• Our friends at ClipsNation.com are having a big sponsored game night Saturday, April 10th against the Warriors. After reading Steve’s teaser, it’s hard not to get excited. All the information about the event can be found here. I’ll definitely be there – should be a very fun evening.

• Lisa Dillman at the Times introduces you to new new General Manager, Neil Olshey.

• Since Mike Dunleavy stepped down as coach and Marcus Camby was shipped to Portland, the Clippers have had only two games where they’ve posted a defensive efficiency number under 100. Even worse, both were against bottom dweller Sacramento. Remove the head, and the body will still flail around a bit. Remove the head and the body, and what are you left with?

• Adrian Wojnarowski of Y! Sports talks about Donald Sterling: “Donald Sterling has always talked a big game, but he’s never gone after a star GM in his prime. Dunleavy leaves the franchise set up in some good ways, but Sterling doesn’t understand that winning in the NBA doesn’t come from empty words in absurdly worded press-release firings, doesn’t come with throwing red meat to a fan base that wanted the old GM embarrassed and fired on the spot.”

• Bill Plaschke, doing some true California dreamin’: “Now introducing, Clippers forward LeBron James and two of his high school chums as general manager and coach. Crazy, too, but that’s the thing about what happened Tuesday. The Clippers didn’t lose a general manager, they gained a world of possibilities.”

Marcus Camby on his new situation: “Anytime you get traded it’s always an awkward situation, especially when you’ve been in a place for a couple of years, you’re used to your surroundings, you know, you enjoy the situation that you’re in. But then to find out you’re traded and you have to move on to new surroundings, it’s always difficult. But once you sit back and digest the situation and take a moment to yourself to analyze how things are – where you’re at and where you’re going – it’s a no-brainer. The Clippers are going in opposite direction than what I would have liked in my career. Coming to Portland and being surrounded by the great players that we have – Brandon Roy, LaMarcus Aldridge – it was a no-brainer. I definitely welcome the situation to be in playoff contention again, and I definitely can’t wait to get started.”

Mike Dunleavy speaks about the possible return of Marcus Camby: “We love Marcus as a player. Everything about his game and what he does for this team. Like I said, we’ll see how things go forward. Marcus is a free agent. We have a lot of cap space this summer — and you never know how things work out.

Chris Kaman riffs on roster turnover: “That’s why I trust, I have to trust, that the decisions they make are the right ones for the team long term. Obviously we didn’t perform the way we were capable of this season. I’m not saying that it’s over but it’s going to be tough to come back and win games when everybody is on different pages and new players are shuffling in and out of the locker room and in the lineups…and Kim is having to deal with all that. It’s just tough.

Kim Hughes gives some insights on Chris Kaman emotions in his first pre-game interview: ” I’ve talked to Chris, and let me preface this by saying Chris is retarded. …He’s really not. He’s emotionally handicapped, actually. Chris is a wonderful, caring person.”

Byron Scott on the Clippers job: “Man I will tell you what… You have seen me there every day. I am at the gym and having a great time. It is the first time since I have been playing or coaching that I have had this type of time where I can enjoy my family, my wife she goes to the gym everyday as well, and kind of just relax. To be honest with you for the past two months I really haven’t been thinking about coaching or anything like that until the last couple of weeks. You get that itch, especially when it gets close to playoff time. I am just going to kind of sit back until April or May and survey what is going on out there because there is obviously three jobs available right now. One I already had obviously in New Orleans and you have got Jersey and you have got the Clippers… There is going to be three or four more when the season is over that is going to be available as well. So I am just going to kind of sit back and take a look at the teams, do a couple of interviews and just kind of pick the team that is the best fit for me. I do think the Clipper job is a pretty good job for me. They have got some young talent. Obviously they are going to have a lot of cap room and another lottery pick coming in. So I think it is a pretty good job. I am just going to sit around and just kind of evaluate everything that is going on and try to make a decision I think that will be best for my family.”

• Is the rumored Mavericks and Wizards trade the first domino? The trade as currently structured is a straight swap of Josh Howard for Caron Butler, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo!Sports. Howard has a team option next year which will most certainly be terminated whether he gets traded or not. I may be looking way ahead here, but if Joe Johnson is unavailable this Summer do the Clippers take a look at Josh Howard?

• Here’s a deal that nets the Clippers Andre Iguodala (Insider), and how it looks on paper. From Chad Ford: “Given that, adding Iguodala and Dalembert might be about as good as it gets for the Clips. Iguodala, in particular, would be a perfect fit as an athletic, multifaceted wing player who can handle the ball or thrive without it while defending at least two positions. Dalembert would be a nice one-year replacement for Camby as an athletic shot-blocker and rebounder to back up Chris Kaman.” The potential dealbreaker here? The inclusion of DeAndre Jordan.

• Marcus Camby back to the Nuggets? Travis Heath from Hoopsworld.com helps debunk the rumor:  “I don’t know where that came from, and it’s not happening,” said one very well placed Denver Nuggets’ source when asked about the proposition of re-acquiring Marcus Camby from the Los Angeles Clippers. I continued by explaining that logistically it would be difficult for Denver to complete such a deal financially without giving up a rotational player even if the team had aspirations of doing so to which the same source replied: “We’re not trading a rotational player.  If someone wants to take on some of our (expiring contracts) than fine.  But we’re not giving up a rotational player.”

• Our friends at ClipsNation have a great trade poll up. There’s some fantastic proposed deals in the comments section, but the majority of voters prefer the Clippers do “little to nothing” at the trade deadline. Here’s a thought: How about flipping Marcus Camby for another expiring contract and a first round pick? Maybe something like Camby for Etan Thomas and his expiring contract and one of Oklahoma City’s two first round picks? The VP of Common Sense approves.

• A statistical comparison of the three “big” pieces the Clippers could possibly acquire. None of these guys are perfect. Caron Butler has had a terrible season and is getting up there in years. Luol Deng is locked in on a long contract but is still the least likely of the three to get moved. Andre Iguoudala is the stopper at the 3 the Clippers have yearned for, but he comes with baggage in the form of Dalembert. Should the Clippers go after any of the following, or should they wait to see what shakes out this Summer?

• Al Thornton looked spry at practice today. The ankle has improved and he’s probable for tomorrow night’s game vs. Chicago.
• 22-year-old Yaroslav Korolev has been logging meaningful minutes and has put up some respectable numbers with the Albuquerque Thunderbirds of the D-League.
• A little dated (from Jan. 15), but Baron Davis talks Blake Griffin, John Lucas and western conference point guards with Mason & Ireland.
• Chris Kaman’s field-goal percentage drops considerably in the fourth quarter. I think this is less likely a product of conditioning and clutchness, as it is a tendency for opponents to double Chris late in the game.
• A couple of sources have said the Clippers aren’t likely to move Marcus Camby unless they’re absolutely overwhelmed by an offer. Some of that can be attributed to Blake Griffin’s season-ending injury, but much of it has to do with the fact that there aren’t that many available players who are compelling to the Clips and who fit their very particular needs. The Clips are a team that’s set at four of five positions for the foreseeable future. Good healthy small forwards with reasonable contracts are in short supply.

Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com on why Eric Gordon may not be getting love from the refs: “Superstars in the NBA are both feared and loathed. They are assertive and loud, sometimes selfish and always a presence. Gordon might play loudly, but he speaks politely and deferentially to referees, teammates and coaches. Which should be a good thing but sometimes has some unintended consequences.”

Michael Lee of the Washington Post with the latest Marcus Camby rumor: “I also heard another rumor involving [Caron] Butler and the Los Angeles Clippers, with the Wizards getting back Marcus Camby and his expiring contract.”

Want Chris Kaman in the All-Star game? You can vote here (login required). You should probably vote for Steve Nash as well, if for no other reason than this “awesome” video.

Ken Levine with a nice tribute to the recently deceased former Clippers announcer Rory Markas: “Many of you never heard of him. But you would have liked him. He loved people but lived alone. He was a performer but very shy. He worked in Anaheim but lived 100 miles away in Palmdale. For years he was a Los Angeles TV news anchor and Milwaukee Brewers baseball announcer — at the same time. He was a remarkable person.”

Ian Thomsen of Sports Illustrated on Baron Davis and his relationship with Mike Dunleavy: “Davis understands the skepticism that will follow his claim of a newfound relationship with Dunleavy. But he insists their rapport is real. ‘It’s been a great year, it’s been a learning year,’ Davis said. ‘Coach Dunleavy has been great as far as allowing me to have some input and he’s kind of like grooming me to be a coach. I can’t be mad at that.’ “

• Mike Dunleavy returned to practice Saturday after going to the hospital Friday morning for treatment on a herniated disk in his back. “I feel OK,” Dunleavy said, “but I’m not going to be doing any dancing any time soon.”

• Eric Pincus grades the first 30 games for the Clippers. Pincus points out the biggest change in the most improved Clipper so far this year, Chris Kaman: “The biggest difference in Kaman’s offensive attack this year is a smooth face up jumper.  It’s a shot Dunleavy has encouraged Chris to take for years – but it’s only over this past summer that Kaman developed enough confidence.”

• Al Thornton continues to statistically baffle. The good news is that among all small forwards who have logged over 25 minutes a game, Al Thornton ranks second in offensive rebounds per 40 minutes. The bad news? Thornton ranks dead last in defensive rebounding. Is this a cause for concern, or just a case of Marcus Camby gobbling up all the available boards?

• Sandy Banks of the Los Angeles Times writes an interesting profile on Donald Sterling.

• In his latest entry on Jordan’s Journal (login required) DeAndre updates us on what it’s like to guard Kevin Garnett, his New Years resolutions, and why Steve Novak is getting his bad Santa on. The question on my mind: How much longer do we have to wait before we can see Blake and DeAndre star in a cheesy buddy cop movie? Someone get a script to Baron Davis, pronto.

• Jonathan Abrams of the New York Times checks in on Blake Griffin.

• Via Lisa Dillman’s twitter account: “Clipper update: Al Thornton not practicing because of a stomach virus. Questionable for game tomorrow vs. Portland.”

• All-decade lists dominated the internet the last few weeks, so I’ll spare you and pose just one question: Who was the Clipper of the decade? Was it Elton Brand? Chris Kaman? Sam Cassell, perhaps? Write-in votes will also be accepted. Let’s hear it.