My Breakdown of Clips' Situation w/ poll . . .

[pistons]

Its my understanding that the Clips have approximately 14 mil in cap space left after the Brand / Maggette debacle . . . so from my point of view they have 4 options :

A. Go for the big splash RFA
Candidates : Josh Smith , Andre Iguodala
Most likely : Josh Smith

If the Clips threw a 5 year deal starting at 14 mil for any of these players , I doubt that any of their teams would match . It would be a 5 year 81 million dollar deal .

Iguodala : Sixers more likely than Hawks to match as they have shown a willingness to overspend in the past . However , I doubt they would match as 16 mil per season for Iggy is probably too rich for thier blood . If the Clips signed Iggy they would get a point for the revenge factor . The Clips would be able to really run with Iggy at the 3 and Thornton at the 4 . Still , 16 mil for a 18 - 20 ppg guy is a lot .


Smith : I still think this would be overpaying but you have to think they would be more comfortable with overpaying him than Iggy . He is younger , he is a better fit and has more upside . He can run with BD while also being a solid half court defender . The players too strong for him could be guarded by Thornton . And he and Thornton would compliment each other offensively as well as Smooth glides with his athleticism and Thornton bullies his way to the rim . If Smith becomes the 20 and 10 guy he has the potential to become then 16 mil is not a bad price . I doubt the Hawks match the deal either , but you never know .


B . Go for the Second tier RFA
Candidates : Luol Deng , Emeka Okafor ,
Most Likely : Deng

They probably would start a deal for one fo these guys at 12 mil . 5 years 69.5 mil .

Okafor : Okafor is the traditional PF and the most similar to Brand . He's actualy a better rebounder , shot - blocker , and defender than Brand but he lacks his offensive polish . The Bobcats could possibly match this deal as they offered 5 years and 65 million last year .

Deng : Deng brings perhaps the best pure scoring ability of all the RFA's and his mid range game would mesh well with Thornton's slashing , Kaman's post up game , Gordon/Mobley/Thomas 's perimeter shooting , and B - Diddy's little bit of everything . Still I think 14 mil per season is a tad bit over paying . I'd give him 11 - 12 mil per but the Bulls would definitely match that. So if they like Deng they could probably have him for this price.


C. Go for the Third tier RFA / UFA :
Candidates : James Posey , Josh Childress , Carl Landry , Nenad Kristic , JR Smith
Most Likely : Landry + Childress

The Clips could decide that their best move is to break up their space and improve the overall depth of the team . That way they could sign a couple of contributors .

Landry : If they offered Landry a 3 year 18 mil deal starting at 7 mil and with decreasing salaries , I doubt the Rockets match . That would be well into luxury tax money and I doubt they want to go there . Landry would be a solid alternative , who with regular starting minutes could become a 15 and 8 guy for the Clips which would be a very good bargain at 6 mil a year .

Childress : Childress could also likely be had at a 5 deal just above the MLE . Starting at 6.5 they could offer 5 years 38 mil . If the Hawks have to pony up 80 mil to keep Smith then they would probably let Childress walk.

Posey : Same scenario as with the Rockets. A 3 year 21 mil deal at 7 mil per would be too rich for the Celts blood as Posey would be costing them 14 million a season . could step inand start at the three or if coupled with the Landry signing could play 28 - 30 minutes off the bench at the forward spots .

JR Smith : Nuggets are already over the luxury tax so they wont be forfeiting an escrow money if they matched a deal for Smith but they would have to match a deal peny for penny though . So a 6 million dollar offer for Smith would really cost them 12 . . . still I expect them to make a trade this summer involving Melo and K - Mart that really fress up their budgest so they can match a Smith contract offer .

Krstic : I dont think the Nets really want him anymore with all the young bgs they now have so he could be had with just about a 4 mil or 5 mil starting salary . 3 years and 14 mil for Krstic would be decent and he would provide solid size either next to Kaman in the line - up or off the bench behind him as he is a very good rebounder and an excellent shooter .


D. Facilitate a trade
Candidates : Ron Artest , Al Harrington . Eddy Curry
Most Likely : Artest

Artest : If they traded the lower of the MIN first and their own to the Kings for Artest , They would probably bite . With Davis and Artest , the Clippers are a playoff team . . .. though Dunleavy may lose ALL of his hair at the shots that Artest and Davis take sometimes.

Harrington : They could probably trade Brevn Knight for Harrington at this point as the Warriors are loaded with forwards but lacking a PG . . . maybe TT , Kinght , and a 2009 second for Harrington .

Curry : TT for Curry would shave a 2010 contract for the Knicks and they might even throw in Balkman .


What I would do :

I would make Josh Smith my priority and try to get him at 5 years 80 mil . If that failed , I'd try to get Deng at 5 years and 65 mil . And if that failed I'd try to get Landry at 3 years 18 mil and Childress at 5 years 38 mil . And if that failed I'd trade a lotto protected first for Artest and then trade TT for Curry and Balkman .


Option 1 :

C - Kaman / Davis / Jordan
PF - Smith /Powell / Fazekas
SF - Thornton / TT / Williams
SG - Mobley / Gordon
PG - Davis / Knight / Taylor

Option 2 :
C - Kaman / Davis / Jordan
PF - Thornton / Powell / Fazekas
SF - Deng / TT / Williams
SG - Mobley / Gordon
PG - Davis / Knight / Taylor


Option 3 :

C - Kaman / Davis / Jordan
PF - Thornton / Landry / Powell / Fazekas
SF - Childress / TT / Williams
SG - Mobley / Gordon
PG - Davis / Knight / Taylor


Option 4 :

C - Kaman / Curry / Jordan
PF - Thornton / Davis / Powell / Fazekas
SF - Artest / Balkman / Williams
SG - Mobley / Gordon
PG - Davis / Knight / Taylor

[ClipperEric]

You stole my thunder! Damn you!

I don't like any of your options. We aren't going to offer J smith $81 mil if we didn't offer it to Brand.

My choice is Deng, but that's way too much for him as well. Maybe 5 years @ $50mil

[loflin3hree5ive]

I like the idea of getting both Landry and Childress. It will allow the Clippers to still have cap flexibility when Thomas and Mobley come off the books in two years. Biendrins isn't a bad option either but isn't listed on the poll.

[pistons]

You stole my thunder! Damn you!

I don't like any of your options. We aren't going to offer J smith $81 mil if we didn't offer it to Brand.

My choice is Deng, but that's way too much for him as well. Maybe 5 years @ $50mil

I agree with you on Smith though thats what it would probably cost to get him .

And if the Clips offered Deng 5 years and 50 mil , then they would have wasted their time because CHI would easily match that . Its gonna take at least 5 years and 60 to pry Deng away and even then the Bulls still likely match .

I like the idea of getting both Landry and Childress. It will allow the Clippers to still have cap flexibility when Thomas and Mobley come off the books in two years. Biendrins isn't a bad option either but isn't listed on the poll.

I actually was going to include Biedrins in my second tier FA group but I figured he'd be redundant with Kaman already there .

[ClipperEric]

Don't be so sure about Deng. The Bulls are cheap. Remember they traded away a proven stud in Brand cause they didn't want to pay him. Then they gave away Tyson Chandler.

Deng only makes about $4.5 right now. An increase to $10 is quite large. You may be right, it could take $12 to pry him away. Couldn't hurt to ask though.

[Kobe>Jordan>God]

The Clips are discussing Mobley and restricted first for Vince Carter.

[ClipperEric]

The Clips are discussing Mobley and restricted first for Vince Carter.

What does this do for us? With Baron and Gordon we don't need Vince....unless we're going to turn this into a run and gun show. That would be quite funny considering we never had a fastbreak last year.

[ClipperDomination]

The Clips are discussing Mobley and restricted first for Vince Carter.

Source?

[ClipperDomination]

The Clips are discussing Mobley and restricted first for Vince Carter.

What does this do for us? With Baron and Gordon we don't need Vince....unless we're going to turn this into a run and gun show. That would be quite funny considering we never had a fastbreak last year.

And we need a coach to replace Dumbleavy and his crappy system.

[evildallas]

The most you can offer Landry is the MLE value (Gilbert Arenas rule), but given the luxury tax situation in Houston that should work. To get Childress you probably have to make a run at Josh Smith and force the Hawks to match (which I believe they will). I think this is good option as opposed to overpaying for a name.

Option 4 also seemed good to me if you can pull it off. The Tim Thomas to New York trade is a great option.

Unless Dunleavy or replacement runs a lot more I think a max signing of Josh Smith will haunt you if Atlanta doesn't match.

[Lifter]

Deng is a bad idea. They have Throton on a rookie contract, so why would they want or need Deng? They need Josh Smith or Okafor - neither whom they'll get as their respective teams will obviously match any offer.

[FutureKnicksGM]

You should go after Josh Smith, but $81 million is over paying. I think 5 year $65 million, maybe $70 million is about right.

[GuyverX]

You should go after Josh Smith, but $81 million is over paying. I think 5 year $65 million, maybe $70 million is about right.

The thing is, they would have to overpay to land Smith. It all depends on how desperate the Clippers are for a starting PF.