when you were elected King of the blog. Enjoy those Timberwolves.
  - TNT57
    
    PEZ you make my point perfectly. You don’t expect or demand anything better than what you have right now. You can’t if you disagree with 70 percent of my post because the post was 100 percent about accepting shit and then acting grateful to have it. Either you don’t understand English or you have a very poor ability to comprehend the things you read.
- Chris McD
  
  Same here. There are the rare times that I agree with you, and you are a very intelligent and highly informed fan, but your anger and frustration are really misdirected. It’s understandable. You were a season ticket holder for a long time. But you only comment when you have something negative to say, and never seem to regard anything positive.
  - TNT57
    
    Tell me one thing that happen this summer to be excited about? One signing that gets you amped up about the future? What universe are you guys living in? And please stop with the anger comments. I save my anger for stupid wars and Presidents named Bush. Sports isn’t about anger. I’m frustrated and there is a difference. And you’re right, I am intelligent. That’s why I recognize a scam when I see it. I always tell my writing partner that it’s hard to live in the world if you’re smart. I mean look around at some of the mutants walking around a mall on any given afternoon. But being smart and patrolling this blog is a real test of patience. But, it’s clear that you folks need a guiding voice so I’ll suck it up and do the best I can. Seriously, some of you guys make the WWE crowd look like Ivy league scholars.
    - TNT57
      
      OK here. I’m looking forward to seeing Blake Griffin. That was positive. Of course, it was held over from last season, but it was positive. Seriously, what happened that was good this summer? I’m dying to hear it. And NOT spending money that isn’t OURS doesn’t count.
  - TNT57
    
    CHRIS. How am I misdirected talking about the Clippers on the Clipper blog? See? This is the stuff that can drive a thinking man crazy. Should I comment about my feelings towards the Clipper management on the Laker blog? Jeesh!
BTip

Anyone else feel like the Clips should pick up Taylor Griffin as a bench player to keep Griffin happy so that he hopefully wont ditch out when his contract expires? I know it is far off, but it seems like everyone runs away or is run off be less than amicable decisions…
- EricGordonsAnkleBrace
  
  I think we should just pay for Taylor Griffins rogaine. That kind gesture may do the trick.
  - BTip
    
    That should do the trick as well, haha.
http://Clipperblog TNT

I rest my case. Yikes.
Moist Tushy

I agree with “Wet Fart” — I’m glad the Clips didn’t pick up Rudy Gay or Joe Johnson for 6 years, $120 million or whatever the f-ck. Sure we didn’t sign any free agents — this is the CLIPPERS! We need to get better in the draft until Sterling bites the dust.
- TNT57
  
  Me too. I’m thrilled we didn’t pick up ANY high caliber players this summer. Seriously? You actually wrote that sentence? How has your draft strategy worked out so far? BTW, this organization has the WORST track record in drafting top 10 talent in the history of sports. The list of ALL-Star players they’ve passed on in the past 15 years boggles the mind. Now the strategy is to wait for Sterling to die? Clipper’s new slogan…”COME PLAY FOR THE CLIPS, OUR OWNER COULD DIE ANY MINUTE!” Actually, that’s not bad.
  - http://www.johnpezzetti.com Pez
    
    >>COME PLAY FOR THE CLIPS, OUR OWNER COULD DIE ANY MINUTE!” Actually, that’s not bad.
    
    LOL that’s good…
    
    I’m not trying to antagonize you TNT….I just get enough complaining IRL & I don’t remember you always posting such adament displeasure.
    
    Don’t worry I don’t take posts personally, I just disagree with your outlook–I really do. It’s not about accepting mediocrity, it’s about agreeing with most of the Clips offseason moves. Most, not all.
  - Moist Tushy
    
    You want Joe Johnson for $120 million? Really? That’s one of the worst contracts in the league right now. Which FA contract that was signed this summer would you have wanted? Don’t say LeBron/Wade/Bosh/Amare… be realistic. I agree with “Wet Fart” 100%.
John M.

Nice firework video w/Kaman. That’s good Chris – come back this season with 1 eye, 7 fingers, and a ruptured eardrum – way to condition during the off season…

Co-Founder & Publisher:	Kevin Arnovitz
Co-Founder & CTO:	Michael Fiske
Executive Editor:	D.J. Foster
Managing Editor:	Andrew Han
Senior Contributors:	Jordan Heimer
	Fred Katz
	Breene Murphy
Staff Writers:	Jovan Buha
	Patrick James

Clippers sign Rasual Butler

ClipperBlog Contributors:

Live Twitter Feeds:

Your ClipperBlog Contributors:

Clippers Twitters:

Clipperblog Feed

Preserving the Loy Vaught legacy...

Calendar

Recent Posts

Archives

Old Archives

External Links

Pages

The Tag Cloud

Recent Comments

July 2010
M	T	W	T	F	S	S
« Jun				Aug »
			1	2	3	4
5	6	7	8	9	10	11
12	13	14	15	16	17	18
19	20	21	22	23	24	25
26	27	28	29	30	31