RealGM

I think that we need a small forward. Our current SF's are Ryan Gomes, Aminu and to some extent, Butler. While Gomes sometimes plays well, I would love to have someone with more consistency, and who plays better defense. Aminu is good, but a rookie and somewhat of a project. Ideally, this SF would need to be able to help on offense when Gordon/Griffin come out, as well as be able to hold their own and defend against the premier SF's of the league.

Here are some of the names out there:

Carmelo Anthony
Iguodala
Tayshaun Prince
Shane Battier
Andrei Kirilenko
Omri Casspi (Kings want to deal him)

These are just some names that I can come up with off the top of my head. Obviously, Iggy and Melo would be a dream come true, but not realistic. I am currently liking Battier, and actually Casspi...He's a pretty good energy player who can play some D, and hit the 3-ball. Any thoughts?

I think the Clippers should seriously look into up grading the roster and make a run at the playoffs. Well , basically whoever they get should be able to play defense and shoot the three. Battlier and prince fit that bill.

I'd love to get battier here. His hustle and leadership would do wonders for our young team

I would love to have Casspi on the Clippers, but the Kings are not going to just give him away. We don't really have much to give the Kings that would actually make sense for them. I really don't know why they would even consider moving him.

We should have a little cap space this upcoming offseason, and I would hope that we would show strong interest in Prince. He'd be a nice fit that can shoot, pass and play D. It doesn't hurt that he would be returning home.

I would take Battier over Prince. Battier is cheaper and I think has more active playing years left . I may be wrong but I think Prince may be a bit broken down.

If ur gonna dream, dream big

Clippers trade
Chris Kaman
2011 unprotected 1st round pick
Al Farouq Aminu

Pacers trade
Danny Granger
Dahntay Jones

We would have a big 3 of Gordon. Granger, Griffin

PG3 that is a nice DREAM!!! I think we would only need to offer Kaman & Farouq, no 1st rounder.
How long does Dahntay Jones have left to play in the NBA after 7 year wouldn't/shouldn't he be bettter?

I wouldn't mind adding Prince or Battier. We could use a few veterans to help out this team.

PG3 wrote:If ur gonna dream, dream big

Clippers trade
Chris Kaman
2011 unprotected 1st round pick
Al Farouq Aminu

Pacers trade
Danny Granger
Dahntay Jones

We would have a big 3 of Gordon. Granger, Griffin

I would do that. It would be interesting to see what that pick could get us. I'm not sure if they would want Kanan since they already have that over big. It seems they might want a power forward instead and or cap space. An option in a three way trade might be someone kirilenko .

Gerald Wallace is available... Kaman + a first should do it.

PG3 wrote:If ur gonna dream, dream big

Clippers trade
Chris Kaman
2011 unprotected 1st round pick
Al Farouq Aminu

Pacers trade
Danny Granger
Dahntay Jones

We would have a big 3 of Gordon. Granger, Griffin

No way we do that deal.

That Minny pick looks like a top 5 pick next year and Aminu's shown some nice progress.
And the Pacers have no need at all for Kaman, with Hibbert playing as well as he has this season.

I know it's tough for Clippers fans, but we've got to be patient once again, because our young core looks promising and if we re-sign DJ we're set at every position with a promising player.
Then there are some picks coming our way that should help add some more talent and we'll have financial flexibility as well.

I also don't thing we need to have our own "big 3" to make things happen here.
What we need way more is a scorer off the bench, like Jamal Crawford(UFA this summer), Carl Landry(UFA this summer) or even a guy like Brandon Knight, who could be available with our own first round pick this year. Another guy that could do that is Jimmer Fredette out of BYU, if we were to trade down or if most of those underclassmen don't declare.

So to me, we've got to be patient, play our young guys and let Griffin and Gordon develop this season, as we're nowhere close to being in playoff contention(we'd have to go about 38-10 the rest of the way to have a realistic shot).

I tend to think that now that we have a real core (Griffin and Gordon), now is the time to start building around them. If we do it correctly, next year we can be a real playoff contender. The last thing the team needs is more draft picks, even high draft picks. Griffin and Gordon will bail if we don't start winning.

So I say go for it. Use every single resource we have to try to get the best starting five possible.

I think you should keep these four because they are better than anything you can trade for:

PG: Baron (just needs to keep good attitude and stay healthy. He is the perfect fit for griffin, unless we could get nash or something).
SG: Gordon (emerging star, just needs to be a touch less selfish in my opinion).
PF: Griffin (obviously).
C: DeAndre (looking more and more like the real deal as an intimidating force and rebounder).
SF: ???? (See below, Prince or Jackson).

That just leaves SF. I would take Prince. Sign him to a five year deal. His body is such that he will hold up even as he gets older. He is experienced and a great all-around player, a glue guy and strong defender. I would give the pistons whatever it took to get the deal done. They need a center, so caveman and maybe a 1st or one of our rooks should do it at worst. Caveman for prince should actually be a fair trade. Maybe we throw in one of our high second round picks. They really need a center. They are starting Kwame Brown for God's sake.

The alternative to me would be to get Stephen Jackson. Bringing him would perk up Baron, and give us another all-around great player and defender and that reliable third scorer we need. He is also great with assists and rebounds, a very well balanced player. He is on the market, so we should be able to come up with a fair deal with the bobcats easily.

Next I think we need more D. DeAndre is starting to show he can intimate and block around the key. I would get Thabeet and make him our dominate defensive stopper 2nd string center. He just isn't getting any play in Memphis but he really can be a dominate defender in the key if allowed (and if he can learn to stay out of foul trouble). My theory is that Blake has been helping DeAndre and I think he would rub off on Thabeet too.

Finally I think we need a strong 6th man scorer like Jamal Crawford or Oj Mayo. Someone who we can bring in and know he will light up the board when we are struggling. So this is how I see our second unit evolving (depending on who is traded of course):

PG: Bledsoe (or foye if bledsoe is traded)
SG: Super scorer like Crawford or mayo
SF: Aminu (or Gomes if Aminu is traded)
PF: Someone we don't have yet. Maybe get a free agent like landry this summer.
C: Thabeet

Release or trade anyone not named above, then try hard to make the playoffs next year!

The changes above seem realistic and possible to me if management works hard at it.

RiversideClips wrote:I would take Battier over Prince. Battier is cheaper and I think has more active playing years left . I may be wrong but I think Prince may be a bit broken down.

It's probably tit for tat for active years remaining between the two, but I'd lean to Prince. Battier is about 1 1/2 years older. Prince was an iron man until last season. He's played every game this year. Houston would be the better trading partner at this point. I probably wouldn't trade for Prince at this point, but would make a play for him as a free-agent. Battier has little reason to sign or re-sign here in the offseason. There's no ties and I'm sure a contender would be more appealing to him. You could probably say much of the same for Prince, but he is from the LA area and is friends with Baron. He'll also command a little more than Battier will, meaning that there will be less suitors for his services. By signing him outright, we don't have to give up anything of value.

I have wanted both at times over the years, so there would be no complaints from me if we got either one.

Also, I want to echo the sentiments that we need to be patient in our moves. I'm all for winning, but this is a development year. Any moves that are made before the deadline would need not be to salvage this season, but to build for next season and the upcoming years. Giving up the Minny pick should not be considered unless we get a mindblowing deal. I wouldn't be so quick to move Kaman either. His value is terrible right now, but he's still one of the better big men in the league and will be an expiring contract next season. We can't sell low on him out of frustration/desperation.

I have always had a huge man crush of Battier. He's an unrestricted FA this offseason so we could probably throw the MLE and our starting SF job at him and hope he accepts.

No, we don't need a small forward. Aminu is our guy and we need to develop him.

Aminu is a great sixth man as of now we need a starter

I agree that Aminu is a perfect fit for a sixth man, although depending on how much he improved i can see him as a starter in the future, right now Aminus good for some offence and defensive and brings a lot of energy to the court

How about Kaman/Gomes to Detroit for Prince/Wilcox?
Why for Clippers?
-Prince would fill the role as the third scorer and starting small forward. He would also be able to slide over to the two when ej goes out of the game and amino comes in. Tey's ability to shoot the three, play solid defense and pass the ball would be a great fit playing with this group.
-Financially, getting rid of Gomes makes it a lot easier to swallow trading big for small. This trade is great for the Clippers financially since Prince and Wilcox are both expiring. Even if Prince re signs for 8 million per yearand Wilcox comes back for 1 million, they still end up saving 7 million next season , which could be used on Deandre.
Why for Pistons?
They get one of the better centers in the NBA when healthy, who also happens to be a Michigan native. This trade gives the Pistons some good talent, for expiring contrActs. Detroit isn't a premier free agent destination anyways, so they get some good players in return. Gomes is a rugged defensive shooing small forward the Dumars likes. Chris would probably be there first option and get 20 and 10.

Why do folks always bring up Prinice for Kaman trades.

Prince isn't a 3rd scorer and could be signed outright this summer.
And Wilcox isn't more then a 3rd string big on your team and we've got Ike Diogu for that already.

Anyways, if we're to trade Kaman then we should get some real value in return and that's something a package like that won't give us.

Det the Threat wrote:Why do folks always bring up Prinice for Kaman trades.

Prince isn't a 3rd scorer and could be signed outright this summer.
And Wilcox isn't more then a 3rd string big on your team and we've got Ike Diogu for that already.

Anyways, if we're to trade Kaman then we should get some real value in return and that's something a package like that won't give us.

I use to wonder the same thing myself, but this scenario makes it worth it for the Clippers because they are also able to get rd of Gomes in the process and open up 7 million dollars for the 2011 off season. I wouldn't trade Kaman for Prince straight up, like what has been mentioned before here. has been a consistent 13 ppg scorer over the coarse of his career, which is way better then anything the Clippers have as a third option. I do agree that some folks on this board tend to under value Kaman and that we should look to get quality players that fit IF he I traded.