Clippers hire Bob Ociepka

Not crazy at all about this guy he worked for Bill Fitch,Again Bill Fitch(93-96) I hope he learned a lot since then,on the other hand he had a few years under Larry Brown(Detroit 2001-2003) but still he odesn’t seem like much of a defensive coach. I’m trying to be positive but how is this guy any better then Demopoulos they both worked for Nate Mcmillan yet I think Demopoulos had more input on defense.

If Bill Fitch can win an NBA title, then our guy Vinny has a fighting chance! Fitch-chy led 2 different teams to the NBA championship round. The talent makes the coach, and when you are coaching, The Dream and Larry Legend, you’re going to be coaching for titles, regardless of what offense you’re executing. My guess is,with Vinny coaching CP3, Blake, when its all said and done, you’ll be able to draw Bill Fitch like comparisons, and I gives a damn, just get me that ring, thank you!

The Clippers seem to be going for a system that emphasizes entirely on offense where defense doesn’t exist. In fact, the only players that are going to be responsible for defense lies on the four and five positions, particularly Blake Griffin, DeAndre Jordan, Lamar Odom, Ryan Hollins and Ronny Turiaf. Grant Hill and Eric Bledsoe are the only exceptions (Hill plays small forward, Bledsoe is point guard).

If you look at the Lakers, their system completely relies on defense. Every player is responsible for guarding his position. Role players are non-existent, for when Phil Jackson implemented the triangle, it allowed for all positions to play a bit of point guard. Vinny supposedly seems to notice this, so his primary objective is to allow their players to play their proper roles and to their strengths without being forced to play taken out of their position (case in point, Jamal Crawford). The problem is, Vinny does not know how to do this properly.

We really won’t know what Bob Ociepka’s play of defense. So all we can really do is wait until October when preseason hits.

So far this off season, the Clippers have signed three players who are better centers than DeAndre Jordan. Certainly a step in the right direction.

I still want the Clippers to trade fro Howard but even if they don’t, starting Odom and backing him up with Turiaf and bringing in Hollins too is a big improvement over starting Jordan and bringing in Reggie Evans.

I liked Reggie Evans on rebounding, but the guy couldn’t score at all, not from the field and not from the line, so this should be a big improvement in the offense from the center position.

The Clippers next move?

They should give serious consideration to trading DeAndre Jordan for anything they can get, including only a second round draft choice, just to get rid of his salary.

Jordan was Olshey’s terrible mistake, and the Clippers need to correct it. If they keep Jordan, they’ll likely be pressured by his huge contract to start him, and that would be terrible and the team would suffer and lose games they shouldn’t have lost, especially in the playoffs. So they should trade him for whatever they can get.

They can trade him to a team that desperately needs any kind of a center and is a team that no actually good player will willingly go and play for and is aa team under the cap far enough to absorb his salary. A team like that will like having Jordan, because they can’t get anybody better. They’ll have Jordan tied up for three years before he can even think about leaving.

That will be a huge step toward clearing enough cap space to sign Howard as a free agent next summer if the Magic keep him this season.

All of the good players are off the market now. So are all of the mediocre centers. That means desperate teams will more likely overlook the reality of DeAndre DeGiant DeSaster and instead will look more favorably at his “potential”.

Of course, if the Clippers can trade him in a deal for Howard, that would be the best.

I don’t think the Clippers will be able to pull off a Howard trade, but they might as well try. I’d personally trade Blake Griffin and DeAndre for Howard, but Sterling will never trade BG cus his dunks sell tickets.

It also might be possible to trade DeAndre to a team that needs to fill up their salary cap. Again I doubt that will happen and the Clippers probably wouldn’t be able to get anyone better than Odom/Turiaff in return.

As for that stats, they don’t mean much. BG isn’t a great rebounder and the rebounds have to fall to someone. You can’t compare him to Tyson Chandler. DJ was really terrible in the playoffs. He gets a lot of blocks, but it makes him jump out of position defensively.

The Clippers don’t have a whole lot to lose keeping him until next season though. Even if they got rid of DJ, don’t think there’s a free agent center they could sign that would make a big difference.