The Clippers Podcast: At the Break

23 Feb 2012

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We take stock of the Clippers.

Chris Paul and Blake Griffin are very different kinds of stars.
How’s Vinny Del Negro faring? That depends on what you’re rating.
Neil Olshey has emerged as a heavy favorite for Executive of the Year.
The early returns on Kenyon Martin have been favorable.

While you’re at it, please go to the podcast page and subscribe: http://espn.go.com/los-angeles/radio/archive?id=7548394

Mike from Hacienda Heights

Mike Smith grew up in a town called Hacienda Heights.

Hacienda Heights is also the hometown of international recording artist Fergie.

Hacienda Heights also happens to be the hometown of Scott Williams, who was the backup PF on the 1st Chicago Bulls three-peat team.

Hacienda Heights has produced some of the sexiest, most respected people in the history of humankind. In the latest issue of Forbes Magazine, Hacienda Heights was listed as the #1 city in America to grab a beer.

Mike Smith represents Hacienda Heights with pride, dignity and integrity.

Genetically, Mike Smith is perfect. Absolutely flawless.

His deep voice makes the ladies go “goo goo gah gah”.

His perfectly gelled hair makes Rogaine users believe that one day, they too can have perfect hair like Mike Smith one day.

During his prime, Mike Smith was the Employee Of The Month at Hot Dog On A Stick. For 7 consecutive months!!!!!!!! Till this day, that is a Guinness World Record.

Mike Smith is arguably the best commentator that professional sports has ever seen or heard.

All I can say is, I want to be like Mike!
- sreppilcal
  
  i totally disagree! i have nothing against mike smith as a person, but he is a terrible commentator!
  
  Brian Sieman should take his spot! he doesn’t try to coach the players or give advice over the air like mike smith but Brian Sieman just does play by play.
  - Chris McD.
    
    Brian Sieman is great. Love it when he says, “Send that young man to the line!” I only ever get to follow games on the radio, so I listen to him a lot.
    - Tim
      
      Ok, Mike Smith is a nice enough guy and all. His Larry Bird stories are tired. I mute the games, because I don’t need the Me oh My’s or the Bingos, and I certainly don’t gain any knowledge from Mr. Smith although he’s a nice enough guy. I used to tune in, just to hear the brilliance of Bill Walton, and would love for him to return. The Clippers have upgraded in just about every area of the organization, maybe its time to upgrade the color announcer as well. Smith has all the enthusiasm of a side-line, pre-game, post-game guy, but during the game, I need a little more knowledge and creditability, and Sieman fails the creditability test, just like Smith. What have these guys ever accomplished on the basketball court? Nothing!
      - sreppilcal
        
        agree…time for change.
        
        Bye mike smith
        
        Keep Ralph he was always a clip!
  - DeMote DeAndre
    
    No, Brian Sieman should not take Mike Smith’s spot. Sieman is good doing the radio but he’s too overblown to do the TV commentary. Radio play by play is “big” because the announcer is painting a picture in the listeners head of what’s going on. On TV, the announcing is “small” because the picture is carrying the action through the viewers’ eyes into their heads . The announcer just fills in. I often watch it muted because the announcer often just gets in the way.
    
    Besides, the Mike Smith role has to be done by somebody who’d been a player in the NBA. Without NBA experience, that role loses crediblity.
    
    The main problem with Brian Sieman and all of the Clipper boradcasters is that they lose so much credibilty by always trying to sell the audience that DeAndre Jordan is good when in fact he’s nothing but a mediocre second stringer. It’s the same thing they did with Baron Davis.
    
    Chick Hearn never did that stuff. He told it like it was and that’s why the fans liked him. The Clipper announcer have for so long tried to cultivate the image of a lovable loser that it’s become ingrained in them. Has to stop.
griffin

Idk about all that stuf but best commentator isn’t one of them I believe its the guy sitting next to him saying bingo! Oh me oh my
Mario

If the Clippers were to trade for Dwight Howard, they too were be surprised at how good he is…
mike lipert

I would love to see one of these guys in a clipper jersey. Sean livingston ray Allen landry fields Steven Jackson Marvin Williams Tracy mcgrady. I believe all are possible canidates for the 2/3 spots. Come on Neil olshey another move needs to be made!
Lob Angelino

Was anyone there for opening night at home I believe? The production value was so awful it was funny! They called out the wrong names as players were introduced, the music stopped working, and it was literally so “clippers”

I thought it would be a bad omen for things to come this season, but thankfully not.
DeMote DeAndre

Olshey has to initiate trade talks with other GMs at the all star game. He has to get something going with Orlando.

Howard’s best destination is the Clippers. The Nets are a lowly team. They’re in last place in the Atlantic division and they have the fourth worst record in the entire NBA, which is especially basd since the three teams with worst records are mindbogglingly bad. All in all, the Nets are terrible.

The Clippers are in first place in the Pacific division and ahvwe the third best record in the West.

There is no sensible reason at all why Howard should rather go to the Nets than the Clippers. If Howard goes to the Clippers, they become the best team in the NBA for years. Not so if he goes to the Nets.

Since Howard should go to the Clippers, then Olshey should be fired if he doesn’t get it done.

It doesn’t make any difference what Orlando wants back that the Clippers may not have to give (draft picks, Bynum). All that matters is the Howard can dictate where he ends up. That means Oralndo will have to take the best deal they can get from the Clippers . . . probably DeAndre Jordan, Mo Williams, Caron Butler and a future draft choice for Dwight Howard and Hedo Turkoglu.
- bongstradamus
  
  You bitch about DJ’s contract and then want to trade into Hedo? Dude, there’s seriously no hope at all for you.
  
  Do you actually watch games or just read a box score?
- http://clipperblog.com CAKid
  
  I agree in that to make Howard trade happen it will cost us Caron Butler. But we must get a 2 and/or 3 from Orlando but who do we want? The loss of Mo would be huge. Hedo contact is a bust but can you see any other way it could happen? I almost think a 3rd team would need to be involved.
- http://Lou Dallas
  
  Howard will go nowhere.
- dont feed the trolls
  
  please dont feed the trolls. thank you.
http://www.800loanmart.com/ ClipsFan

The All-Star game is going to present opportunities for the Clippers on the management level. Griffin and Paul are two different kinds of stars, but Griffin has not even been in the league a full two season. Chris Paul is working out great so far with the Clippers, however VDN can make some critical decision that are out of the players control, but ultimately the players end up paying some of the price.
Vankov

Hello guys, I’m having trouble subscribing (via iTunes) to the Clippers Podcast. Clicking the link relates me to the general ESPN podcast page and I can’t find the podcast there. What am I doing wrong? I’m new to the podcast world, so sorry for the (probably) dumb question.

Thanks in advance!
- D.J. Foster
  
  I’ll check with Kevin and see — will let you know.
Mario

Blake Griffin, Deandre Jordan, and Mo Williams for Dwight Howard, Ryan Anderson (quality stretch four), and Jameer Nelson

Howard, Anderson, CP3…drool….
- WC
  
  Are you on drugs?
RL

You guys need to stop with the DH12 / CP3 combo. Not going to happen. Team will more or less stay the same for the rest of the season. Only moves I can see happening is using the trade exception and/or future picks to bolster our weak bench. Dorrell Wright of the Warriors can fill the backup 2 or 3 very nicely, and he is a perfect fit with the $3.8 million exception when the Clips sent Aminu to the Hornets. I can also see the Clippers shipping off Gomes plus 2nd round picks for Terrence Williams of the Rockets. Both teams seem to have an excess of wing players, and may find future 2nd round picks (plus a little salary cap relief in the case of GSW) enticing enough to trade for their excess wing player.
Word On The Streets

Word on the streets is that

Ray Allen
Jason Terry
Keith Bogans
Leandro Barbosa
Matt Barnes
Jason Kidd
Kirk Hinrich
C.J. MIles
Mickael Pietrus
Deshawn Stevenson
Carlos Delfino
Andre Miller
Shannon Brown

are all Unrestricted Free Agents this summer.

Word on the streets is that the Los Angeles Clippers will acquire at least 2 of the players from this list during the offseason.
- Tim
  
  I’m hearing you word on the streets. Here’s the deal though. I’m ok with checking out whats out there for the off-season and all. However, if that team down the hall starts making moves prior to the trade-deadline, then I’m not going to be ok with sitting around until the off-season. We need help now, and its well documented whats needed. Olshey neeeds to stop the bleeding, because we have an open cut thats bleeding profusely at the 2 spot! I’m not a GM, so I don’t know what all he can do about it, but we need an NBA caliber starting 2 guard, and some more offensive punch off the bench. If Olshey does nothing, and Kupcake makes enough moves, we could lose hold of 1st place, and I’m tired of waiting for my Pacific Division banner! Lower than 1st place is not an option, and I don’t care about the big picture, my goals are 1st place, and advancing deep into the playoffs, and a shocker would be to reach the Finals, but with the right moves, all goals are possible. Sitting on our hands, while others make deals to improve is unacceptable.
  - dont feed the trolls
    
    you can’t base all of your decisions on what another team is doing. a lot has to be said about olshey’s patience in the past and how it’s paying off now. its easy for us as fans to get sucked into filling in missing pieces as soon as possible, but olshey wants to win just as badly as us, and i think he’s earned our trust for now.
- RL
  
  Andre Miller and Blake Griffin on the same team?… Awk-ward….
- Old Skool Clip Fan
  
  I would love to see Shannon Brown at the 2! But that can’t happen until after the season is over, unfortunately…
- DeMote DeAndre
  
  Ho-hum to everybody on that list.
  
  If Howard stays in Orlando the rest of this season, then he is the only person of interest for the Clippers in next summers free agency.
DeMote DeAndre

For all of you Baron Davis fans . . .

Davis has been back for three games with the Knicks. Here’s his line for the three game total:
1- 12 from the floor, 1-7 from three land, 1-2 in free throws, twice as many turnovers as points.

One of the threes he chucked up accidentally went in (as would occasionally happen when he was here). That is the sole basket he made in all three of his games.

Sure is too bad he’s gone. Sure woud be too bad if DeAndre Jordan would go in a trade for Howard.
DeMote DeAndre

Turkoglu is bad but if taking him is the only way the Clippers can get Howard, then it’s worth it. Anything that will put Howard at center along with Griffin and Paul is worth it because it will mean a long string of championships.

The current Clipper team with woefully inadequate DeAndre Jordan at center is not getting out of the first round. The Clippers will be the only team in the first round of the West with an inadequate center and they will get pummelled inside because of it . . . on offense and defense.

It may be true that Howard stays the year on Orlando, but Olshey has to make the best pitch to the Magic that he can. If he doesn’t he should be fired.
Word On The Streets

Word on the streets is that

Rudy Fernandez
Brandon Rush
Courtney Lee
Eric Gordon
O.J. Mayo
Sam Young
Landry Fields
Bill Walker
Jodie Meeks
Nicolas Batum
Danny Green

are all RESTRICTED Free Agents this summer.

With our current roster, the only expiring contracts we have going into this offseason are those of Billups, K Mart, Foye, Reggie Evans and Brian Cook. Basically, this means that if we stand pat, we will have about $10 million of cap room going into next season.

With only $10 million to spend, we would most likely not be able to sign any of the above Restricted Free Agents without also losing Bilups and K Mart.

But let’s say we do not stand pat, and let’s say we make a hypothetical trade of Mo Williams + Eric Bledsoe for Ray Allen.

This trade would slightly weaken our bench for the remainder of this season, but it would also free us of Mo Williams’ $8.5 million contract going into next season. Basically, this means that if we traded Mo Will + Eric Bledsoe for Ray Allen, we will have about $18.5 million of cap room going into next season.

This would make the Clippers one of the teams with the most cap room going into next season. And it would allow us to offer any of the above Restricted Free Agents a contract that their current teams couldn’t match.

And we would also be able to bring back Chauncey and K Mart.

In fact, we would probably still have some money left over to acquire another Unrestricted Free Agent or two.

Word on the streets is that a Mo Will + Eric Bledsoe for Ray Allen deal just might happen before the trade deadline.
- Word On The Streets
  
  Word on the streets is that we could also amnesty Ryan Gomes next season.
  
  This means that if we pulled off a Mo Will + Eric Bledsoe for Ray Allen trade before the deadline, and if we also amnestied Gomes at the beginning of next year, we would have about $22.5 million of cap room for next season.
  
  This would give us enough cap space to sign a max-deal player.
  
  Word on the streets is that if all of these events really took place, the Clippers would have the most cap room out of any NBA team for next year.
  - AH
    
    You’re talking about the proposed cap strategy from Bill Simmons. Clips would not have $22.5mil in cap room.
    
    The approx. cap number for next year would be similar to this year: ~$58-60mil. Trading for Ray Allen and amnestying Gomes would put the Clippers at ~$44mil which would give them ~$14mil in cap room.
    
    Here’s a link to updated salaries and year-to-year breakdowns:
    http://www.hoopsworld.com/los-angeles-clippers-team-salary
Adam

Why has there been basically no discussion of DeAndre Jordan’s lackluster play? You would think he would have spent some time in the off-season practicing some sort of offensive game, but apparently not. He is a total albatross on offense. And anyone who watches the games will admit that his rebounding and defense skills are vastly overrated.
- nick
  
  its demote in disguise!
DeMote DeAndre

That would clear up enough room to sign Howard. That is what it should be used for. . . if the Clippers can’t trade for him this season.
Metal Matty

Some cool dunks but Kenny Smith’s painful theatrics at the Slam Dunk contest were not good. Time to stop gearing the All-Star break events entirely toward Generation Dumbass.

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The Clippers Podcast: At the Break

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