"If we stay healthy and we get good chemistry going from this group, we're a Playoff contender," he said. "We've got a shot to make the Playoffs. Normally I'd say we are a Playoff team, but the West is so hard and the teams are so good. You might have to win 46 games just to get in there. So from 19 to 46 would be a pretty amazing jump for us, but we're hoping to do it."
"Randolph was a guy we really liked," Dunleavy said. "He's a guy who can give you 20 and 10, which is tough to give up, but we just couldn't figure out how those two guys [Randolph and Griffin] could play together. So instead of stacking a position, we were basically able to turn Randolph into Sebastian Telfair, Craig Smith and Rasual Butler.
"That gave us a lot of really good depth for our bench. That was something we were trying to accomplish, and we were able to do it pretty smoothly and seamlessly. All those guys are very good chemistry wise for our team."
Aiding the locker room vibe is a prime piece of Playa Vista real estate that Dunleavy hopes builds a year-round connection to the franchise. Players already enjoy living in Los Angeles. Might as well get them in your gym.
"The thing I'm happy about is it's the first year we've had a practice facility," Dunleavy said of the $50 million hub of operations that opened a year ago. "We didn't have it last summer. We've had guys in working there and around each other, and that's always a great thing. We have a great practice facility. Guys have been drawn to it and spend a lot of time here, and I think that bodes well for us as well."
"But if we had not gotten Blake, we would have got a good player and we would have had a good team. The team is set up to have a chance to be a good team for a long time. You look at the age of our guys between Baron Davis, Eric Gordon, Al Thornton, Blake Griffin and Chris Kaman. Then you have DeAndre Jordan in the wings. We have a good mix of veterans and young guys, and that's what you want to have to win."
Art Garcia, NBA.com
