Barring any unforseen roster moves, the Clippers' depth chart for the 2008-09 season has settled into focus: 

PG	Baron Davis	Jason Williams	Jason Hart	Mike Taylor*
SG	Cuttino Mobley	Eric Gordon
SF	Al Thornton	Ricky Davis	Steve Novak
PF	Marcus Camby	Tim Thomas
C	Chris Kaman	Brian Skinner	DeAndre Jordan

*Make-good deal.
**Steve Novak slotted as a 3/4 because, well...his skill set is essentially that of a small forward.

Imagine you asked an informed Clipper fan in June 2006 to tell you what kind of offensive scheme the Clips would be running in the fall of 2008.  Following the playoff run that season, the thought was that, going forward, the Clips would be a post-oriented offense with two capable big men [Elton Brand, Chris Kaman] propelled by a dynamic point guard [Shaun Livingston].  They'd need to add a proficient shooter on the wing -- preferably one who could play some defense -- to replace the departing Corey Maggette.  But the bulk of the offense would originate on the block, precipitated by Shaun Livingston's ability to penetrate.

Fast forward two years, and the landscape couldn't be less familiar.  The Clippers are an entirely new collection of players.  Of the anticipated offensive lynchpins, only Kaman remains.  He's flanked by a power forward who couldn't be more different than Elton Brand.  Marcus Camby's center of gravity on the floor is at the elbow, and he generates most of his points as an ancillary offensive option.  He's a nice complementary player for Chris, but his presence leaves all the heavy lifting on the low block for Chris.

Baron Davis is undoubtedly the focal point of the Clips' new offense.  Davis' usage rate last season with Golden State was good for 17th in the league, and we can expect that number to climb this season.  With Davis, Mike Dunleavy gets something he loves -- a big, physical guard that can post and defend -- and something he's never had in Los Angeles: An expert passer. 

There are a ton of reasons to be excited about Davis' arrival, but none more decisive than that one.  The Clippers haven't had a starter who can pass the ball with ease since Lamar Odom signed with Miami.  Brand, Cassell, Maggette, Mobley, Kaman, Ross, Thomas, Thornton, etc, etc...all below-average passers at their positions.  Livingston has a preternatural ability to find teammates, but, alas, if we're fortunate enough to see him do it, it will be in another uniform. 

Davis' ability to pass the ball will benefit Al Thornton most profoundly -- both in transition and in the halfcourt.  The bulk of Thornton's offense last season came in isolation and on late-in-the-clock perimeter attempts.  The Clips never learned how to run an effective set for him.  Now, Thornton has a lot to learn about working off the ball in an NBA offense.  But a good passing PG can do a lot for an athletic wing.  Chances are in a given set, the window of separation between Thornton and a defender is a nanosecond.  Unless there's someone on the court who can find him, Thornton will instead get the ball with :04 seconds on the shot clock and a weak-side rotator coming at him.  And that's the difference between an inefficient scorer who averages 15 PPG shooting below 42% on stuff that's manufactured instead of created -- and a potent SF who is getting most of his shot attempts against mismatches or finishing on the break.

This isn't to bury the lede: Davis will help the Clippers because he's a strong, lethal scoring guard with limitless range, and is certain to be their top PPG man.  But for this new offense to operate proficiently -- for Marcus Camby to get that open 15-footer off the S/R, for Al Thornton to be mature as a wing scorer who can torment opponents not only in isolation, but in the context of a unified offense, for Chris Kaman to get the ball precisely where he likes it -- Baron Davis will have to orchestrate it. 

 

From Chris Tomasson in this morning's Rocky Mountain News:

A lot of people were wondering what Kaman was doing when he decided to play for Germany in the Olympics. He's didn't speak a word of German, and he only had been to the country changing planes in the airport.
But Kaman was eligible because his great grandparents were from Germany before emigrating to the U.S. Even Kaman's father had reservations about him playing.
"My dad is kind of negative, (saying), 'You're not German, you're American,''' said Kaman, who scored 24 points for the Germans in the opener while teammate Dirk Nowitzki, the Dallas star, added 23. "I had to get in his face a little.''
His employer also wasn't happy. With Kaman recovering from an ankle injury sustained late last season, he said the Clippers didn't want him to play.
"The Clippers made it very difficult for me to go over here, with the insurance, with them not wanting me to go,'' Kaman said. "I was a little disappointed in that at the time with the way they handled stuff. They lied to me a couple of times.''
Kaman declined to say in what manner the Clippers lied. But he said he's now on better terms with them.
By joining Germany, Kaman never can play for Team USA. He said he doesn't have any immediate regrets, but doesn't deny he could have some down the road.
"I still have citizenship in the United States, so it's not like I'm a traitor,'' Kaman said.

You can understand the Clippers' concern about their starting center -- who missed 26 games last season -- risking injury by playing in the Olympics.  Kaman's comments suggest that if he were to go down, the Clippers' insurance policy might not cover any of his 5 years/$52.5M contract.  And Kaman, it's fair to say, has some puerile instincts.  Chris' flakiness makes him endearing...but it also renders him a little dim. Having said that, whether they have a reasonable cause for concern, the Clippers have a propensity for pissing off their players, whether it's Andre Miller, Elton Brand, Chris Kaman, or others.

On the matter of Chris playing for the Germans -- beyond the implication to his health and readiness for 2008-09 -- who cares?  The premise that he's disloyal or treasonous for suiting up for another country in an athletic competition is...quaint, I guess.  Call me a post-nationalist, but when I look at Chris Kaman, I see a guy who has an armament subsystem in his home, hunts any chance he gets, and traveled the continent in an RV last off-season.  What's more American than that?  

The Clippers add Jason Williams:

The Los Angeles Clippers made arrangements Thursday to bring in yet another new player by reaching terms with free-agent point guard Jason Williams. Williams' agent, Bob Myers, told ESPN.com that the 32-year-old -- who spent the past three seasons with the Miami Heat and who started at point guard for Miami's title-winning team in 2006 -- has signed with the Clippers.

Financial terms were not immediately available, but NBA front-office sources said Williams is receiving a one-year contract.

Williams will thus become the ninth new player acquired by the Clippers in the wake of a disastrous 23-59 season, which was followed by Elton Brand's free-agent defection to the Philadelphia 76ers.

Los Angeles native Baron Davis headlines the group of newcomers, which also includes center Marcus Camby, Williams' former Miami teammate Ricky Davis, first-round draft pick Eric Gordon, veteran forward Brian Skinner and sharpshooter Steve Novak, whom L.A. landed Wednesday in a trade with the Houston Rockets.

Williams is the third point guard to join the Clippers this summer, along with Davis and Jason Hart, who was acquired from the Utah Jazz in a July 23 trade for Brevin Knight.

The addition of Williams -- who recently attracted serious interest from Israeli giants Maccabi Tel-Aviv before Maccabi signed Orlando Magic free agent Carlos Arroyo -- all but ensures that the Clippers will not re-sign point guard Shaun Livingston. L.A. renounced its free-agent rights to the injury-plagued Livingston on July 9 to help create the requisite salary-cap space to officially sign Davis to his five-year, $65 million contract but the Clippers did have the option of trying to re-sign him.

As the report indicates, this effectively ends Shaun Livingston's career as a Clipper.

Not sure what this means, other than the Clippers have determined after years of Brunson, Parker, et al, that you can never have too many point guards.  Williams hasn't been effective for a few seasons now.  Last year with Miami, he shot below 40% from the field, and hasn't averaged more than two FTA/G since his second year in the league.   He's an awful defender, and one of the worst rebounders in the game.  But as sentient beings go, he's a better option than Smush Parker -- his turover and assist rates confirm that.

UPDATE: From Lonnie White's report in Friday morning's LAT:

Livingston, who did not receive a qualifying offer from the Clippers after the season, recently turned down a reported one-year guaranteed deal from the team.

"At this point and time, we had to move on," Baylor said about re-signing Livingston. "Shaun is not ready to make a commitment."

As we mentioned, with the exception of the imbalance in games played vs. Western Conference opponents, the season schedule is a fixed entity.  But the contour of the schedule can have a huge effect on how a season proceeds.  A successful trip back east can energize a team.  Getting off to a slow start can ignite turmoil and self-doubt.  Too many blocks of four-games-in-five-nights can exhaust a squad.  

So what does the 2008-09 schedule have to offer the Clippers?

FIRST TEN

10.29      Lakers

10.30      Denver

11.01      @ Utah

11.02      Utah

11.05      @ Lakers

11.07   Houston

11.09   Dallas

11.12   Sacramento

11.15   Golden State

11.17   San Antonio

The Clippers will play nine of their first ten games at Staples.  But they start the season with a brutal stretch and will likely be the underdog in each of their first seven games, Home-Denver being the possible exception.


FOUR GAMES IN FIVE NIGHTS

12.02      @ Dallas

12.03      @ Houston

12.05   @ Memphis

12.06   @ Minnesota

03.14   @ Denver

03.15   New Jersey

03.17   @ Golden State

03.18   Washington

The Clips had only one 4-in-5 block last season, March 25, 26, 28, 29 (@DAL, @SA, @UTA, MEM).  They went 1-3 on the trip (W vs. MEM…go figure).

THE RUGGED EAST COAST SWING

01.30      @ Cleveland

01.31      @ Washington

02.02   @ Miami

02.04   @ Orlando

02.06   @ Memphis

02.07   @ Atlanta

02.09   @ Charlotte

The kind of east coast trip the Clips could feasibly rack up a respectable 3-4 record. 

 
THE LONG HOMESTAND

01.11      Phoenix

01.14      Atlanta

01.17      Milwaukee

01.19   Minnesota

01.21   Lakers

01.23   Oklahoma City

Before the 2006-2007 season, we highlighted a “get fat” stretch.  Unfortunately, this year’s Clipper model can’t be regarded as a home favorite almost every night.  Still, you’d like to think the Clips could go 5-1 on a stretch like this one – beating the likes of ATL, MIL, MIN, OKC, and splitting with PHX and LAL.  And for the Clippers to contend, they’re going to have to.


THE PLAYOFF STRETCH

04.07      Minnesota

04.10      Sacramento

04.11      Portland

04.13   @ Utah

04.15  Oklahoma City

You couldn’t ask for a more generous final five games.  At Utah is a probably L, unless they’re resting guys, and Portland is vastly improved, but the sequence still offers home games against four non-playoff teams. 

You can find the complete schedule here.

Since the league expanded to 30 teams, the same structure has prevailed:

Divisional Opponents: 4 games [2H, 2A]
Eastern Conference Opponents: 2 games [1H, 1A]

The floating variables come with non-divisional conference opponents.  As usual, the Clips will play six of those 10 teams four times apiece [2H, 2A].  But they'll face four of those 10 teams only three times each.  This season, it works out like this:

Utah: [1H, 2A]
Minnesota: [2H, 1A]
New Orleans: [1H, 2A]
Memphis: [2H, 1A]

Losing a home game each against Utah and New Orleans is somewhat of a break.  On the other end, though, the Clips will have the misfortune of one fewer game each against Minny and the Grizz -- arguably the two weakest teams in the conference.

More dissection to come.

 

Mark your calendars: October 29.  

Elton Brand and the Sixers will spend New Years Eve at Staples Center.

The full schedule will be released later this morning.

I point this out only because I was there, and attending a Great Alaska Shootout because I had nothing particularly better to do for Thanksgiving still ranks among the more ridiculous expressions of basketball geekdom.   Other notables on the court for the 2005 GAS Championship: Renaldo Balkman.

The Houston Chronicle:

The Rockets expect to trim their roster and their bloated collection of forwards on Wednesday by dealing Steve Novak to the Los Angeles Clippers, an individual with knowledge of the deal said Tuesday.

The Rockets will receive future draft considerations, likely the right to switch places with the Clippers in a second round. It is unclear which season that would be because both teams have future second round commitments.

The Rockets selected Novak, 25, in the second round of the 2006 season. A 6-10 forward, Novak averaged 2.7 points in 70 NBA games, making 44.1 percent of his shots and 42.7 percent of his 3-pointers.

The highlight of his two seasons with the Rockets was likely the buzzer-beating 3-pointer he made to defeat the Kings during the Rockets’ 22-game winning streak last season.

Ready for something interesting?  Novak's PER last season in 266 minutes of basketball was 17.20. Yes, a fair number of those minutes were in temps d'ordures, but Novak is a big, lethal shooter, and has a surprisingly good handle for a guy who's 6' 10".  He's sort of the anti-Radmonovic: Heady, good court awarness [all the clichéd attributes of a coach's son], but not much athletically. 

If you combined Brian Skinner and Steve Novak, you'd have one really good power forward.   

 

I have to confess that prior to very recently, I didn’t really care if the Clippers re-signed Shaun Livingston.  There were far more important items on the agenda and far more valuable players in the free agency pool.  I probably harbored the small, irrational instinct as a Clipper fan to allocate a little blame Shaun’s way for being yet another draft bust – even though there’s no evidence to suggests Shaun Livingston didn’t want to be the absolute best NBA point guard he could be. 
 
Not much has been said of Shaun, even though there isn’t much left on the market.  On August 1 – last Friday – the East Valley Tribune reported: 

“Shaun Livingston, still not cleared for basketball as he recovers from a devastating knee injury, appears likely to re-sign with the Clippers if and when he is able to play.”

Now that the full roster has fleshed out and we have a palpable sense of who the Clippers are going to be next season, I have a visceral need for some stability.  There’s very little to the team that’s recognizable.  That isn’t a bad thing.  There isn't much about the Clippers from year to year that you’d want to remember, or even get sentimental about.  But the seismic changes this offseason have sparked a strong desire for the familiar. 

Given that I wasn’t overly concerned with Shaun’s return back when it was all about pairing Davis and Brand – or even signing Kelenna Azubuike – it might be disingenuous of me to say I’d like to see Shaun succeed as a Clipper, but it’s the truth.  He’d be a welcomed reminder – and one of the few remaining – of 2006.  If by miraculous good fortune, the Clips put together an incredible season, it'd be a lot cooler if Shaun were a part of it.

Chad Ford at ESPN.com ranks the Clippers among the off-season losers:

The Clippers once held the coveted title of most dysfunctional franchise in the league and they made a lot of strides toward reclaiming it this summer.

Everything started off so well. They shocked many by quickly coming to terms with Warriors free agent Baron Davis -- filling a big need at the point. Pairing Davis with Elton Brand was supposed to put the Clippers on a course back to the playoffs in the West. Unfortunately, the team then inexplicably lost Brand to the Sixers a week later. Brand's people say the Clippers mishandled the negotiations. The Clippers point the finger at Brand's agent, David Falk.

Suddenly, the Clippers' dream team was a nightmare. At this point in his career, Davis making $65 million stretches credulity, even if he's motivated. An unmotivated Davis playing on a cellar dweller? Ugh.

The Clippers also lost Corey Maggette and tried to minimize all the damage by bringing in Marcus Camby and Ricky Davis. But I don't think they're a playoff team in the West with that crew.

Elton's departure probably places the Clippers on the minus end of the Winner-Loser continuum.  And had the Clippers been irreparably paralyzed by the Elton debacle, it'd be fair to characterize them as the dysfunctional franchise they were several years ago.  But it's important to recognize the creativity and decisiveness employed by the organization after Elton signed with Philadelphia.  Does the addition of B. Davis, Camby, R. Davis make them a playoff team?  I'm not sure.  But I think they'll win more than the 23 games they won last year.  By virtue of that alone, the Clips should be spared inclusion in the Most Loserish Offseason club.