[kingofkings]

I am not a Clippers fan by any means, but they have the best raw talent in the league along with the Bulls. Just because they need a quality starting point guard, should not mean that they have to give up the farm, to get either Miller or Davis. I would have thought that a straight up trade for either Odom or Miles, for either Miller or Davis would be sufficient, along with a future #1 draft pick, given by the Clippers.

If no trade could be arranged, the Clippers should not be disheartened this season. My attitude to the team, would be to go big and athletic and just run and gun. Consider this starting line up:

Centre - Olowokandi
Power Forward - Brand
Small Forward - Miles
Shooting Guard - Maggette
Point Guard - Odom

Yes, they shoud go big on opening night and just see what happens. They can either replace Maggette with Q-Richardson, but I believe that they would prefer Q's energy as a quality 6th man. This squad would cause all sorts of trouble for other teams on offence and defence. let Odom go to work and use his creativity on offence. let him post up. Tell me which NBA team can start a 6'10 and 6"6 players in their backcourt at the same time. Sure Odom has had some problems, but smoking marijuana does not mean a single thing. Whenever i go to clubs, everyone is doing it anyway, and it does not count for anything.

On defence, Odom and Maggette, can use their height as an advantage. this height can be used to smother the offensive sets and crowd the space that the offence can operate in.Miles, will be an A-class defender in the future. he is long, quick, a solid shotblocker and fast on his feet. these are the tools you need to be a great defender. he just needs the minutes to consolidate. That is why this starting lineup needs to be used. he needs to get 30 minutes a night to fully develop. They Clippers have a star on their hands in Miles. Everyone is always talking about him being an above the rim kind of player. But I am thinking about the impact that he can have on defence. In the future I can see him taking the other teams best scorer, and being able to guard the offence's point, two guard, shooting guard, small forward or power forward.

Resigning Kandi, is also important.If he wants the max, I would baulk at it. Possibly a 60 million 6 year contract would be the maximum that I would pay for him. But you can just not ignore the progress that this guy has made during his 4 years in the league. he has developed his offence and his jump hook is solid.

Sure the team will struggle a little bit without a quality point guard, but there are other options and positives to come out of it. As I said they can go big in the backcourt, which will help on offence and defence. it is funny that whenever I hear about people making up trades, it always revolves around trying to pry one of the Clipper guys away for nothing. I mean a trade for Odom, or Miles and the #8 and the #12, is just too much for a point guard, when the Clippers can have the starting lineup that I have projected. Anyway, Wilcox can back up Brand at the four spot, and if he can become at least half as good as McDyess, the guy that he was assumed to play like, can only help. Believe me, Ely is a great prospect. he is big, strong and plays with passion and heart, regardless of what people say about him. Players at my old college were flat out scared of this guy, and his strength He can be a great backup to Kandi, immediately.

To conclude their is no reason to give up the farm to simply make a trade. This team is going places, they almost made the playoffs in the west last year, without Odom. Getting rid of guys like Maurice Taylor, Derek Anderson,Lamond Murray, Lorenzen Wright, Troy Hudson, Tyrone Nesby,Loy Vaught, etc was a step in the right direction. Good luck to the Clippers, they are going places!!!

 

[Devestata]

Originally posted by kingofkings
I am not a Clippers fan by any means, but they have the best raw talent in the league along with the Bulls. Just because they need a quality starting point guard, should not mean that they have to give up the farm, to get either Miller or Davis. I would have thought that a straight up trade for either Odom or Miles, for either Miller or Davis would be sufficient, along with a future #1 draft pick, given by the Clippers.

If no trade could be arranged, the Clippers should not be disheartened this season. My attitude to the team, would be to go big and athletic and just run and gun. Consider this starting line up:

Centre - Olowokandi
Power Forward - Brand
Small Forward - Miles
Shooting Guard - Maggette
Point Guard - Odom

Yes, they shoud go big on opening night and just see what happens. They can either replace Maggette with Q-Richardson, but I believe that they would prefer Q's energy as a quality 6th man. This squad would cause all sorts of trouble for other teams on offence and defence. let Odom go to work and use his creativity on offence. let him post up. Tell me which NBA team can start a 6'10 and 6"6 players in their backcourt at the same time. Sure Odom has had some problems, but smoking marijuana does not mean a single thing. Whenever i go to clubs, everyone is doing it anyway, and it does not count for anything.

On defence, Odom and Maggette, can use their height as an advantage. this height can be used to smother the offensive sets and crowd the space that the offence can operate in.Miles, will be an A-class defender in the future. he is long, quick, a solid shotblocker and fast on his feet. these are the tools you need to be a great defender. he just needs the minutes to consolidate. That is why this starting lineup needs to be used. he needs to get 30 minutes a night to fully develop. They Clippers have a star on their hands in Miles. Everyone is always talking about him being an above the rim kind of player. But I am thinking about the impact that he can have on defence. In the future I can see him taking the other teams best scorer, and being able to guard the offence's point, two guard, shooting guard, small forward or power forward.

Resigning Kandi, is also important.If he wants the max, I would baulk at it. Possibly a 60 million 6 year contract would be the maximum that I would pay for him. But you can just not ignore the progress that this guy has made during his 4 years in the league. he has developed his offence and his jump hook is solid.

Sure the team will struggle a little bit without a quality point guard, but there are other options and positives to come out of it. As I said they can go big in the backcourt, which will help on offence and defence. it is funny that whenever I hear about people making up trades, it always revolves around trying to pry one of the Clipper guys away for nothing. I mean a trade for Odom, or Miles and the #8 and the #12, is just too much for a point guard, when the Clippers can have the starting lineup that I have projected. Anyway, Wilcox can back up Brand at the four spot, and if he can become at least half as good as McDyess, the guy that he was assumed to play like, can only help. Believe me, Ely is a great prospect. he is big, strong and plays with passion and heart, regardless of what people say about him. Players at my old college were flat out scared of this guy, and his strength He can be a great backup to Kandi, immediately.

To conclude their is no reason to give up the farm to simply make a trade. This team is going places, they almost made the playoffs in the west last year, without Odom. Getting rid of guys like Maurice Taylor, Derek Anderson,Lamond Murray, Lorenzen Wright, Troy Hudson, Tyrone Nesby,Loy Vaught, etc was a step in the right direction. Good luck to the Clippers, they are going places!!!

Good post, but I disagree with one thing: They already have 2 Raw PG's in Dooling and Jaric! You said yourself they are raw, so why not let them develop there game before going out after Baron Davis or Andre Miller?!

 

[basketball_jesus]

Good post king, but I think that Odom or Miles for a point is to much. Maggette, Wilcox, and Dooling is the most I would give up. Q will be better than Maggette so he is unnecissary.

 

[Louie Bilowitz]

The clippers should not be pressured

I agree, but with some comments. First, regarding Dre, he had a great year last year. But will he be consistent or was it another example of a player with a one-on-a lifetime year? Plus, he is not a good scorer. So look at who he has to send assists to..Miles, who is a horrid shooter....Kandi with his 10 or 11 points per game...Davis is by far the perfect fit for the Clips....Now, after knowing who the #8 and #12 picks are, we are sooooooo lucky that the trade for Dre never happened. We would have given up way too much with those two and either Odom or Miles...Do you really think Odom is the answer at pg? Do you really think he has the necessary discipline to run the team? I question that in a big way, as he has not shown the discipline to guarantee he will remain in the league with his history.....Now for something noone has touched on yet.. Jerry West has just signed Earl Watson and professes to be sky-high on him...The Grizzlies have an enormous logjam at that position even without him. This obviously was done with trading posibilities in mind for West to build the winner he wants. He will not be content to just add Gooden to last year's team....How about this one, guys...Odom for Jayson Williams and a draft pick...Williams would be fun with the young flyers we have such as Miles, maggette, Brand, et al....Maybe we could throw in another player to ensure that the pick is a #1 like Rooks......That gives Jerry a potentially great SF to go with the potentially great PF he drafted....This is Jerry's style and we get an exciting pg.......Just a new thought for us to discuss.........

 

[basketball_jesus]

There is no way I would do that. I love white chocolate but for Odom? No. Odom is a stedier point guard then J-Will and now that we are trying to make the playoffs we need some one who we can trust at the point.

 

[Louie Bilowitz]

Clippers pressure

BJ

I respect your judgement as your past posts show you to be knowledgeable....But the question is, what makes the team better in the long run....If we can get a solid pg and a 1st round pick (in the lottery for Lebron), that is worth something....We have enough SF players in Miles and Magette but we are unproven with Jaric and Dooling....I think, though not sure, that we do NOT have a #1 pick for next year...Don't we owe it to Orlando or someone else? We always want to keep young blood coming to improve the team, and if we can do that and land a quality pg then I would do it....I guess I am not sold on Odom being ready to lead our team at pg or even at SM He is a major risk...I also believe that the day will come soon when we will have to decide which one, Odom or Miles, will we give a big contract to...Sterling will not pay both big money, we know that....So the time is now for a trade....Would I prefer BD...Yes, in a heartbeat....But getting BD will take more than Odom...We would have to give up at least Wilcox (a future star) as well. I like Wilcox backing up Brand, and Ely backing up Kandi, and Maggette backing up Miles. I do not want to lose Odom AND Wilcox for BD....I would rather have Williams and a #1 then lose multiple players and have no draft pick next year.....If we keep Odom and Miles, it will be temporary and will take away from Maggette's development.............

On another note, I keep reading how all the fans love Miles....He is exciting, especially around the rim. But this is a small forward who is a horrid shooter...No touch at all, no shot.....Don't we expect a small forward to be a shooter?...Maybe we should keep the unpredictable Odom and trade Miles?....I said MAYBE...Only want to keep the discussion going....Who would you keep, fans...Miles or Odom....Personally, I think Odom is a more complete player....but an incomplete person, as history has shown. Can a leopard really change his spots? Does anyone believe that Odom is a solid person who will never again do drugs? Boy, the Clips sure make it interesting for us, don't they?

 

[basketball_jesus]

Louis. I have agreed with you many times in the past, and I respect your opinion and see where you are coming from, but I dissagree with you. I find it intresting that you continue to question Lamar Odom's charecter and leadership because of his pot use, but your solution is to trade him for a point guard who openly put down his last team, and has had his own run ins with weed. I think that although Odom might not be the long term solution at the point spot, he is a capable point who could play the 1 until Jaric and Dooling mature. I would love to get my hands on the draft pick memphis has, but Jason Williams is too unpredictable for me, and Odom is too high a price to pay for the pick alone. What if we sent Maggette over instead and got only the pick? Wishfull thinking on my part, but maybe if we sent Wilcox as well?

 

[Louie Bilowitz]

I agree that Williams may be a risk. It was only a thought. I do think we need to get rid of Odom and have a team with character, not a team with characters. I also do not want to be without a first round pick for next year. On top of that, I do not want to trade away our depth. We need Wilcox. I think Maggette is worth keeping as he is a SF backup who could easily give us insurance in case of injury to our 2G position. So I think Odom is the odd man out. But I am not opposed to seeing if he can be the pg. I doubt it. He has nice ball skills for a forward, but I do not see him as a pg. I hope he surprises me and dominates the position. I would LOVE to see a trade of Odom and Dooling for BD or even Dre. It may not happen but with time those two teams are going to feel pressure to make a deal. I just hope that BD stays firm with his comments about wanting to play in LA or NY.........Then we are one hell of an exciting team with the only serious weakness being age and experience!!!!

 

[cmd34]

I really think the Clips should concentrate on getting Andre Miller or Baron Davis and nothing else. They have the players and they can even send draft picks because they are loaded with young talent. They should offer anyone except Brand or Miles and try to play the teams against each other. Baron Davis has said he does not want to move to New Orleans..if they don't deal him then there will be some fans who will resent him for that statement. There is no way the Cavs can expect Miller to come to camp with a good attitude after the quotes Jim Paxson made in SI.

 

[Quasi-Quasar]

Agreed. I have been looking around and it appears as if even Baylor has come to his wits end with Olowokandi. So here's a trade thought:
Olowokandi,Dooling,Jamison for Davis,Moiso,Campbell
it clears NO's cap under the threashold so it helps them financially and they get Kandi who could average 20-10 and 2 blocks in the EC, so they get something for Davis. For the Clipps they get their man BD and a veteran center, also this frees up PT for Ely who I think could be a very solid NBA center/forward. Also this sets the Clipps up for the trade Detroit is reportedly offering of Rodney White, Ratko Varda and their 2003 1st pick via Memphis (top 1 protected) for Corey Maggette and Chris Wilcox.

 

[Louie Bilowitz]

clips pressure

I think Kandi is one of the weakest #1 overall picks in NBA history. Even in the other conference he will not get 20 points a game. I would do your trade in a minute. I would love to see Baron Davis shooting and passing the Clips to the playoffs. I also think Ely has a tremendous future with his wide body, intensity, and shooting ability. He would match the stats that Kandi put up this year. I would pray for that trade and it is a good one for both teams. I think with Campbell, Rooks, and Ely, someone would emerge to equal Kandi's contribution.........But as for the second trade, I would never do that one! Wilcox is the real deal, and next year's pick from that trade may give us less of a player....Plus Magette is a versatile player for the Clips, even though he is a "tweener".............But if you trade Kandi, you better sell Brand on why and the value of BD...Brand has publically said that he wants to see what Sterling does to reward Kandi and his future on the team may be based on that.....Sterling has proven to be only money motivated, and the hell with us, the fans. So this group of young talent may disappear over the next few years anyway.....But your first trade is an interesting one that IMO I would do if I were Baylor.

Good Job!

 

[Quasi-Quasar]

Brand isn't a prob, he follows Lamar and Lamr and BD are very close friends, Lamar would have even transfered to UCLA from UNLV instead of Rhode Island but Jarron Rush and Jerome Moiso were on the Bruins then. And as for Kandi, he averaged 16.9 PPG in the WC in the 2nd half of the season so I'm confident if he were a feature weapon in the EC he would average 20. As for the Detroit trade, it is manuver, it gives Ely more PT and he will be a good contributer on O as well as a super defender against every center except for Shaq, and the pick isn't a guarantee but it should be in the #2-#6 range which is high enough for James White or Rickey Paulding and then you have a player who can fit in the rotation and could be a future starter if Miles doesn't pan out.

 

[Louie Bilowitz]

clips pressure

Your thoughts are interesting and well thought out...However, I would not trade Wilcox as I think he will be a force someday....If Brand ever got hurt, and we were using Ely as a center, we would have a problem......I know in that instance you could play Odom and Miles as SM and PF, but there is noone to come off the bench when needed and that would cost us alot of games....I, for one, would prefer to keep the quality of depth we have in Wilcox and Maggette, though I would not hesitate to make the trade for Baron D that you suggested.........Well, why not trade just have one trade of Miles or Odom and Dooling for BD? That way we keep all the depth, Maggette steps in to back up the SM that we keep (Miles or Odom) and we can play with anyone....NO then picks up a pg and also a star SF..............Just a thought....