Time is winding down on the clock. The Clippers have the last shot. What do they do?

Usually, and it’s this way with most teams, the answer is a 1-4 isolation — your basic clearout for a guard at the top of the key. There are a few reasons why this is so popular in the NBA.  More...

The Clippers made some big moves yesterday by claiming Chauncey Billups and resigning DeAndre Jordan. We’ll be breaking down Chauncey’s game shortly, but for now check out what everyone else is saying about the moves:

• ESPN’s John Hollinger rating the Chauncey Billups pickup (Insider): “Billups is big enough to play off the ball with Williams at times, and with Eric Bledsoe injured for the opening weeks of the season it was crucial for L.A. to get a backup point guard. With this move, the Clips have set themselves up to make a playoff push, even if Chris Paul never comes their way.”

• Steve Perrin over at Clips Nation analyzes the Chauncey Billups deal: “The Clippers were very interested in adding Tayshaun Prince to their roster this summer for his playoff experience – now they’ve gotten the team leader from Prince’s Pistons. That’s a big win. Of course, it all depends on Billups attitude about the situation – especially since the Clippers are doing this in large part for Billups’ leadership. They’re counting on Billups’ professionalism, plus the promise of a very talented roster, to bring out the best in him.”
• The Chris Paul talks are back on. Not too much of a surprise here, even though the Clippers will say publicly that they’re moving on and ready to go with the roster they have. The fact of the matter is that Stern’s henchmen will have to backdown from demanding the Clippers five best trade assets. At this point, with Billups on board, it doesn’t seem likely the Clippers would forfeit the Minnesota pick and Eric Gordon in trade.
• Vinny Del Negro defends the DeAndre Jordan’s new four-year, $43-million dollar contract to Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLA.com: ” ‘The expectations are so high at those type of numbers, but if you really know the game and understand that DeAndre brings a defensive presence for us. Shot-blocking, he runs the court well,’ Del Negro said. ‘He’s very young still, he’s only going to get better. Blake and him play off each other well. He brings you an athletic, big dynamic that we’re fortunate to have.’ “
• Maybe the best move the Clippers made yesterday was the one they didn’t. Here’s Sebastian Pruiti taking a look at how Eric Gordon can become a superstar in one of his patented visual breakdowns: “Last year, we saw Gordon take a step in the right direction. He became a very good ball handler and decision-maker when coming off screens, and he became a spot-up shooting threat. However, if he wants to continue to develop, he must learn to play effectively off the ball.”

The worst thing for a team to be in professional sports is mediocre. In the NBA, perennially landing in the late lottery is the kiss of death. You’re not contending, you’re not rebuilding towards something better – you’re just there. Barring a miracle, your fate is all but pre-determined when you frequently occupy the late lottery.  More...

Photo from Insidethehype.com

In the second installment of 3-on-3, three ClipperBlog contributors discuss Eric Gordon’s 2010-2011 season, his All-Star potential and if he can be trusted with the game on the line.

1. True or False: Gordon surprised you last season.

Nick Flynt, ClipperBlog: True. I’ve fallen victim to pointing out Gordon’s PER jump as a testament to his improved game, but really it was likely inflated a bit much by his higher volume shooting. The real development was EJ’s running the pick-and-roll shockingly well, helping him remain pretty effective despite down shooting. Didn’t see that coming.

The Clippers are a team of the future. Understood.

But what does that really mean, other than the fact that Neil Olshey has the team financially prepared to strike at the likes of Dwight Howard, Deron Williams and Chris Paul in the summer of 2012, assuming they opt out of their respective contracts?

For one, those of you bright-eyed fellows and ladies out there that believe the Clippers can make the playoffs next season might need to lower your expectations a bit. Without a major upgrade at the small forward position the team likely won’t sniff the playoffs in a still-strong Western Conference. As well, we still don’t know exactly what’s going to happen as far as a back-up power forward (though as I said in my last post, I think it’s possible that either Craig Smith or Ike Diogu will be brought back on a one year, and the Clippers can also sign their incoming rookies to fill up roster space).

On the other hand, if Olshey wants the team to look more appealing to a potential big-time free agent in the summer of 2012, we could see a reasonably big move made at some point this season that could see the team competing at a higher level than expected. Besides Chris Kaman’s movable expiring deal, the Clippers can likely afford to acquire a sub-$8 million dollar a year-type player (not accounting for a change in the cap) to fill the small forward gap. We’re talking guys like:

Shane Battier, who is aging, but can hit from range and is still a capable team defender, despite losing a step.

Tayshaun Prince, who is a pretty solid pick-up if the Clippers don’t overpay him.

Caron Butler, whose price may be too high depending on the market, but he could be a perfect fit if he comes back strong from injury.

Andrei Kirilenko, another multitasker who has struggled with injuries.

The problem with many of these (and other) available players is that they’re aging, have had chronic injury issues and are likely to demand too much money or too many years. That isn’t a good recipe for smart, long-term commitment, especially when Olshey wants as little money on the books going into the 2012-13 season as possible.

On the other end of the spectrum, Olshey could look to just fill out the roster with 1-year contracts while allowing Kaman to expire, thus continuing to steer the team on course to having only 7 players under contract by the summer of 2012 (assuming the team re-signs DeAndre Jordan, who is currently restricted, to a multi-year deal). That would allow the team to target a max contract free agent, re-sign Eric Gordon (who will be a restricted free agent after this season) and look to fill out the rest of the roster with lesser available free agents. Blake Griffin’s qualifying offer will be up after the 2013-14 season, after all of this theoretically happens, so the team should also have the money to re-sign him. I would highly, highly support this course of action, if only to avoid overpaying one of those old guys I listed above. It’s also pretty important to make sure the Clippers are able to keep their young guys under contract when they become restricted free agents.

The danger with this course of action is that it depends on the health and steady production of the team’s two budding, but potentially injury-prone stars. Along with that, the Clippers will need this past season’s lottery picks and/or their upcoming lottery picks to pan out and be able to contribute, if only to allow the team to build some depth without having to depend on overpaying mid-level players.

Besides the question of “To sign or not to sign,” any trade involving Kaman requires a lot of thought. For instance, the rumored deal of Kaman for Andre Iguodala leaves the Clippers with Andre Iguodala (good), but this also sticks the team with more money on the books in the summer of 2012 (less good).  The Clippers would owe Iguodala $13.5 million dollars in the 2011-12 season escalating to a $15.9 million early termination option in 2013-14.

Of course, you still get two years of prime Iguodala, but now you’re looking at over $50 million in committed salary after DeAndre gets paid at the end of the lockout, EJ’s next deal is negotiated in the summer of 2012, and first-round pick/roster filler contracts (outside of veteran minimum deals). Using the 2010-11 seasons’ CBA numbers, the Clippers would go over the cap if they signed a max player.

Now, usually this would not be an unmanageable problem, because the current collective bargaining agreement offers assorted exceptions allowing for soft cap overage (leading to luxury tax). But who knows what kind of flexibility a new CBA will afford a team like the Clippers to re-sign, say, a dynamic, maximum-salary power forward when his rookie contract expires.

We probably haven’t come close to covering the full range of thought that goes into trying to turn the Clippers into a perennial playoff team. There are countless things that could go wrong no matter what the Clippers attempt to do in continuing to build this team.

It’s extremely easy to talk about just making a big move and going for broke whenever youget the chance, but it isn’t close to that easy. When you go for broke in the NBA, you end up overpaying Rashard Lewis, or Antawn Jamison, or Gilbert Arenas, or Ben Gordon or Baron Davis. Or you end up dishing an extremely valuable lottery pick for peanuts. If you play it too safe, you end up getting criticized for being unable to lure a superstar, something that has dogged the Rockets recently.

And sometimes, you do everything right and end up getting hit with wave after wave of injury, like the Trail Blazers. What if the Clippers somehow miss out on all of the big names Olshey planned on getting in the summer of 2012? Or what if Blake and EJ can’t stay healthy even if Clippers get their guy?

When you’re building an NBA team, the what-ifs are almost endless. The key to being a successful GM in the NBA is controlling what you can — minimizing risk on contracts, stockpiling assets and, above all, striking the perfect balance between boldness and patience.