Stay the course or blow up?

[Det the Threat]

Looking at the way this season is shaping up, the Clipps are once again not living up to their talent.
As we all know, this is not because we've got a team full of underachievers or guys not wanting to play together, but because of all those injuries, that really killed any chance of having a good year and competing for the playoffs.

Looking around these boards(and especially the trade board) i always see people(others, not Clipps fans) talking about how this squad won't get it done and how we'd be best suited going broke again and dumping(for next to nothing, according to many guys on the trade board) all of our long term contracts.

To me, that's pretty much a joke, cause we and the rest of the league, haven't seen what this team, if healthy, can do. I also do not believe in that hyped 2010 free agent class, as most of those top cats probably won't go anywhere and we, most likely, would only be able to grab some of those 2nd or 3rd tier players, if we'd have enough room under the cap.

So to me, the best thing we can do is to stay the course, wait for those injured guys to come back, let them play together and see how they fit. If they(Kaman/Camby/Randolph) don't fit together we can still work something out during the offseason. And if they click together, we can enjoy that team and hope to make some noise next year.

I mean, the worst thing that could happen would be a later lottery pick and a team that has gelled before the 2009/2010 season starts. And if we won't make any noise next year, we could still, then, go for broke and dump some contracts, cause i doubt that the trade value of our bigs or B-Diddy would really be lower by then.

Thoughts?

[thanumba2clippersfan]

I say we stay put, if this team can't work together once everyone is back then we can try and start from scratch.

[JJ LoDuca]

In my opinion, you do not blow up a team with Baron Davis, Marcus Camby, Zach Randolph, Chris Kaman, Al Thornton, and Eric Gordon. Trade pieces and parts here and there to help build the team-- but demolish it? Oh hell no. Stay the course, buddy.

But if you have to blow anything up, go with Coach.

[illastrate]

Trade Kaman and improve the bench. Keep the core players. We've got something good here.

[madmaxmedia]

I don't think there's any point to blow anything up, since I'm not counting on a big LeBron recruiting drive in 2 years.

As it stands, we have a blossoming stud in EJ, a good young player in Thornton, and a top lottery pick coming up (and a #1 that will eventually come from Minnesota.) In addition to that we have quality C and PF that are pretty young themselves. They're not worth trading (certainly not ZBo), and I would only trade Kaman if I thought there was a better fit coming in (which is not the same as blowing him out and trading for an expiring.)

Camby is older but is a great player for the price (and what we gave up to get him.) Baron Davis has been disappointing but there's no reason to dump him either IMO. With the other players healthy, I think he will be a good contributor to the team. He was never quite good enough to carry a team on his back (he'd get injured now even if he tried), but can be a good PG on a good team. These 2 guys don't have much trade value, until they reach their final contract year. Besides, it's Sterling's money not mine.

[mattfish]

I say stay the course. Our young players and bench are gaining valuable experience and confidence with each game. When one or two of our star players get back into the game, we can build towards next season. But as a Clipper fan, I've been saying the same thing each season for the past 15 years. I can't count how many times I've said "Wait til next year when _____ _____ will turn the team around!"

Fill in the blanks with anybody: Brent Barry, Maurice Taylor, Michael Olowokandi, Lamar Odom, Corey Maggette, Quentin Richardson, Elton Brand, Chris Kaman, Mike Dunleavy, Shaun Livingston, Baron Davis.

Only one that came true was Sam Cassell.

[ClipperDomination]

Blow up...

the coach that is.

[mj_shoefanatic]

props to fred jones for earning his clipper contract for the rest of 08/09 season.

The coach needs to be replaced ASAP!

[cinnamon]

Please count me in with the words of wisdom already expressed by JJ, ClipperDominion and shoe.
Couldn't have said it any better myself, so I just second their motions.,

[ClipperEric]

Stay the course, but with minor tweaks.

a. We have to resolve the Kaman/Camby situation. Since Kaman is younger we should try to keep him, despite Camby's excellent play this season. Plus Camby will probably give us a much greater return than Chris, who hasn't really played much this season and when he did, was less than spectacular. His value is down right now. I could totally see a contender giving up too much for Marcus. Perhaps:

- Utah for Okur
- Orlando for Turkoglu
- Celtics, Cavs, Detroit, Spurs, NO

b. I don't like Baron. I'm very unhappy with his lack of effort, lack of leadership and his overall play. I'd like to trade him for a better fit at PG. Not sure who that is, maybe Udrih, Nash, ??? We'd have to be willing to accept a bad contract to get rid of him though.

Other than that, we have a very solid lineup.

[playaloc916]

I'd say stay the course. There's a lot of talent on this roster, and we all know that Dunleavy is a major factor in our bad record. I'd like to see a new coach first, and then if the team is still stinking it up, then I think some major moves need to be done.

[mkwest]

Stay the course.

We have not yet seen what the team can do under ideal situations (healthy and with chemistry). Although, very rarely does everything go the way you want it to.

Players that will surely be here next year barring a trade:
PF/C Camby, Kaman, Randolph, Jordan
SF: Thornton
SG: Gordon
PG: B. Davis, Collins

Player Options:
R. Davis
Skinner

Not Fully Guaranteed:
Taylor

Unrestricted Free Agents:
Hart
Jones
Novak
Samb

We'll also have a lottery pick (unless we go on a 37 game winning streak starting Friday) and the MLE. I like the talent that would make up our core, plus we'd still likely have Jordan and Taylor who should continue to improve. I think that offers for particular pieces of that core should be entertained if it makes us better in the long run. I personally hope that Ricky opts out and someone else woos him away. I'm indifferent on Skinner, but if he is here next season, hopefully we will be healthy enough to not have to rely on him as much as we have this season.

A new coach is what this team needs moving forward. I'd like for Dunleavy to stay on as GM, but I doubt his pride would allow him to do that. I like the majority of the moves/selections that he has made this season so I have no reason to knock him at the GM position. The thing is that if it's all or nothing then it would just be a sacrifice that we would need to make. He had his rise and seemingly his peak. Now we're are experiencing his downfall with this franchise. He has done a lot of good over the years as far as bringing this franchise up to par in particular areas, but he's not getting the most out of the talent that he has on this roster. We need someone who will better utilize and motivate that talent. If healthy (sadly this team has not known the definition of the word "healthy"), we should be a playoff contender at the very least. As things currently are with Mike as coach, it seems like it wouldn't make much difference even if we were the healthiest team.

To sum it all up, the body has been put together pretty nicely, we just have the wrong brain running this monster.

[madmaxmedia]

The best things about this season right now are Eric Gordon and DeAndre Jordan. Gordon because he's a legitimate stud, in fact the best draftee the Clippers have had in a long time (probably equal to Odom in terms of early evaluation.) And Jordan because he's forced to play 25 or more MPG right now and is not embarassing himself at all with extended minutes.

We also have a lottery pick coming up, which is realistically going to be a very good pick. It's possible that we pick up an impact big man, or perhaps a scorer who can fill it up. Or maybe a PG. I would take best player available, outside of perhaps shooting guard.

I am also personally wondering if EJ can be a NBA PG, he seems to do a good job of recognizing a collapsing defense and finding the open man. It's not necessary to move him to PG, but could be an option depending on the rest of the team. He's going to be a stud either way.

Then we have Al Thornton. I think ultimately his upside is going to be a bench player on a good team, but a good bench player. I know he hasn't played ball that long and all, but he doesn't have nearly the athleticism and body control EJ does. I guess his jumper is serviceable, but it's ugly and I doubt he will ever be a sharpshooter. But he's a nice player overall who plays relatively big, has energy, and definitely has a role on this team.

Then we have the 4 main veterans of the team- Zach Randolph, Baron Davis, Chris Kaman, and Marcus Camby. Of the 4, ZBo is currently the most important IMO as long as he behaves. Camby is a pro but has a short contract. We all know about Baron, I can take him or leave him but I think better days are in his future as a Clipper- I don't think we need to dump him in a salary move. Kaman is a solid NBA center but I would look to move him as I am cautiously optimistic that DeAndre Jordan can play significant minutes at center. More motion and more transition would help this team IMO, and Jordan definitely has that over Kaman.

There is not a dearth of talent on this team, and we have significant young talent and a couple of potentially tradeable vets. I believe this team can potentially be a playoff team next year, but only if management plays its cards right in the offseason- draft, FA (especially our MLE), and possible trade will determine if we field a playoff team next year or are a pretender again.