Kaman the odd man out?

[Ben]

Why the hell is everybody trying so hard to split this up? Our bench is pathetic. Ideally Kaman and Randolph would be playing 32-34 mpg which leaves 28-32 minutes that need to be filled and could be filled by Camby.

We have one of the worst benches in the entire NBA. I say let Camby come off the bench for a while as the 6th man.

A bunch of people in this thread, including fans of other teams, have said that the Clippers shouldn't trade Kaman. Trading Camby doesn't help you in terms of 2010, since his contract expires by then, anyway. If you keep Zach and Kaman, you're pretty much out of the 2010 derby-- which might be just as well. Few teams are gonna win in that, and it's very possible that the most desirable FAs will mostly stay with their current teams. Getting Zach and Camby pretty much for free, which you did in the past 6 months, has to be considered a nice rebound from losing Elton Brand. You just need a really good SG who can score and defend (of course, lots of teams need one of those) and you could be pretty dangerous right away. Not, I think, a truly elite team, but quite good and fun to watch. The problem is that Baron might have a limited window in terms of remaining an elite PG, so if you keep Kaman you're kind of in "win now" mode. It might be hard to reconcile being in "win now" mode and being 2-11, but we'll see what kind of an impact Zach can make.

I wish the Clips the best. I really liked the 05-06 team. I never thought much of Zach Randolph as a team player; Portland improved when they got rid of him and NY got worse when they acquired him. But you never know. Maybe he'll be just what you needed, and will be able to work some inside-out magic with Kaman.

[tmorgan]

I don't think you should be looking to trade Kaman, either, but if you're looking for a quality player and depth in return, I'm pretty sure you could get two quality players from my Pistons. We're pretty desperate for big man help, even though we have enough big man bodies once Dice returns.

If it interests you, Rip Hamilton + Jason Maxiell is almost certainly something Dumars would think about. Max isn't getting enough minutes and is a nice bench big for energy (meaning dunks, erratic rebounding, and the occasional spectacular block).

[Latinoking90]

I don't think you should be looking to trade Kaman, either, but if you're looking for a quality player and depth in return, I'm pretty sure you could get two quality players from my Pistons. We're pretty desperate for big man help, even though we have enough big man bodies once Dice returns.

If it interests you, Rip Hamilton + Jason Maxiell is almost certainly something Dumars would think about. Max isn't getting enough minutes and is a nice bench big for energy (meaning dunks, erratic rebounding, and the occasional spectacular block).

Agreed. But Clippers need to add a second rounder.

[DraftSpecialist]

Why the hell is everybody trying so hard to split this up? Our bench is pathetic. Ideally Kaman and Randolph would be playing 32-34 mpg which leaves 28-32 minutes that need to be filled and could be filled by Camby.

We have one of the worst benches in the entire NBA. I say let Camby come off the bench for a while as the 6th man.

A bunch of people in this thread, including fans of other teams, have said that the Clippers shouldn't trade Kaman. Trading Camby doesn't help you in terms of 2010, since his contract expires by then, anyway. If you keep Zach and Kaman, you're pretty much out of the 2010 derby-- which might be just as well. Few teams are gonna win in that, and it's very possible that the most desirable FAs will mostly stay with their current teams. Getting Zach and Camby pretty much for free, which you did in the past 6 months, has to be considered a nice rebound from losing Elton Brand. You just need a really good SG who can score and defend (of course, lots of teams need one of those) and you could be pretty dangerous right away. Not, I think, a truly elite team, but quite good and fun to watch. The problem is that Baron might have a limited window in terms of remaining an elite PG, so if you keep Kaman you're kind of in "win now" mode. It might be hard to reconcile being in "win now" mode and being 2-11, but we'll see what kind of an impact Zach can make.

I wish the Clips the best. I really liked the 05-06 team. I never thought much of Zach Randolph as a team player; Portland improved when they got rid of him and NY got worse when they acquired him. But you never know. Maybe he'll be just what you needed, and will be able to work some inside-out magic with Kaman.

I agree with your assessment of Randolph and that we need to wait and see what we have before we make any drastic moves.

But I disagree that if we keep Kaman we are in a "win now" mode. Davis still has 3-4 years left at a high level. He might start to fade a little bit towards the end of that window, but he will still be one of the better PG's in the NBA. After that he still has another 2-3 years of being a productive player. Maybe not a star, but a solid player. Kaman is 26. We need to quit worrying about fighting for becoming an 8th seed and instead focus on what we can do to become a contender to win the West. We have one of those pieces in place with Kaman and his window is another 7 years. I think Kaman/Randolph with Camby off the bench could potentially give us the frontcourt needed. Obviously Camby will start to decline but hopefully Jordan can gradually develop and start to fill in for him. Our biggest weaknesses are our lack of a bench and scoring at the wings. I think if we give them another year or 2 Gordon and Thornton could develop to fill those roles. Then you add in the higher draft pick we will have this year and you will have another nice bench piece and next year and I think that gives us a solid 8 man rotation. We need to stop trying to turn this team around over night into a playoff contender and start looking more long term.

And we aren't signing big names in 2010 so we might as well get that thought out of our heads. Nobody in their right mind would sign here.

[madmaxmedia]

DraftSpecialist-

I'm inclined to move Kaman but your post makes sense too, in terms of being patient and not making moves for the sake of making moves.

Kaman is a quality NBA center, but I think the Clips are trying to build the best starting 5 around Baron Davis, and Kaman is not a good fit in those terms IMO. He's good but not great, and lacks athleticism. I don't think it's a matter of trying win a championship overnight (it ain't happening either way), but more of a question of- now that we've signed Diddy, how do we proceed from here? I'm not saying building a team around an older Baron Davis is the best of all choices, but he is here for 5 years. And I completely agree that we're not signing a big marquee FA in 2010, which is why I always thought TT and Mobley would get packaged for a player.

Regardless we are at least a major piece away from truly contending in the West, whether we keep Kaman or trade him for a quality wing man. You look at our roster and yes it's nice to have frontcourt depth, etc. but then you look at the best of the West and we are totally outclassed. If you take away any 2 Lakers not named Kobe, they'd still beat us in a playoff series. That being the case, I guess I am more inclined to be proactive and continue tweaking the roster. Jason Richardson would be a guy I'd be interested in. It has to be a good wing man of course if you're going to trade away a center.

The reason why the other poster mentioned a 'window' was not because of Kaman, but because of Davis' age. Yes Kaman is young, but he's not the focal point of any good team. He's a good piece, but not much more than that. The Clippers do have a 3-4 year window with Baron Davis. That doesn't mean Kaman must be traded of course, it just adds some urgency to the Clipper roster.

[Tucker74]

Excellent posts Draftspecialist and Madmax. I'd add that with Randolph now on board, we're faced with building the best team around both those players. Zach with his contract aren't going anywhere so the question is can he and Kaman co-exist? Most people would say "no" which is the reason for the trade speculation. Kaman only had one above average year when Elton was around and needs to be force fed touches to stay focused. And given his history Randolph needs the same. While I'm not the biggest fan of Richardson, he would be nice compliment to Baron and can certainly run. I just wish we'd focus more on building a solid defensive rather than offensive team.

[madmaxmedia]

I just wish we'd focus more on building a solid defensive rather than offensive team.

Yeah, that would also seem to fit in with Dunleavy's MO. Ironically it's under his helm that all these changes have been made, starting with BDiddy. I'm all for more exciting ball, but I'm more for winning than anything else.

I think signing BDiddy and losing Brand, combined with our horrible start, sorta forced all this into motion. We have some pieces to work with, but aren't exactly talent-rich either. Baron can be a major impact player as we've seen in GSW, but it has to be cater to his strengths. The downside is that even in GSW they only achieved intermittent brilliance. Too bad we didn't draft Andrew Bynum, instead of Chris Kaman (different years, but both mid-lottery.

In the best of all possible worlds, we trade for Richardson and both he and Zack have a chip on their shoulder to prove the rest of the league that they are better than yearly trade bait. Again, that's in the best of all possible worlds...

[TheBluest]

Internet rumor that Clips and Bobcats have a deal on the table.

J-Rich and Big Man Filler(Hollins)

Kaman and 2nd rounder

It's believed the Clips are waiting to see if J-Rich can get back on the court and contribute.

[DraftSpecialist]

We make a trade for Richardson and we no longer have the depth up front to compete in the West. I would much rather take a chance on Harden, DeRozan, or some one in the upcoming draft than Richardson. Camby isn't a long term solution. Despite having all of the potential in the world, Jordan still hasn't shown anything to make us believe that he is a long term solution. I say ride the season out. We have a lot of new players who aren't used to playing together or under this system. Let them have time to gel see who is cutting it and who isn't. Our biggest problem right now in undoubtedly the bench, IMO. I say let Camby come off the bench as 6th man. to give us some depth If we end up tanking this season draft a swingman who can come in right away give us some points off the bench or maybe even start and allow EJ to be our 6th man and spark off the bench. Taylor should further along next year to give us improved play.

A Kaman/Richardson swap might make us more exciting, but I don't think it makes us better long-term and short term this season is hopeless anyways.

I still think given proper time to gel we are one small piece from being a playoff contender. We just need our young players to continue to settle in and develop and some kind of production off of the bench.

[realfung]

I think the Clippers is buying success now.
Not a good sign but let's see if they can get some tickets for this season.