"Time, talent on Shaun's side"

[mkwest]

Livingston has been back in town this weekend to visit family and friends before heading to Chicago on Monday. There, he’ll work out at the Hoops Gym, run by Michael Jordan’s longtime personal trainer, Tim Grover. Over the coming weeks, reps from NBA teams will be invited to watch Livingston work out and evaluate what kind of a contract, if any, they should consider offering him.

"I think they’ll be surprised how mobile I am," he says.

At the same time, Livingston concedes, he’s not close to being ready to take on an 82-game NBA season.

Would he like to return to them (Clippers)?

"Yes and no," he says.

"Yes, because of the fact that Elton Brand will be back, and they picked up (veteran point guard) Baron Davis. Playing under Baron Davis the first year, I think, would help my post-rehab program. The doctors estimated I’d need a year to rehab and it might take another year in addition to get back to the 82-game NBA grind. And I want to play for a winning team that has a chance to get into the playoffs.

"No, because there could be a better fit and situation for me, in terms of team and style of play."

"I just have to work harder. I’ll need to use my brain to compensate for what I’ve lost athletically. But if I don’t believe in myself, who’s going to believe in me? And really, I feel blessed."

Kirk Wessler, Peoria Journal Star

[JJ LoDuca]

There is no questioning Shaun's God-given talent or desire to play ball. I just hope that he's able to return to his pre-injury form and excel from there, be it here with the Clippers or elsewhere. I don't think it was a good plan for him to question returning to the Clips by basically saying he doesn't think he'll fit in with the style of play (which I think suits him better now that Baron initiate a running offense). Beggars can't be choosers, Shauny. Nonetheless, I hope to see him back in a Clips uni come November.

[loflin3hree5ive]

Yeah, I thought that was a little immature. I'll give him the benefit of a doubt that maybe Shaun thinks he could be our starting PG in four months and maybe took the Baron acquisition as a personal knock, or not being offered the QO and losing a few million dollar in the process, who knows? Shaun's high school teammates called him a prima dona and now maybe I guess I can see a little bit of that in his words, but we'll see. Shaun has got a lot to prove and he may feel a little bit cornered right now. Or maybe he's trying to play hardball like Elton (we think) .

[thanumba2clippersfan]

I hope Shaun does come back. He can't really be choosey right now, if he wants to play for a winning team I don't see why he doesn't want to come back to us. He may not become a great point guard but he can still have an important role on our team.

[GuyverX]

I think he's pissed at the Clippers for not having faith in him and his recovery. Realistically, the Clippers did the right thing by not giving him the qualifying offer but when you were hyped up as much as Livingston was, it hurts to have the keys taken away I can understand that...because you bring in an all-star PG in Baron Davis to take his place and now he feels the Clippers aren't the team he's supposed to lead anymore.

He's definitely not going to be starting here no matter how well his recovery goes. You can't blame him for saying he may not want to be back but a part of me feels like he owes the Clippers at least first dibs. The Clippers were the ones who had faith in him right out of high school with the 4th pick. They even refused a Maggette/Livingston trade for a future Hall-of-famer in Iverson because we believed in Livingston's potential.

[Det the Threat]

Man, it's really sad to see what happened to Shaun, who had a real promising future ahead of him, and i really hope that he can come back from that knee injury.

Though, i can understand him not being sure about coming back to the Clipps, cause not receiving the QO and then having to watch the team signing an All-Star calibure player at his position for five years pretty much signals to him that the team doesn't really plans with him anymore.

[mkwest]

First off, I like that he says that Elton will be returning.

I think that Shaun has had a lot of time to think and play out every possible scenario in his head. It was a devastating injury that maybe an older player or someone without as much heart would have just thrown in the towel. Regardless of how it all plays out, I have to give Shaun his props because he's stuck with it even though it has been a very long and hard road to his recovery.

As Guyver mentioned, he may feel that he's being squeezed out. I personally think that as long as he is healthy, there would be a place (just maybe not place he wants) on this franchise for him even with Davis. He has to find the best situation for himself financially as well as opportunity At this point, I would love it if we could sign him to a 1 year deal with a player option on the 2nd. That gives him the chance to pace himself in his continued recovery, better showcase himself to the league, and give us a better opportunity to sign him long term if all goes well.

With all that said, I'll be rooting for him to make it whether it be here or elsewhere.

[vtime]

Players can't say the right things off the top of their head all the time. He didnt schedule a press conference. He was approached by a reporter and gave honest answers. The same kinds of answers many of you might give if if someone started asking you questions at your job right now. I dont think its fair to call him immature.

[jman3134]

I hope Livingston is back with the Clippers. He may not be in a starting role for a while, but then again- as he says- he may not recover and be able to handle the 82 game schedule for a while. If he can return to some semblance of his former self, he may be able to attain a starting job elsewhere. But, I think this is a bit shortsighted, considering how long the Clips organization and fans have waited and hoped for his recovery. It's not always about the monetary support. The Organization was committed to him for quite a while, and hopefully he decides to repay the favor. Anyway, best of luck to him and the new look Clips, who I will be cheering on in next year's playoffs.

[mj_shoefanatic]

Good luck on your next team Shaun

[sipclip]

It's basically a shot at Dun. Liv obviously doesn't have much respect for Dun and his system which is understandable.

[madmaxmedia]

I don't think we need to read so much into relatively mild words from a very young guy.

Does he feel like he's being squeezed out? Well he should, considering the Clippers just handed a 5 year contract to an all-NBA player at his position. It doesn't mean the Clippers have 'given up' on Shaun, it just means they had a chance to land a big player to lead alongside Elton.

The reality of the situation for Shaun is that he's just hoping for the best offers he can get, and will then decide what to do afterwards. He's a UFA with no clearly-defined market value, who knows what kind of interest or offers he will get. He obviously had a lot of potential coming out of HS, but honestly hadn't played all that great until his unfortunate injury. If it's going to take an entire year to get him back to full-time basketball condition then that unfortunately reduces his value even more. I'm sure the Clippers would sign him for a small salary, but I don't see them really reaching at all given that they will be handing out a lot of money with Baron and EB (assuming he re-signs.)

[NYCF]

I can't blame Shaun for saying what he did about Dunleavy's so-called "system". It must have felt like purgatory for a guy like Livingston (not to mention other athletic guys like Maggette, Singleton, etc. who demonstrated that they could get up & down the court at a pretty good clip) to be totally reined in by Fish Face Dunleavy's slavish adherence to the "matchup" game. I used to literally fall asleep watching the Clips play Fish Face's horrific "system". On those very, very rare occasions when Livingston was able to run and improvise a little he was spectacular. No matter what else you might say about him (lack of durability, poor shooter, lack of leadership qualities, weak defense, etc.), he does have a unique talent for dishing that cannot be taught. I used to wonder how different a player he would have been if he had been drafted by the Suns and had a chance to be Nash's backup. Bottom line, it is never going to happen for Shaun in LA as long as Fish Face remains the coach of the Clippers. I don't blame Shaun for expressing his frustration and venting a little. For his sake I hope he does get the opportunity to bolt the Clippers and start all over somewhere else (although I highly doubt any other team will take a chance on him after that horrific injury).

[Joseph17]

What was wrong with what Livingston said? What he said was true. Livingston is the type of player that's going to want to run every chance he gets. The Clippers won't let him do that. He didn't take a shot at Dunleavy's system. He just said that he prefers a different style of play which is understandable.

[GuyverX]

What was wrong with what Livingston said? What he said was true.

There isn't really anything wrong with what he said. I'm just disappointed he didn't take the route Clipper fans wanted to hear--which was that he wanted to remain a Clipper, prove he can be a factor on this team and continue his journey with the team more than anything else. I would've expected him to say something along those lines but he didn't so it's a little disappointing. We've been following his NBA career from day 1 and had faith in his talent when he really hadn't even shown us too much on a consistent basis. Even I believed in the Clippers' decision to turn down the A.I. trade because I thought Livingston would be a special player.

The correct answer would've been "yes, I'd like to remain a Clipper if things work out for me and the team, but anything is possible at this point so we'll wait and see." Instead, we got "yes and no...." It just makes it seem like he really doesn't care for the franchise and the people there too much...like only half of him wants to come back. He may or may not feel that way but that's how it came across.

It kind of reflects on his maturity level. It's not a big deal really but you can bet Elton Brand wouldn't have answered that question in that way.

[mkwest]

I didn't like the "Yes and No" response either, and I may be reaching, but he did give a few more reasons as to why it may be a yes as opposed to no. Coming into this season Shaun had hopes of being able to make a return come the end of December, all-star break, sometime in March, etc. and said that he hoped to show that he was capable of playing because of the uncertainty of his contract situation. In the beginning he always said that he would like to remain on the Clippers. Then it became he would like to remain on the Clippers but it wouldn't matter too much as long as it was somewhere in the NBA.

I don't want to say that he owes the organization in anyway, and he did end up getting hurt on the job. As a fan of both the team and him individually, I would just hope that when he's contemplating everything that he does take into remembrance that the Clippers have taken risks on him, invested a lot in him, as well as passed up other opportunities because they believed in his potential.

If another team offers him a deal that he simply can't refuse then he has to take it. If it's something comparable to whatever the Clippers can offer him, then I hope chooses to stay.

[subway]

Thats the thing about shaun he did not say anything about another team being best for him,until the clippers did not sign him the qualifying offer and got baron davis.

[JJ LoDuca]

I didn't really like his response, simply because it seems a little shady and out of character for Shaun to all but turn his back on the team that has supported him through his injury & rehab. There are good points here about him feeling disrespected by no QO and the signing of Baron, but he should be humble enough to recognize that the franchise has to do what's best to move on, because it is very likely that Shaun will never be a mainstay in this league again. Secondly, he should feel blessed that he has the opportunity to play behind Baron Davis while getting his NBA-level game back. I ain't mad at Shaun, just wish he didn't sound so prima-donna ish. I hope we see him back here in the fall though.

[madmaxmedia]

Yeah, but just like the franchise has to do what's best to move on, doesn't Shaun Livingston the individual? His career is at stake here, the wrong move could essentially permanently derail it.

The Clippers just signed Baron Davis, so obviously Shaun is not in their long range plans. We shouldn't expect the Clippers to be in Shaun's long range plans.

He just has to let things settle out, and see which teams are interested and offer him a contract. Who knows, the Clippers may not even offer him a significant contract to return.

[Joseph17]

What was wrong with what Livingston said? What he said was true.

There isn't really anything wrong with what he said. I'm just disappointed he didn't take the route Clipper fans wanted to hear--which was that he wanted to remain a Clipper, prove he can be a factor on this team and continue his journey with the team more than anything else. I would've expected him to say something along those lines but he didn't so it's a little disappointing. We've been following his NBA career from day 1 and had faith in his talent when he really hadn't even shown us too much on a consistent basis. Even I believed in the Clippers' decision to turn down the A.I. trade because I thought Livingston would be a special player.

The correct answer would've been "yes, I'd like to remain a Clipper if things work out for me and the team, but anything is possible at this point so we'll wait and see." Instead, we got "yes and no...." It just makes it seem like he really doesn't care for the franchise and the people there too much...like only half of him wants to come back. He may or may not feel that way but that's how it came across.

It kind of reflects on his maturity level. It's not a big deal really but you can bet Elton Brand wouldn't have answered that question in that way.

Lol. You can say that again.