Crawford and Billups officially sign with Clippers

[mkwest]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tI5SLa-D_Pc[/youtube]

[mkwest]

JAMAL CRAWFORD: INSTANT OFFENSE AND THEN SOME

"We feel that Jamal can be a consistent scorer in any role that we put him in, whether starting or coming off the bench," Head Coach Vinny Del Negro said when asked what he thought Crawford brings to the Clippers.

"When you have a guy who is able to score in bunches like that, it really does alter the game and affect how teams have to match-up with us. With the scorers we already have out there, to be able to have a player of Jamal's caliber coming off the bench is going to be a huge boost."

"I think everything that this organization stands for, the direction they are going," said Crawford, who turned 32 in March. "I think they were the perfect team for me because I'm not too young or too old, I'm right in the middle of my career and these guys aren't too young or too old as a team. They have the perfect pieces to continue to get better."

Crawford said it was an easy decision to come to Los Angeles, despite being courted by several other teams. Part of that may have had to do with the recruitment efforts of Paul, Chauncey Billups, and Blake Griffin.

"It feels really good to be on the same team with those guys," Crawford continued. "Chris was actually the first person to call me, him and Chauncey, saying how much they wanted me here. Then Blake called me as well, so when you have the top dogs like that calling you saying they want you on the team it makes you feel good. It makes you feel respected and you definitely respond to that. For me, seeing everything from top to bottom, it was a no brainer."

Eric Patten, Clippers.com

[awaywehappened]

He's a fan of Del Negro?!

Now that I thought of it, I'm actually a bit optimistic to see what he could do with Chris Paul setting him up...
CP3's definitely a big upgrade over Starbury and Bibby/Hinrich so it'll be interesting to see what he could do

[mkwest]

COMING TO THE CLIPPERS A PERFECT FIT SAYS CRAWFORD

On Thursday, he called the situation with the Clippers "too perfect," saying he felt wanted and was "very comfortable" making the choice to come to Los Angeles.

"When I look at every situation, top to bottom from the organization and coaching staff to the players to where they were at as far as winning and where they were going, the Clippers stood out to me," Crawford said in his opening statement. "It was really a no-brainer when I got home and talked to my family about everything. Top to bottom, I didn't think there would be a package like this anywhere else."

"Me and Chris actually talked for a while and just about how good we could be and he'd have another creator along with Chauncey and Eric [Bledsoe] to make things easier on himself."

"I've always been a guy who likes to play 3 guards at times to spread the court a little bit, especially when you have rim runners like Blake and DJ," Del Negro said. "We have four guys who can make plays off the dribble."

"In this business you meet a lot of people and teams that will tell l you what you want to hear," he continued. "But these guys were genuine in everything they were saying. And I just felt comfortable. They were straight shooters about everything I asked whether good or bad and I just respected that. I respected what they're doing as a franchise. When you think of the Clippers now, you don't think of the Clippers 12 years ago when I first came into the league. It's a totally different feel, a different vibe. I think the city of L.A. and across the west coast and the country are definitely taking notice."

Eric Patten, Clippers.com

[mkwest]

CLIPPERS RE-SIGN FREE AGENT CHAUNCEY BILLUPS

The Los Angeles Clippers today re-signed unrestricted free agent and five-time NBA All-Star point guard Chauncey Billups. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not announced.

In 20 games (20 starts) played for the Clippers during the 2011-12 season, Billups averaged 15.0 points, 4.0 assists, 2.5 rebounds and 30.4 minutes per contest. Billups shot 36.4 percent from the field, 38.4 percent from behind the three-point line and 89.5 percent from the free throw line. Billups 2012 season ended prematurely on February 6th in Orlando when he suffered a torn left Achilles tendon after scoring 18 points (10 in the fourth quarter) in what would eventually be a 107-102 overtime road win for Los Angeles.

Billups averaged 16.8 points, 5.4 assists and 2.6 rebounds in 32.1 minutes in 72 games with Denver and New York during the 2010-11 season. He was traded to the Knicks on February 22, 2011 and was later claimed by the Clippers off of waivers on December 12, 2011.

The 15-year veteran point guard was an NBA All-Star in 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010 and named to the All-NBA Second Team in 2005-06 and the All-NBA Third Team in 2006-07 and 2008-09. Billups helped lead the Detroit Pistons to the 2003-04 NBA Championship and was selected the 2004 NBA Finals MVP for his stellar play in the series.

Originally drafted by the Boston Celtics with the third overall pick of the 1997 NBA Draft after a standout career at the University of Colorado, Billups has appeared in 1,002 career NBA games for Boston, Toronto, Denver, Minnesota, Detroit, New York and the Clippers, averaging 15.5 points, 5.5 assists and 2.9 rebounds per game.

The 6-foot-3, 210 pound Colorado native was also a member of the gold medal winning USA Team at the 2010 FIBA World Championship and the 2007 FIBA Americas Championship.

Clippers.com

[TheNewEra]

Need to hurry and get this teams backup SF and C so they can gel. A drawback of last year was we made a lot of additions as the season went on.

[mkwest]

CLIPPERS OFFICIALLY WELCOME BACK CHAUNCEY BILLUPS

"We are going to do it right this time," Billups said with a smile. "It is me picking the Clippers this time, which is a little different then it was last time. I am happy to be back."

"This was Plan A. I said all along that I wanted to be back here. I see something special with what we have and I want to milk it," Billups said. "I went through the process, and I had certain criteria. I just want to win. I want to win a championship and obviously I don't have another 10 years to play in the league, so I want to win now. That is what I am shooting for, and I want to opportunity to do it and I think I can do it here. That is why I made this choice."

"For me, just being here and being able to meet the people here and see how they do business and see how they treat the players, it is different than what I thought," Billups said. "It is more along the lines of what I like, of what I look for. I learned to really appreciate the situation throughout the season. I think you look at the commitment that Mr. Sterling has made to trying to win and that is admirable."

"I plan on playing in all 82 games," Billups said. "I am grinding and working really hard right now. I know everyone thought when I went down it was over with. But those were the people that don't really know me and how hard I work and how determined I am. So to be able to come back is going to be a big deal, but I am not really surprised at all because I know the work I am putting in and the mentality that I have. I will probably surprise a lot of people, but not myself."

"In Lamar and Jamal, you have two guys who know and more importantly embrace their role and don't worry about the nights they don't play 30 minutes. They go out and try to take advantage of every minute they have. Lamar is a guy who is a winner and right now has a lot to prove, he is very motivated. Jamal is a guy who wants to win and a guy who has been a very good player for a long time."

Seth Burton, Clippers.com

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rlOYxnYbYGU[/youtube]

Also the terms of Crawford's contract are becoming a little more clear.

Year 1: $5M
Year 2: $5.225M
Year 3: $5.45M
Year 4: $5.675M

Each of the final 2 seasons are partially guaranteed for $1.5M.

[general]

I Know theres rumors $ 21.7 Mill, $24Mill and $ 25Mill. I think Crawford's salary Will look like this or close because people forget his Bird rights he had still.

1st year: $5.2 Mill
2nd year:$5.8 Mill
3rd year:$6.3 Mill
4th year:$6.6 Mill
-------------------------
Total=$23,900,000.oo

[general]

I Know theres rumors $ 21.7 Mill, $24Mill and $ 25Mill. I think Crawford's salary Will look like this or close because people forget his Bird rights he had still.

1st year: $5.2 Mill
2nd year:$5.8 Mill
3rd year:$6.3 Mill
4th year:$6.6 Mill
-------------------------
Total=$23,900,000.oo