When asked Wednesday night if he was being asked to make personnel decisions with a mind toward the economic downturn, Dunleavy responded that he’d spoken to ownership and was told “to make basketball decisions.” Other than a vague report from Johnny Ludden about a deal between the Spurs and Clips for Marcus Camby that was “all but done,” there’s been little word that the Clippers were close to moving anyone.
The takeaway?
From Chad Ford’s team-by-team report:
LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS
Positive Spin: I give up.
Negative Spin: The team doesn’t get any bang for its buck. Trading for Zach Randolph was a big mistake. So was giving Baron Davis all that money. Chris Kaman needs a new home. And they refused to trade the player who could have brought back the most in talent or financial savings, Marcus Camby.
So far as Ford’s first three claims, I generally agree with each of them — which is all the more reason not moving Camby doesn’t bother me. Camby’s contract runs through 2010, which means it becomes more valuable as a trade asset with each passing day, especially in a climate where teams want to be doling out as little salary as possible.
With big men at such a premium around the league, why not see if Kaman can return from his injury and elevate his stock, which would put him the mix when the Clippers inevitably retool their roster once again this upcoming offseason? Why not make a decision on Camby once the Clippers have full knowledge of where they’ll be on the draft board? Why not wait to see if there’s some demand for Baron Davis from the slew of teams that will have vacancies at the point come summer? It’s doubtful, but crazier things have happened. After all, the Clippers took on 3 years and $48M worth of Zach Randolph.
If the environment was as cautious as all reports indicate, chances are there wasn’t much available worth considering for the Clips, even if they were hellbent on dumping Camby. Let’s say Ludden’s report is correct — take a look at San Antonio’s spreadsheet and see if there’s anything on the Spurs side of the ledger that would’ve improved the Clippers in the longterm. The only name on the Spurs roster that would help the Clippers build for the future is rookie point guard George Hill. While Hill is a nice player, it’s safe to assume that the Clips can fetch more than that for Camby at some point between June and February.
