PMOTT3 and Chuck Texas Early Off-Season Review: Los Angeles Clippers

[HornetJail]

Lance is going to be huge, especially if he plays plenty of minutes as the primary ballhandler for the second unit behind CP3. Redick and Jordan are ideal teammates for him.

[Lindecision]

Great write ups from Chuck and PMOTT3 as always. Haven't commented on the others but I've enjoyed reading them. Is A+ the highest grade you can get? Cause I feel it doesn't really reflect how excellent this off-season was. A+++ would be more appropriate. Or an S for Super! I don't feel I'm being biased when I say the Clippers had the best off-season either, considering our starting point.

I like the Jason Thompson idea quite a bit. Makes sense for both sides.

A clipper fan suggested it somewhere (while I was off pushing Thompson for Wallace + deal).

I think somewhere I threw out a Thompson/Crawford/Felton 3 way with the full understanding that it might get done in two separate steps so Cuban and the Clippers don't let personal feelings get involved.

I did in the Clippers board a while back. Didn't explore it that much, but Jamal for JT straight up works salary-wise so it won't be that complicated. Don't know how much Philly would stand to get out of this asset-wise. JT gives us a more servicable C than this team's been used to. If it doesn't work out then his final year is non-guaranteed which means its a trade chip. My memory is telling me its around $2M guaranteed, correct me if I'm wrong.

[HartfordWhalers]

Great write ups from Chuck and PMOTT3 as always. Haven't commented on the others but I've enjoyed reading them. Is A+ the highest grade you can get? Cause I feel it doesn't really reflect how excellent this off-season was. A+++ would be more appropriate. Or an S for Super! I don't feel I'm being biased when I say the Clippers had the best off-season either, considering our starting point.

I like the Jason Thompson idea quite a bit. Makes sense for both sides.

A clipper fan suggested it somewhere (while I was off pushing Thompson for Wallace + deal).

I think somewhere I threw out a Thompson/Crawford/Felton 3 way with the full understanding that it might get done in two separate steps so Cuban and the Clippers don't let personal feelings get involved.

I did in the Clippers board a while back. Didn't explore it that much, but Jamal for JT straight up works salary-wise so it won't be that complicated. Don't know how much Philly would stand to get out of this asset-wise. JT gives us a more servicable C than this team's been used to. If it doesn't work out then his final year is non-guaranteed which means its a trade chip. My memory is telling me its around $2M guaranteed, correct me if I'm wrong.

It was 2.65m, but with a 5% TK should now be 2,782,500 unless something funky happened.

[QRich3]

some things i think are worth mentioning:

Spoiler:

- for pmott or any other atl that wants to answer - i've found josh smith to be a polarizing guy for other atl fans in the past, and i've always hated his inefficiency. what can the clippers really expect from him at 29? but in a non focal point role?

- i think the clips will miss matt barnes a lot more than they're letting on. yeah, pp is an upgrade but he'll mostly be a playoff upgrade. barnes was huge for the team in the regular season by being really efficient, not ball needy, a pretty good defender, and a general fit. i wish i could go back in time and force doc to give them crawford instead of barnes in the stephenson trade, but i guess doc thought he had a trade lined up for jamal too. if that's the case it backfired, and i can't say i'm hopeful of trading crawford for a big cause not much is out there.

- i'd expect blake to use the regular season as his petri dish again, especially with lance rebound hogging and josh smith as the backup. last year was being a mini-cp3 trying to set up his team. this year i pretty much expect him to rain 3's all day in the RS. all while averaging 6 boards and 6 assists a game.

- not that he's someone i'd try to sell to other people but i think rivers will improve a lot this year with a guy like lance now being the primary bench ball handler. austin's problem so far has been being asked to do things he sucks at. this time around all he's gotta do is defend and shoot. i think he'll be pretty efficient.

- hope baby comes back. he can still contribute, especially on a bench with other good players. imo he can give real impact when other guys around him are defending, which is not something that happened very often last year in the 2nd unit.

to finish, i think most clip fans are pretty happy with the offseason. i hate that it even came down to picking up some of the more notorious names of the nba but when your gm's tenure has been a trainwreck thus far, you don't have much choice except to gamble hard on the riskier names. i don't think it will be a combustible disaster if things go badly, but it definitely feels like there's a high ceiling there. would love to get the season started right away!

Appreciate you adding your Clippers perspective here.

I couldn't agree with you more than they should have pushed hard to swap Jamal in for Barnes and they could easily have made the money work for the Hornets by also taking back Brian Roberts. I'm not 100% sure the Hornets would have done that deal, but I don't think its unreasonable at all.

yeah, i agree. we can't know what goes on behind closed doors, but if they were cutting barnes anyway then why not take jamal crawford too? their salaries were essentially the same. hell, they might even have kept him or tried to have moved him in a 3-team deal.

to me that's doc getting greedy thinking he could get more out of jamal. hard for me to hate on doc after this offseason though.

I'm pretty sure the reason it was Barnes instead of Jamal is that Barnes' contract was guaranteed $1M and Jamal's $1.5M, in the end they found a team that wanted him to play in Memphis, but the Hornets were probably counting on saving half a million with the buyout.

I think I'm slightly less excited with the offseason than most, keeping Deandre should have been a given before he did his man-child act, and I'm not too high on Lance, even if he comes back to Indiana-Lance.

Pierce is nice to have, specially cause he makes it more difficult for teams to put their long wings on Paul and hide their PG on the SF, like they did with Barnes. But he's old and can't play defense, needs to be rested a lot, and will probably be injured quite a bit. Barnes was an iron man who did all the small things that made the Clips' offense thrive, and while Pierce is a more skilled guy, I have a feeling our offense will be worse because of that.

Aldrich, Prignioni and Wes are meh, I doubt they see the court much when it matters (just like the guys they replace), but I like Josh Smith a lot, specially on a team like this where he doesn't need to shoot a lot and the offense is built around good passers threading the needle all the time. He can just jump in and do something like what Blake does but with the 2nd unit.

Hopefully they're not done and they can turn Crawford into an end of the bench C, or an end of the bench SF. That would greatly improve the team's make up imo, too many on-ball creators and not enough players that can finish those plays or attract defenders off the ball.

All in all, I gave it a B.

Jason Thompson you said?

Not my first preference at all, but I'd do it.

I was also thinking Crawford/Hamilton to Washington for Webster/Blair (Wiz get a sparkplug guard and shave a year off Webster in time for Durant '16, the Clips get back another shooter and another big body).

Also not my preferred option, but if nothing better comes along, I'd also do it.

[Lindecision]

A clipper fan suggested it somewhere (while I was off pushing Thompson for Wallace + deal).

I think somewhere I threw out a Thompson/Crawford/Felton 3 way with the full understanding that it might get done in two separate steps so Cuban and the Clippers don't let personal feelings get involved.

I did in the Clippers board a while back. Didn't explore it that much, but Jamal for JT straight up works salary-wise so it won't be that complicated. Don't know how much Philly would stand to get out of this asset-wise. JT gives us a more servicable C than this team's been used to. If it doesn't work out then his final year is non-guaranteed which means its a trade chip. My memory is telling me its around $2M guaranteed, correct me if I'm wrong.

It was 2.65m, but with a 5% TK should now be 2,782,500 unless something funky happened.

Cool. Don't see it playing out like that though. If we trade for JT I think it'll work.

If we can't find a 3rd team to give you a little value, will you trade JT for Jamal and our 2019 2nd straight up? Or would you rather bet against us having a top 5 record with our 2016 2nd round pick swap with Brooklyn being 56-60 protected?

[HartfordWhalers]

I did in the Clippers board a while back. Didn't explore it that much, but Jamal for JT straight up works salary-wise so it won't be that complicated. Don't know how much Philly would stand to get out of this asset-wise. JT gives us a more servicable C than this team's been used to. If it doesn't work out then his final year is non-guaranteed which means its a trade chip. My memory is telling me its around $2M guaranteed, correct me if I'm wrong.

It was 2.65m, but with a 5% TK should now be 2,782,500 unless something funky happened.

Cool. Don't see it playing out like that though. If we trade for JT I think it'll work.

If we can't find a 3rd team to give you a little value, will you trade JT for Jamal and our 2019 2nd straight up? Or would you rather bet against us having a top 5 record with our 2016 2nd round pick swap with Brooklyn being 56-60 protected?

JC for JT straight up makes me happy.

[Lindecision]

It was 2.65m, but with a 5% TK should now be 2,782,500 unless something funky happened.

Cool. Don't see it playing out like that though. If we trade for JT I think it'll work.

If we can't find a 3rd team to give you a little value, will you trade JT for Jamal and our 2019 2nd straight up? Or would you rather bet against us having a top 5 record with our 2016 2nd round pick swap with Brooklyn being 56-60 protected?

JC for JT straight up makes me happy.

Really. Would've thought superior fit required a small asset.

[HartfordWhalers]

Cool. Don't see it playing out like that though. If we trade for JT I think it'll work.

If we can't find a 3rd team to give you a little value, will you trade JT for Jamal and our 2019 2nd straight up? Or would you rather bet against us having a top 5 record with our 2016 2nd round pick swap with Brooklyn being 56-60 protected?

JC for JT straight up makes me happy.

Really. Would've thought superior fit required a small asset.

I mean, Hinkie might just demand some 2nd because that is his MO, but getting out of the next year money is my motivation.

And if I could turn around and JC for Felton and a distant distant 2nd (maybe top 45 protected as well), I shave more money off this year and have a late 2nd eventually.

[clippertown]

As a true Clipper fan, let me put to rest the Austin Rivers talent question - he was amazing for us last year. He played great defense which was a major need. He also attacked the basket which was very helpful due to the lack of decent slashers on the squad. He plays within his limitations and deserves a bump in pay - no doubt about it.

He is also partly responsible for at least two victories in the playoffs - there are not too many minimum players that can make that claim. Until another real Clipper fan suggests Austin is overpaid, I think we should all lay off him.

[jazzfan1971]

I'm going against the grain a bit here, but I don't like their off season a bit. These teams are playing basketball, not fantasy basketball. And those moves look like classic fantasy gm moves to me. I think that is why so many of the reviews have been positive.

But lance Stevenson and josh Smith are two of the least efficient players in the league. I don't think you win with guys like that. I'm sure the hope is that Chris Paul is amazing enough to cause them to be more efficient, but that is a tall order especially with a couple guys with less than stellar mental game.

I look for the clippers to drop significantly down the offensive ranks and won't have the defence to make up the difference as teams should find ample opportunity to score by putting Blake into pnr situations.

I look for struggles, strife, and finger pointing this year.

[HartfordWhalers]

I'm going against the grain a bit here, but I don't like their off season a bit. These teams are playing basketball, not fantasy basketball. And those moves look like classic fantasy gm moves to me. I think that is why so many of the reviews have been positive.

But lance Stevenson and josh Smith are two of the least efficient players in the league. I don't think you win with guys like that. I'm sure the hope is that Chris Paul is amazing enough to cause them to be more efficient, but that is a tall order especially with a couple guys with less than stellar mental game.

I look for the clippers to drop significantly down the offensive ranks and won't have the defence to make up the difference as teams should find ample opportunity to score by putting Blake into pnr situations.

I look for struggles, strife, and finger pointing this year.

Josh Smith replaced Big Baby (and/or Hawes).
Lance replaces pg minutes going to Austin Rivers as far as I can tell, or is just a more athletic younger version of Crawford off teh bench.

If they brought those guys in to start and be huge offensive contributors I could see the argument. But instead they got better contracts to play with (Lance versus Hawes), and guys that are more likely to be able to step in and be valuable contributors for 15-20 minutes. For a team with really shaky depth, and no means to improve but an improbable salary dump of Hawes or the mini MLE, they got: Pierce (the scorer you see them missing), Lance, and Smith, while most importantly retaining Deandre.

It might not be a Spurs good haul, but from where they started, they aced it imo.

[clippertown]

I'm going against the grain a bit here, but I don't like their off season a bit. These teams are playing basketball, not fantasy basketball. And those moves look like classic fantasy gm moves to me. I think that is why so many of the reviews have been positive.

But lance Stevenson and josh Smith are two of the least efficient players in the league. I don't think you win with guys like that. I'm sure the hope is that Chris Paul is amazing enough to cause them to be more efficient, but that is a tall order especially with a couple guys with less than stellar mental game.

I look for the clippers to drop significantly down the offensive ranks and won't have the defence to make up the difference as teams should find ample opportunity to score by putting Blake into pnr situations.

I look for struggles, strife, and finger pointing this year.

The Clips starting lineup is effectively unchanged - they just replaced Barnes with Pierce. No reason to think the starters will not be just as effective. Our bench has also improved. Out goes guys like Hawes and in comes Stephenson and Smith.

Our starters are the same and our bench is better - both offensively and defensively. Its been a great offseason so far.

[Knosh]

Voted B, just because they kept Jordan. Not as impressed with their other moves as some of you seem to be.

Imo Barnes would have done more for them than Stephenson will. Smith is fine for the min, but I expect some regression compared to his time in Houston. Don't really see him as much of an upgrade over Big Baby/Hawes. Prigioni and Pierce are fine for the contracts they got, but both of them will be 38 when the season starts. Don't see the other vet mins having much of an impact. And Crawford is getting up there in age too. Overall I think this team is worse than last year's.

But as I said, I give them a B, because they didn't have much to work with.

[OrlandoNed]

I'm really impressed how Doc made chicken salad out of chicken crap this offseason. I'm very curious to see how their wing rotation plays out; a lot of combinations to play with.

[Lindecision]

JC for JT straight up makes me happy.

Really. Would've thought superior fit required a small asset.

I mean, Hinkie might just demand some 2nd because that is his MO, but getting out of the next year money is my motivation.

And if I could turn around and JC for Felton and a distant distant 2nd (maybe top 45 protected as well), I shave more money off this year and have a late 2nd eventually.

If that's the case then I think its on the 3rd team to give you that 2nd and we should be absolved of that duty.

[Dukenukem23]

This Clippers team is scary as hell. solid A

[jazzfan1971]

I'm going against the grain a bit here, but I don't like their off season a bit. These teams are playing basketball, not fantasy basketball. And those moves look like classic fantasy gm moves to me. I think that is why so many of the reviews have been positive.

But lance Stevenson and josh Smith are two of the least efficient players in the league. I don't think you win with guys like that. I'm sure the hope is that Chris Paul is amazing enough to cause them to be more efficient, but that is a tall order especially with a couple guys with less than stellar mental game.

I look for the clippers to drop significantly down the offensive ranks and won't have the defence to make up the difference as teams should find ample opportunity to score by putting Blake into pnr situations.

I look for struggles, strife, and finger pointing this year.

So, was I close or what? ('or what' being a valid option)

[bondom34]

FWIW, I was mostly with you jazzfan. But still half a season left and they're a solid 4 seed at worst.

[HartfordWhalers]

Really really great offseason.

But Crawford is in semi-limbo atm. Still, I gave it an A+.

I stand by my grade.

They had zero assets and they took some calculated gambles. The gambles did not work out, but

1) An expiring Lance was still better than a multi year bad contract Hawes
2) Taking smart gambles gets a good grade from me, even if the gambles come up bad. They paid nothing for those gambles, and they clearly had upside.

[jazzfan1971]

FWIW, I was mostly with you jazzfan. But still half a season left and they're a solid 4 seed at worst.

They literally had strife though.