Shams: Beal to Clippers official

[Mavrelous]

Deja Vu

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[SkyHook]

Deja Vu

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Even more striking when they're lined up side-by-side.

[In-N-Out 247]

Deja Vu

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Even more striking when they're lined up side-by-side.

Who is the next one? Got 3 good candidates - CJ McCollum, Kris Middleton or Marcus Smart. Although I could see one of these guys getting bought out by the Wizards - they have 17 guys under contract. Even if they cut Justin Champagnie with his non-guaranteed contract, they have one too many contracts.

[gswhoops]

Deja Vu

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Even more striking when they're lined up side-by-side.

Who is the next one? Got 3 good candidates - CJ McCollum, Kris Middleton or Marcus Smart. Although I could see one of these guys getting bought out by the Wizards - they have 17 guys under contract. Even if they cut Justin Champagnie with his non-guaranteed contract, they have one too many contracts.

I picture them doing it a la Dark Knight scene with the pool cue fight, where they put them all in a room and say "whoever's willing to give back the most money gets to play for a contender this year."

[hugepatsfan]

Great for LAC. The atrocious contract Beal got combined with a bad situation on Phoenix made him look worse as a player than he is. He's still a very good player and an absolute steal at this price point.

[Morris_Shatford]

Its hard to hate on Beal at basically a 90% discount;
Most of us would buy near expired dairy at 90% off, so this is a no brainer.

[shrink]

Deja Vu

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It’s frustrating that 25 teams in the league are basically farm teams for the five free agent destinations. Their only chance is to get lucky and draft a true superstar. Nothing new.

[MartinToVaught]

Their only chance is to get lucky and draft a true superstar.

I mean, that applies to everyone other than the Lakers or the rare extreme outlier like the 2000s Pistons. I also don't think it's entirely luck; scouting and development also play a role.

For all the hype the Clippers have had recently as a free agent destination, we've still only made it past the second round once in the entire history of the franchise, and the biggest reason why is because we've never gotten that true franchise player in the draft. The closest was probably McAdoo way back in Buffalo (I don't count SGA because of how quickly we traded him away). If you don't have a young superstar on the rise, you're not winning a title in this era no matter how many 36-year-old free agents you can attract. It's like trying to win a Super Bowl in the modern era with a game manager at QB, just not happening.

If it's any consolation, with the strictness of the current CBA, along with actual franchise players learning to use their leverage to force their way off of their teams whenever they want instead of waiting until their contract's up, free agency just isn't as big a deal as it used to be anyway. Overpaying for a veteran role player/second-tier star's decline years isn't that enticing anymore now that the luxury tax actually has teeth, but that's basically what the free agent market is now.

[shrink]

Their only chance is to get lucky and draft a true superstar.

I mean, that applies to everyone other than the Lakers or the rare extreme outlier like the 2000s Pistons. I also don't think it's entirely luck; scouting and development also play a role.

For all the hype the Clippers have had recently as a free agent destination, we've still only made it past the second round once in the entire history of the franchise, and the biggest reason why is because we've never gotten that true franchise player in the draft.

They don’t need to find that superstar in the draft, because they get superstars in free agency, or player empowerment in trades where they pick their destination.

LeBron doesn’t choose to sign with a lottery team unless it’s the Lakers, just like Paul George and Kawhi choose the Clippers. LAL and LAC are the same, but injuries have held LAC down. Your cap space gets you stars, and this is a huge advantage for a handful of destination-teams. The only hope for the rest of the league is to find that All NBA superstar in the draft, because they probably aren’t coming to these teams in free agency or trade.

Ok, my annual off-season gripe is over. That’s the way the NBA is, and will always be, and we just have to accept it.

[MartinToVaught]

They don’t need to find that superstar in the draft

Clearly the Clippers do, since it's the only thing we haven't done in our 55 years of very little success while other teams win rings with stars they drafted.

[shrink]

They don’t need to find that superstar in the draft

Clearly the Clippers do, since it's the only thing we haven't done in our 55 years of very little success while other teams win rings with stars they drafted.

Since Ballmer took over, every pre-season they are considered contenders for a ring, sometimes favorites, without drafting one.