RealGM

"The roster is stocked," he said. "We have to get Blake healthy, which he is, and now it's just a matter of him feeling good. His workouts have been great. We have a few free agents that we like, some Draft picks that we like, so now it's about getting the chemistry down and everyone pulling in the right direction.

"It's not about the system yet. It's a matter of putting things together the best we can."

Balancing the youth are veterans Baron Davis and Chris Kaman. Davis, especially, could use a bounce-back season after two so-so ones since returning to his hometown. Getting the Clippers' bearded playmaker in the right frame of mind is one of Del Negro's top priorities.

"He's got to run the team and orchestrate it," Del Negro said. "Baron has to buy into everything we're doing and he will. He wants to be successful and win. Now it's a matter of getting everybody on the same page as quickly as possible."

Gordon isn't going out on the playoff-prediction limb either, at least not yet. He admits that the team undermined its talent by not functioning as a cohesive unit under former coach Mike Dunleavy. The Clippers were in the bottom third in the league last season in both offensive and defensive efficiency.

"We're very close," Gordon said, "but at the same time, we just need to build chemistry, because it's going to be a new team with a new coach, and we just have to get the chemistry down."

Art Garcia, NBA.com