Clippers adding Kai Jones and waiving Josh Primo

[KL2]

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Was hoping they’d take a chance with him. Bummed about Primo as he showed some things with Ontario bu maybe they can get him back later.

[MartinToVaught]

What was even the point of signing Primo in the first place? We got nothing out of it except some negative PR when it was announced. It's unbelievable how bad Frank is at every aspect of GMing.

[KL2]

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[jengmann3]

Kai jones on Luka and KY just for fun. Don't let zubac switch onto those boys

[Clemenza]

Kai jones on Luka and KY just for fun. Don't let zubac switch onto those boys

Yep, a lot athletic bigs on the horizon. Gafford Lively, and PJ Washington on the Mavs. Gobert, KAT, McDaniels, and Naz Reid on the Wolves. Plus Jokic, Bron, AD, Zion, Ingram, Valanciunas, Sabonis, etc. It's about time we load up and fight fire with fire- if Kai gets some playing time that is. This is a step in the right direction. Let's Go!

[Clemenza]

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Was hoping they’d take a chance with him. Bummed about Primo as he showed some things with Ontario bu maybe they can get him back later.

Probably can pick him back up in the off season, or Bones is without question the man moving forward point guard wise for the future.

[madmaxmedia]

Kai has had his own issues as well, but just seemed to struggle personally after reaching the NBA. He would have been better off being drafted in the 2nd round and slowly developing his skills under the radar (kinda like DeAndre Jordan.) More than anything I'm hoping he's in a better place and can make the most of his potential here or somewhere else. This seems like a pretty good video:

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He is a much less toxic acquisition than Primo, and is a 10x better fit for our roster. I can see why we didn't pick him up earlier in the year as he wasn't ready to return to the NBA, but glad he can be on the playoff roster now for fill-in duty since none of our bigs is remotely as athletic as he is.

If we could combine Kai's athleticism and Kobe Brown's ball skills...we would have been in no place to draft/acquire that guy.

[LamarWho]

Reminds me of DJ with that 6'11" frame and athleticism. I can't complain about adding youth and athleticism to this dinosaur team.

[esqtvd]

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[Wammy Giveaway]

What was even the point of signing Primo in the first place? We got nothing out of it except some negative PR when it was announced. It's unbelievable how bad Frank is at every aspect of GMing.

Keep in mind, Jones was still suffering from mental health issues. Had Clippers signed him earlier, they would have had a migraine. A True Big 3 of Harden-George-Leonard, the Killer Kombat Ultimatum where it was championship or lose all their superstars to free agency, 2nd apron restraints. The Primo signing at the time tied to their outreach program, rehabilitate damaged goods and develop them into serviceable players through the Tim Duncan-esque Good Samaritan Spurs philosophy of Kawhi Leonard (ironic as Primo was a former Spur).

I don't know how good or bad Frank is, but it does seem to me that he's something of a slow learner, doesn't really grasp the moves they make until they actually hurt and is too late to fix them, and if he was to fix them he would need to prove that by cutting a player. If Jones was always on the radar but the mental health issues got in the way, then they decided to basically wait until the last day. In short, Clippers procrastinated.

The following is a rant:

We have here a team who loves to troll opponents by playing possum, being an eye-rolling disorderly annoyance. And they're doing this without players getting ejected from games (that's Lue's job). The San Antonio Spurs I know of - one of Tim Duncan, David Robinson and Gregg Popovich - played for the good of humanity with the most humble of perspectives, fighting for the greater good. Clippers are the tricksters, circus acts, comedians: more Penn & Teller than David Copperfield; Loki compared to Thor; the servant Puck to the King Of Avalon Lord Oberon (oh these entertainment/literary references). They don't do it because they're totally desperate, they just don't know any better, and for a franchise that has only known losing for so many years until the double 2-0 comeback in 2021, they're still learning how to behave like a real title contender.

I would have preferred a Clipper franchise who had their image tarnished by ejections of Paul George after their greatest 3-1 collapse in NBA history (should have been a Flagrant 2 back in one of those 2021 games to Nuggets years ago), followed by a career first for Kawhi Leonard - anything to say that the trade of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was a failure, must blow it up, rebuild and dwell in the lottery for 20 years or until they reclaim the throne of largest playoff drought in NBA history. Then, they atone for their failures and ejections by storming the league with one of the greatest winning streaks of all time, threatening the 33 straight wins set by Lakers - or one of their players beats a legendary record like 100 points from Wilt Chamberlain (also has a 55 rebound record), 30 assists by Scott Skiles, 17 blocks by Elmore Smith. Or, if you want something truly Herculean, the first team to ever win a series after being down 3-0. I wanted those, but instead I'm being played.

There's a lesson: nothing ever goes the way you want it to be scripted. Each person is their own quest they control, and when they are faced with adversity they must conquer them by their own terms, not by someone else's inconceivable grand standards.

[KingCrimzzon]

Would love to see him in action! Please get him some minutes on Sunday! Maybe LAC FO us learning that copying GSW isn't going to hold up. League is getting back to size and we desperately need some.

[ejftw]

I'ma say he plays 30+ tomorrow with Plumlee and Theis getting six a piece.

[playaloc916]

Seems like a low risk high reward move. A few people in the board were interested in him awhile back, so it's fortunate the team was able to pick him up. The team doesn't have any athletic bigs currently in the rotation, so the move makes a lot of sense.

[clipperlover]

What was even the point of signing Primo in the first place? We got nothing out of it except some negative PR when it was announced. It's unbelievable how bad Frank is at every aspect of GMing.

Primo had a season ending ankle injury and they can pick him back up in the summer. No reason to have him wasting a playoff roster spot. So, having an injured player (that you can re-sign later) taking up a playoff roster spot rather than using the spot to bring a player in a long term area of need is bad GMing?

I know at the time we signed Primo there were so many available roster fillers that we didn't sign that would have come in, grabbed a roster spot and been blowing up the league. We were just so dumb for picking up a former lottery pick from 2021 for pennies. Aren't all lottery picks and first round picks guaranteed to blow up the league?

Now, we pick up another former 2021 1st round pick for pennies. So, unfortunate that he may come in and take minutes away from that future HoFer Diabate or cause us to not consider re-signing Plumlee or Theis in the off-season. Surely, we should bring older veterans around and not bring in younger players with potential upside that don't cost us much. Correct?

[clipperlover]

I'ma say he plays 30+ tomorrow with Plumlee and Theis getting six a piece.

I wouldn't expect him to get much of anything. He hasn't played at all this year. He was on a 10 day with Philly, but got injured and never played a game. They have a week to get him acclimated with what they are doing before deciding if he could contribute 5 minutes of non-garbage time over the course of the 1st round.

[KL2]

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[Clemenza]

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Let's Go!!


The general consensus is that no way he's playing in the post season, but man I don't know. The Mavs bigs are a problem. If he just so happens to get some floor time today against the Rockets and he shows a few flashes here and there, watch out, he might get some run!

[KL2]

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[KL2]

Had a press conference after the game.

Thanks the Clippers for seeing something in him and giving him the opportunity. It’s the best one he’s been given. Says Lawrence Frank kept in touch with him the past year. Says playing in FIBA was a major step for him.

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[esqtvd]

Had a press conference after the game.

Thanks the Clippers for seeing something in him and giving him the opportunity. It’s the best one he’s been given. Says Lawrence Frank kept in touch with him the past year. Says playing in FIBA was a major step for him.

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Ballmer's Plan B for opening the Ballmerdome is still in place. Only Kawhi is locked in, and an early playoff exit might mean bye-bye to PG and/or Beard.

Powell is arguably a Top-5 sixth man and Zu a Top-10 center, but that's not a lot to hang your hat on. Starter T-Mann is not even among the top 20 or maybe even 50 swingmen and after those five--six if you count a 36-yr-old Brodie--the cupboard is BARE.

It's amazing we were the best team in the NBA for a month or 6 weeks there this season, but this remains a house of cards. Ballmer went all-in, and is scared spitless all over again.