An early summer 2024 thread

[jengmann3]

Draft bronny. Sign LeBron. Resign PG.

Bronny
Pg
Kawhi
Bron
Zu.

Stick it to the Lakers

[clipperlover]

I had a thought… on the assumption that

a) PG wants out to the Sixers
b) Clippers want to keep competing now
c) Clippers are not capable of bottoming out without first round picks this decade
d) the #46 pick would likely not see any playing time anyway…


Sixers could renounce Tobias Harris and sign PG outright, or… they could do Tobi a favour by facilitating a trade back to LA and getting a 2nd rounder to take a flyer on someone to fill out the end of a very bare roster, while still landing PG.

3 years @ $21m saves a ton of tax money while bringing back a guy who was well liked when he was in town, and fills a roster spot that would have otherwise been filled with an MLE if PG walked.

It doesn’t make LAC competitors, but they weren’t competing anyway.


PG
2nd rounder 2024

for

Tobi 3 years @ $20m

5 years away from here hasn't made Tobias any better defensively. He is NOT a playoff performer.

[clipperlover]

My biggest off-season nightmare scenario. GM PG convinces the Front office to extend him and Harden and move Kawhi for his podcast buddy Karl Anthony Charmin.

[Roscoe Sheed]

My biggest off-season nightmare scenario. GM PG convinces the Front office to extend him and Harden and move Kawhi for his podcast buddy Karl Anthony Charmin.

that would be concerning and I really like Kawhi when he is healthy in terms of his ability and attitude.

However, at least KAT plays most of the time

[clipperlover]

My biggest off-season nightmare scenario. GM PG convinces the Front office to extend him and Harden and move Kawhi for his podcast buddy Karl Anthony Charmin.

that would be concerning and I really like Kawhi when he is healthy in terms of his ability and attitude.

However, at least KAT plays most of the time

He will have one of the worst contracts in the NBA starting next year.

[wakelaunch1]

Draft bronny. Sign LeBron. Resign PG.

Bronny
Pg
Kawhi
Bron
Zu.

Stick it to the Lakers

Thats pretty funny.
trae Young is available.
Trae Young for PG

[Clemenza]

Watch on YouTube

[esqtvd]

5 years away from here hasn't made Tobias any better defensively. He is NOT a playoff performer.

29 minutes, ZERO points in Sixers' Game 6 decider vs Knicks.

W.
T.
F.

I mean, he was dead man walking in Philly, so why not go out with a bang?

[esqtvd]

These playoffs are showing that even a healthy Clipper Geezer Squad would not have got to 16 wins, or even made it through 16 games. The playoffs are too long and too grueling. It's like the hockey playoffs now. Last man standing.

The NBA's regular season is no longer a joke. We played it as hard as long as we could, but so did the rest of the league. And now, the game doesn't slow down in the playoffs anymore. With 16 wins to get, it's like the regular season...on steroids.

And once again, Lob City/213 entered the playoffs limping and scrambling lineups. It's a young man's game now. Joker is 29 and Brunson is 27 and tubby Luka is 25. Tatum-Brown-Porzingis are 26-27-28. The Knicks, Cavs, Wolves and Okies are still in the hunt.

Ballmer's championship plan failed. But like his Microsoft and Sterling, Inc. before that, he still made money. You have to see stuff through his eyes. Even when he loses, he wins.

Ballmer bought the Clippers for $2.2 billion off Sterling, and just built the $2 billion Ballmerdome on top of that. He's STILL ahead.

Clippers Worth $4.5 billion, now rank 6th among all NBA franchises.

The joke's on who? Not Ballmer. It wasn't even on Sterling. It's a pooch that can't be screwed. Nobody ever lost a dime owning the Clippers.

But the plan failed. Even at our best this year, with this roster--we never would have made it through. The joke's on us.

[madmaxmedia]

Draft bronny. Sign LeBron. Resign PG.

Bronny
Pg
Kawhi
Bron
Zu.

Stick it to the Lakers

Thats pretty funny.
trae Young is available.
Trae Young for PG

I'd drive PG and his podcasting gear to the airport for that, if ATL actually would do it.

[Ballings7]

Watch on YouTube

Good talk - lays some things out pretty well on the future..

Luv the Jalen Smith mention for starting PF target, though the host is a bit naive on him -- Smith is a young vet, has good size for a modern PF, and in the east.

Bring him in and move Mann to the bench. Mentioned Smith before around the trade deadline as a target for hybrid forward, but he should be someone the team goes after like they would a star, to get better, bigger and younger.

I'd even go as far as letting one of George/Harden go to get him and build a more balanced team around Kawhi.

Watch on YouTube

Watch on YouTube

ADD: A good sign is that Jalen Smith is playing only 7MPG in the postseason for Indiana, and only played in 5 games, so far. Maybe in Carlisle's dog house? Gonna have to go rummage around Indy's board to see what may be going on. Anyhow, a change of scenery may be mutually desired.

[esqtvd]

Read on Twitter

[Bobbymcgee]

Gordon Hayward is going to be available. Seems like the perfect fit for the Clippers. Another washed up vet with an injury history. At least he will probably come cheap.

[Clemenza]

Gordon Hayward is going to be available. Seems like the perfect fit for the Clippers. Another washed up vet with an injury history. At least he will probably come cheap.

Keep him far away from our team.

The "won the trade" OKC Thunder have 17 first round picks at their disposal but didn't grab another big man to help in rebounding and defense in the very winnable series against the Mavs. They added Gordon Hayward and he had zero points in the entire series against the Mavs. They also helped facilitate Gafford & PJ Washington going to Dallas when they should've went after those guys themselves. Hell they probably could've gotten another star player to help SGA out if they really wanted to. Gotta strike while the iron is hot. And I thought Sam Presti was a genius.

[madmaxmedia]

Luv the Jalen Smith mention for starting PF target, though the host is a bit naive on him -- Smith is a young vet, has good size for a modern PF, and in the east.

Bring him in and move Mann to the bench. Mentioned Smith before around the trade deadline as a target for hybrid forward, but he should be someone the team goes after like they would a star, to get better, bigger and younger.

I'd even go as far as letting one of George/Harden go to get him and build a more balanced team around Kawhi.

I would be down with that. It seems more likely that it would be PG, if he resigns on a 3 year with us. I have no idea what Harden is looking for, what we are willing to give, or what interest there would be around the league and at what dollar amount.

Thinking about it now, I would actually be down with just keeping PG on a 3 year and rolling it all back, if only the guy just had a little bit of dog in him. I don't mind him getting old, I don't even mind the inconsistent play as his overall numbers are still really good- I just hate the things that come out of his mouth like 80% of the time (and I have never even listened to his podcast!) I'm just gonna call this version of him Podcast Paul from now on, because it's about his mouth and the mentality he chooses to have more than anything.

I'm willing to stick with Kawhi too, obviously we all know his health issue but I believe his skills have aged the most gracefully of the trio. I'm willing to retool a team around him, it won't be a title contender (not that bringing everyone back would make us that anyway) but it can be a competitive team when he's on the floor and we'd be looking at a smoother future going out the next couple of years.

[donemilio21]

These playoffs are showing that even a healthy Clipper Geezer Squad would not have got to 16 wins, or even made it through 16 games. The playoffs are too long and too grueling. It's like the hockey playoffs now. Last man standing.

The NBA's regular season is no longer a joke. We played it as hard as long as we could, but so did the rest of the league. And now, the game doesn't slow down in the playoffs anymore. With 16 wins to get, it's like the regular season...on steroids.

And once again, Lob City/213 entered the playoffs limping and scrambling lineups. It's a young man's game now. Joker is 29 and Brunson is 27 and tubby Luka is 25. Tatum-Brown-Porzingis are 26-27-28. The Knicks, Cavs, Wolves and Okies are still in the hunt.

Ballmer's championship plan failed. But like his Microsoft and Sterling, Inc. before that, he still made money. You have to see stuff through his eyes. Even when he loses, he wins.

Ballmer bought the Clippers for $2.2 billion off Sterling, and just built the $2 billion Ballmerdome on top of that. He's STILL ahead.

Clippers Worth $4.5 billion, now rank 6th among all NBA franchises.

The joke's on who? Not Ballmer. It wasn't even on Sterling. It's a pooch that can't be screwed. Nobody ever lost a dime owning the Clippers.

But the plan failed. Even at our best this year, with this roster--we never would have made it through. The joke's on us.

That depends. How much is Clippers worth to Ballmer ? He is 68 year old, owns 4% of Microsoft, gets about $1B a year from dividends alone. Does it really matter to him if Clippers were worth $6B, or $10B or $25B ? I think he really wants to win a championship and more. He must know that this core will not win one.

[KL2]

Read on Twitter

[esqtvd]

These playoffs are showing that even a healthy Clipper Geezer Squad would not have got to 16 wins, or even made it through 16 games. The playoffs are too long and too grueling. It's like the hockey playoffs now. Last man standing.

The NBA's regular season is no longer a joke. We played it as hard as long as we could, but so did the rest of the league. And now, the game doesn't slow down in the playoffs anymore. With 16 wins to get, it's like the regular season...on steroids.

And once again, Lob City/213 entered the playoffs limping and scrambling lineups. It's a young man's game now. Joker is 29 and Brunson is 27 and tubby Luka is 25. Tatum-Brown-Porzingis are 26-27-28. The Knicks, Cavs, Wolves and Okies are still in the hunt.

Ballmer's championship plan failed. But like his Microsoft and Sterling, Inc. before that, he still made money. You have to see stuff through his eyes. Even when he loses, he wins.

Ballmer bought the Clippers for $2.2 billion off Sterling, and just built the $2 billion Ballmerdome on top of that. He's STILL ahead.

Clippers Worth $4.5 billion, now rank 6th among all NBA franchises.

The joke's on who? Not Ballmer. It wasn't even on Sterling. It's a pooch that can't be screwed. Nobody ever lost a dime owning the Clippers.

But the plan failed. Even at our best this year, with this roster--we never would have made it through. The joke's on us.

That depends. How much is Clippers worth to Ballmer ? He is 68 year old, owns 4% of Microsoft, gets about $1B a year from dividends alone. Does it really matter to him if Clippers were worth $6B, or $10B or $25B ? I think he really wants to win a championship and more. He must know that this core will not win one.

That's what I've been saying for a while now. What does Ballmer want? That's all that matters.

These playoffs have shown that a) the grind of an NBA season + playoffs is too much for this core and b) they're just not athletic enough to hang with these younger, taller teams anyway and c) the CBA makes a "retooling" impossible. The Clips won't even have an MLE without dumping some of the core.

a) If it wasn't Kawhi, it would have been somebody else going down. The playoffs are only half over and the [much younger] Knicks' wheels came off. Mike Malone said the Nugs were exhausted from last year's championship run that ran through June, then busting ass for a good playoff seed in the RS.

This year will see its 6th different champion in the last 6 years. Luck is more important than ever, and the new CBA will make dynasties even more unlikely.


b) and c) are related--The stretch 4 we need so desperately just isn't out there. A dozen teams need one and we can only pay the minimum. Not only are KL and PG huge cap-eaters, Tucker is untradeable and I wonder how tradeable Powell's 2 remaining years @ $20M are too. That means we're so far over the cap that dumping Beard or signing him at a greatly reduced rate probably won't make much difference either way.

If Ballmer decides to tear it all down, with little chance of getting a needle-mover in the draft because of traded picks and pick swaps, he's looking at 2-4 years of misery without even the rewards of tanking. This is a .500ish team or worse with only a gimpy Kawhi and a bunch of kids. But it might flirt with 45-50 wins even if it's not a realistic contender. Ballmer is screwed either way, so why not win some games and have some fun for the next 3 years while he's waiting out the draft dearth and the current sal cap mess?

It might actually be more fun than the "Title or Else" dynamic that's pervaded the 213 era. That can be real poison for an org, that no success can be enjoyed until winning the last game of the Finals. That's a misery too. Basketball's a game, and games are supposed to be fun.

[madmaxmedia]

If Ballmer decides to tear it all down, with little chance of getting a needle-mover in the draft because of traded picks and pick swaps, he's looking at 2-4 years of misery without even the rewards of tanking. This is a .500ish team or worse with only a gimpy Kawhi and a bunch of kids. But it might flirt with 45-50 wins even if it's not a realistic contender. Ballmer is screwed either way, so why not win some games and have some fun for the next 3 years while he's waiting out the draft dearth and the current sal cap mess?

It might actually be more fun than the "Title or Else" dynamic that's pervaded the 213 era. That can be real poison for an org, that no success can be enjoyed until winning the last game of the Finals. That's a misery too. Basketball's a game, and games are supposed to be fun.

Yeah, I think what we're all starting to see is more of a middle path, where A.) we're not absolutely horrible, but B.) we're making decisions from here on out with at least an eye towards the future. It's gonna be somewhat tricky to navigate and certain things are out of our control (whether we can get PG to sign a 3-year deal), but it's not all-or-nothing like it has been the last two years. Losing realistic hope at a title is what finally freed us from that. Ballmer is not necessarily a brilliant mind but he's not stupid by any stretch either.

[donemilio21]

If Ballmer decides to tear it all down, with little chance of getting a needle-mover in the draft because of traded picks and pick swaps, he's looking at 2-4 years of misery without even the rewards of tanking. This is a .500ish team or worse with only a gimpy Kawhi and a bunch of kids. But it might flirt with 45-50 wins even if it's not a realistic contender. Ballmer is screwed either way, so why not win some games and have some fun for the next 3 years while he's waiting out the draft dearth and the current sal cap mess?

It might actually be more fun than the "Title or Else" dynamic that's pervaded the 213 era. That can be real poison for an org, that no success can be enjoyed until winning the last game of the Finals. That's a misery too. Basketball's a game, and games are supposed to be fun.

Yeah, I think what we're all starting to see is more of a middle path, where A.) we're not absolutely horrible, but B.) we're making decisions from here on out with at least an eye towards the future. It's gonna be somewhat tricky to navigate and certain things are out of our control (whether we can get PG to sign a 3-year deal), but it's not all-or-nothing like it has been the last two years. Losing realistic hope at a title is what finally freed us from that. Ballmer is not necessarily a brilliant mind but he's not stupid by any stretch either.

Tearing down, even when you control all your picks does not guarantee success.
We are not built to win it all, that should be obvious to even the casual fan. BUT we are built to be competitive enough that with a lot of luck, we can make a run to the finals. We'd need a solid player to fall on our laps, have other west teams deal with major injuries, and have a coach who can establish a solid defensive formula that could be effective even with older and unathletic players.
At this point I fully expect Ballmer and the FO to ride this team out until we are a 35 win team.