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During the Lob City era, there were talks about the Clippers bringing in guys like Dwight Howard (for a DeAndre Jordan-Eric Bledsoe sign-and-trade under Vinny Del Negro in 2013) and Carmelo Anthony (throughout Griffin's tenure, but picked up after Griffin's ejection in 2013 Christmas game vs. Warriors). Instead, the Clippers pulled a 180 by trading their draft pick for the rights to coach Doc Rivers, triggering a gag order that would bar them from acquiring any Celtics for the rest of the 2013-14 season. Only Paul Pierce made it back, but it was too little, too late, right after the 3-1 collapse to Rockets, and Jordan had decided to leave the Clippers for the Mavericks.

Under Jerry West, the Clippers have re-invented themselves into a Good Samaritan, Grit And Grind team that brought together the ideals of the Spurs and Grizzlies, bringing back memories of Doc's Heart N' Hustle Magic. Only four teams without an All-Star, current or previous, have made the All-Star Game, only to lose instantly in the first round. Trading for superstar Paul George did more than just net them Kawhi Leonard. Remember Howard and Melo, guys they've missed out because of Doc Rivers as coach/GM/father? For their Revenge Of The Role Players Season and the ultimate sacrifice of seven picks plus Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to save NBA parity, the basketball gods are rewarding them: a second chance.

Have a look at this:




Dwight Howard will be bought out by the Grizzlies very soon, but he is seriously hampered by a "glute" of injuries, making him less effective than he was in his days as a Magic. Clippers are clearly focused on Ivica Zubac anyway, and Montrezl Harrell is more or less their primary center but he's small for his size.

But Howard might not be the only second chance. Look who's praising the Clippers defense:



The only times Doc Rivers ever made the NBA Finals was when Tom Thibodeau was his assistant coach and coordinating defensive techniques. Without Thibs, Doc barely got out of the 2nd round with the Celtics, and never even sniffed the conference finals with the Clippers. The less responsibility Doc has, the better he is as a motivator's coach. The Lob City era could have used Thibs, but the players he had back then were too stubborn.

With Leonard and George as the focal points of the Clippers system, do you see them picking up Dwight Howard? Also, do you see a Doc-Thibs reunion this season?

Think about all the players that could have been Clippers during the Lob City era, but ultimately fell through. The presence of Jerry West might rekindle those failed possibilities. Of the ones still active, do you see a second chance with any of the players above or those that are not listed?

Wammy Giveaway wrote: and the ultimate sacrifice of seven picks plus Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

I'm seeing "7 picks" all over the internet. It's 5. Three of ours and two of Miami's.

There are also two pick swaps, but that'll be meaningless if we finish ahead of OKC, which we fully expect to. It's really not all that bad. Only the unprotected Miami pick for 2020 and maybe our unprotected 2026 [we might suck by then] will have real value.

I think Dwight is definitely worth a look see...

He just will not fit in with our culture. I havent heard a peep from him in years though, so he has that going for him.

Good God I don't want to deal with Hack-A-Dwight when we inevitably need him for defense late in games.

I would take a flyer just let him know his role

If Doc could coax DJ into believing that he's the incarnate of Bill Russell into playing at an All-Star level albeit with selfish stat-padding, then one would think that he can somehow get Dwight Howard on the same page. However, I have my doubts on that. Dude has worn out his welcome at every one of his 7 NBA stops. His ego is and has been his biggest downfall. Plus, Doc tends to think he can rehabilitate anybody and look what happened with Josh Smith, Byron Mullens, Antawn Jamison, Glen "Big Baby" Davis, etc.

I don't want his mere presence to derail what we're building. One bad apple can start to spoil the whole bushel. I'm not at all advocating that we pursue D-Ho but if--and I say again if--the organization does decide to roll the dice in taking a flier on him, it had better be for a minimum 1-year deal and he better be put on a short and tight leash. The first sign of trouble and we waive his brokeback behind.

We need a 20 mpg rim protector for the Playoffs to battle with Davis-Gobert-Hassan(Nurkic). Time will tell what Kab and Zubac will be, but not in the 2020 playoffs. Remember Warriors had JO before Bogut.

If we missed out on Jamychal Green the alternatives are... Nene,Noah, Chriss, Faried etc. So I'd be allright for vet minimum tbh. That conversation with Jerry West about checking his state of mind probably. If Jerry like it our guys probably looking at him with in details.

getting Dwight Howard is worth a shot. Carmelo?? Hell no

Nah, forget about getting washed up big names as reclamation projects, we need to spend playtime in building the value of young guys that can have trade value 3-4 years from now, when we're not gonna have picks and we'll need to have liquidity if good trade proposals arise.

Can he prove it by joining a Good Samaritan team like the Clippers? Can he withstand being a permanent DNP and allowing the guys who are better suited for winning? Tracy McGrady did that for the Spurs, and his reward was garbage time in the NBA Finals. Howard giving up playing time completely and being a mentor could work wonders. Off-court strategy is as important as on-court production, and it's an intangible that can be passed on.

And my Preventions metric can prove it... I hope.

Bring back Shaun!

the question is Howard's health

in a small sample of 9 games last year, his bpg cratered at 0.6 per 36 minutes [career avg = 2.0]
his fouls per 36 were 5.3--abominable

the year before with Charlotte, in 81 games @ 30 mpg, he averaged 1.9 blocks per 36, 18 points and 13 rebs


we might want to be starting a real center come playoff time
Trezz is undersized and Zu is green

knowing the right place to be is very underrated--you get turned around or miss a switch, you can leak points bigtime
Howard's a 3-time DPOY
he knows where to stand

Then...



Clippers were interested in him as a way to keep Paul and Griffin. Of course, one ditched them while the other was sacrificed.

Now...

Wow. He used to have such a super hero like figure. Lean frame and bulky shoulders.
This man carrying too much weight and not being in shape is a damn shame.

Nothnx. I'd rather give Noah the shot.

Dwight the third stringer and just embrace being ready

Right off the bat—Dwight at this stage is purely a C. Young Dwight had the mobility to stay with C and PFs on the perimeter although he usually didn’t want to. Now, he’s strictly an interior player at a position where we have Zubac and Trezz. If he could play some at PF, it would help. But Dwight has never had the floordive/Everready trait … even when he was a legit top talent, he relied on his physical gifts rather than his motor and attitude. Now that he’s lost ability where he used to excel, he will have to rely on his brains, motor, and attitude. Being a bench player means you have to go in play hard immediately and be ready at any time. Do those sound like things Dwight Howard could (or would) do? I gotta say no.

Noah, on the other hand, was always a member of the floorburn team. And his play last year, while downscaled comapred to his peak, was still quite good and, IMO, better in the areas we’d want. He’s more mobile and passes (much much) better than Dwight at this point. He was kind of a force in his 13 post all-star break games—11 and 8 with nearly 3.5 assists and a block in just over 21 minutes a game coming off the bench. Unlike Dwight, I think he could still slot in against big PFs at times. I’m pretty sure that he’d be willing to try it, at least. Noah not only fits in better with our culture, I think he’s shown himself more willing to come off the bench and contribute and just play hard.

TrueLAfan wrote:Right off the bat—Dwight at this stage is purely a C. Young Dwight had the mobility to stay with C and PFs on the perimeter although he usually didn’t want to. Now, he’s strictly an interior player at a position where we have Zubac and Trezz. If he could play some at PF, it would help. But Dwight has never had the floordive/Everready trait … even when he was a legit top talent, he relied on his physical gifts rather than his motor and attitude. Now that he’s lost ability where he used to excel, he will have to rely on his brains, motor, and attitude. Being a bench player means you have to go in play hard immediately and be ready at any time. Do those sound like things Dwight Howard could (or would) do? I gotta say no.

Noah, on the other hand, was always a member of the floorburn team. And his play last year, while downscaled comapred to his peak, was still quite good and, IMO, better in the areas we’d want. He’s more mobile and passes (much much) better than Dwight at this point. He was kind of a force in his 13 post all-star break games—11 and 8 with nearly 3.5 assists and a block in just over 21 minutes a game coming off the bench. Unlike Dwight, I think he could still slot in against big PFs at times. I’m pretty sure that he’d be willing to try it, at least. Noah not only fits in better with our culture, I think he’s shown himself more willing to come off the bench and contribute and just play hard.

Would Noah really be pleased being a third stringer? Whichever guy has to be content no playing every game

Honest we just don’t need him. Only issue I have as far as bigs go who is going to defend the other top centers?

People like Jokic or ad.

Angel strike1 wrote:Honest we just don’t need him. Only issue I have as far as bigs go who is going to defend the other top centers?

People like Jokic or ad.

entire league has concerns on how to defend those guys, you can add Embiid to that list too. It's not worth bringing in a guy like Howard. Not now. We have to give Zubac and to a lesser extent Kabengele to play and show themselves, until at least the allstar break, before signing a guy like Howard or Noah.