FA Summer 2010 Breakdown for Clippers

[Clip34life]

PG
1.Felton -Ideal backup PG IMO.
Possible destinations: LAL/LAC/OKC
Projected contract: MLE
2. Nate Rob-Small, scoring guard.
Possible destinations: LAL/BOS/ORL
Projected contract: MLE
3. Tinsley - Veteran PG w/ a history of problems.
Possible destinations: LAL/DEN/BOS
Projected contract- 2 mil/yr for 2 yrs.
4. Stevie Blake - Good point guard, bad shooter.
Possible destinations: LAL/LAC/POR/DEN/OKC
Projected contract: 3 mil/yr for 3-4 yrs
5. Earl "Not the Pearl" Watson - Decent backup PG and defender. Another 2-3 mil guy.
Possible destinations: LAL/LAC/ORL/OKC
Projected contract: 3 ml/yr for 3 yrs
6. Rafer - Decent PG who can start but won't be a star. Most likely to re-sign w/Miami.
Possible Destinations: MIA/NYK/LAL
Projected contract: 2-3 mil/yr for 2 yrs
7. L Head - 3rd stringer. Probably vet. min.
Possible destinations: Just about anywhere. Maybe overseas if he can get a better offer.
Projected contract: Vet. min.
8. Ridnour - Decent backup PG.
Possible destinations: Just about anywhere
Projected contract: 2-3 mil yr/3 yrs
9. J Williams - Streaky PG.
Possible destinations: ORL/MIA
Projected contract: 2 mil/yr for 1-2 yrs
10. Mike James -I think he's pretty much done.
Possible destinations: DET/NJN
Projected contract: Vet min.

Others: Earl Boykins (overseas), Javaris Crittenton (probably going overseas at this point), Royal Ivey (overseas/15th man), Derek Fisher (Lakers), Chris Duhon (LAL/CHI/LAC), Lindsey Hunter (done or Pistons), Acie Law (overseas), Jannero Pargo (Lakers? Chicago?), Anthony Carter (re-sign w/ Nugs or retire)

SG:
1. Wade -injury prone but a great slasher and all around scorer. Will get a max level deal.
Possible destinations: MIA/CHI/NYK
Projected contract: Max
2. Joe Johnson -not worth a max contract. He'll get one from someone. The real question is for how many years?
Projected contract: Max
Possible destinations: ATL/LAC/NJN/CHI/NYK
3. Ray Allen -Good for an MLE offer for 3 yrs. He will be overpaid by someone.
Possible destinations: BOS/NYK/LAC
Projected contract: 7-8 mil yr/3 yrs
4. Raja Bell -would love to have him if we can sign for 2-3 mil a year for 3 years. Don't think he'll sign with us though. He'll probably garner an MLE offer for 3 years from someone.
Possible destinations: Pretty much any contender. My money's on one of the following: ORL/CLE (if Lebron re-signs)/DEN/SAS/BOS
Projected contract: MLE
5. Allen Iverson -no way. I think he gets a min. offer at most.
Possible destinations: NYK/PHI
Projected contract: Vet Min.
6. Ginobili -getting too old and I think he re-signs with Spurs. That being said he's indicated that he doesn't know what will happen with the Spurs. He'll either re-sign with the Spurs, go to a contender for the MLE, or get overpaid by some other team.
Possible destinations: SAS/LAL/OKC/NJN
Projected contract: 7-9 mil/yr for 3-4 yrs
7. Stackhouse -washed up. Would sign for vet min.
Possible destinations: ATL/BOS/ORL/DEN
Projected contract: Vet. Min.
8. Ronald Murray - a scorer. Will get 2 mil from someone.
Possible destinations: DEN/OKC/MIA
Projected contract: Vet. Min.
9. Michael Finley -will probably retire. If not will sign for around 2 mil with...
Possible destinations: LAL/DAL/SAS
Projected contract: Vet. Min.
10. Roger Mason -I feel like this guy's looking for a pay day. I could see one of the FA losers overpaying him or a contender signing him.
Possible destinations: OKC/MIN/LAC/ORL/BOS
Projected contract: 2-3 mil/yr for 3 yrs

Others: Tony Allen (vet. min. w/a contender), Marquis Daniels (2 mil a year for just about anyone.), Devin Brown (good get for the min.), Devean George (washed up. Will retire IMO), CJ Watson (think he re-signs with GS or signs with LAL) Jarvis Hayes (decent min. player. Would sign with anyone), Eddie House (probably signs with either BOS or ORL)


SF
1. Maurice Evans-Imma just kidding, it's BronBron. The plan is to throw the max at this guy and see what happens.
Possible destinations: CLE/NYK/LAC
Projected contract: Max
2. Tracy McGrady - Injury prone. Great talent, can he stay on the court.
Possible destinations: NYK/MIA/LAC?/
Projected contract: Anywhere from MLE to 9 mil/yr for 3-4 yrs
3. Rudy Gay -restricted FA. Which means we would have to overpay for the dude. Memphis traded for Ronnie Brewer so they may not want to match what we throw at him. I say anything more than 8 mil a year for this guy is too much.
Possible destinations: NYK/NJN/MIN/LAC/NYK
Projected contract: 8-10 mil/yr for 5 yrs
4. Anthony Morrow -restricted FA. I think GS would match any reasonable offer IMO. If things wind down and we strike out I say throw a 5 mil a year contract at the guy and see if they blink.
Possible destinations: GS/MIN/NJN/LAC
Projected contract: MLE for 5 yrs
5. Ronnie Brewer -I think this guy would be a perfect fit for our starting 5 at a reasonable price.
Possible destinations: MIN/MEM/LAC
Projected contract: MLE
6. Mike Miller -don't know how much he has left in the tank.
Possible destinations: LAL/LAC/ORL
Projected contract: 3 ml/yr-MLE for 3-4 yrs
7. Josh Howard -WAS won't exercise his player option. I don't know who would sign this guy long term. He's a headcase to boot.
Possible destinations: WAS/MIA/NYK/NJN/LAC
Projected contract: MLE for a few years or a one-year contract to prove his worth.
8. Dorrel Wright -would be a great get for 3 mil a year for 5.
Possible destinations: Any team pretty much.
Projected contract: 3-4 mil yr/5 yrs
9. Kyle Korver -more expensive Steve Novak.
Possible destinations: Any team that needs a sharp shooter.
Projected contract: 3 mil/yr for 4 yrs
10. Rasual Butler -would be good to retain for the min.
Possible destinations: LAC/OKC/MIA/LAL
Projected contract: 2-3 mil yr/3-4 yrs

Others: Jonathan Bender (1 yr contract at most), Matt Harpring (his knees are gone, he'll retire), Stephen Graham (out of the league), Hakim Warrick (Al Thornton clone. He'll get min. somewhere. Maybe go overseas if he can get more.), Joe Alexander (out of the league), Leon Powe (good min. guy), Tim Thomas (one of my favorites. I'd say sign him for the min. but he doesn't care anymore), Joey Graham (min. guy), Travis Outlaw (coming off an injury. My guess is he signs a short term contract to prove his value.), Sasha Pavlovic (borderline min./out of league), Alando Tucker (out of league), Bobby Simmons (craziest guy got rich of one season story ever. Min. contract now), James Singleton (out of league)

PFs
1. Chris Bosh - worth a max contract IMO.
Possible destinations: TOR/MIA/NYK
Projected contract-max.
2. Carlos Boozer - Puts up numbers. Are they empty like Randolph though?
Possible destinations: CHI/NYK/UTA/MIA
Projected contract: Probably max in this market
3. Amare Stoudemire - whoever signs this guy for a lot of money confines themselves to a 2nd round berth at best. All offense, a lot of attitude. I don't know if he exercises his opt out though...
Possible destinations: Re-signs with PHO/NYK/MIA
Projected contract: Max
4. Luis Scola - he is going to get overpaid. Will Houston match?
Possible destinations: HOU/NJN/MEM
Projected contract: 7-8 mil a yr/4-5 yrs
5. Jermaine O'Neal - Can still put up decent numbers. Injury Concern
Possible destinations: NJN/NYK/CHI/WAS
Projected contract: MLE-7 mil/yr for 3-4 yrs
6. David Lee - Will get overpaid.
Possible destinations: NYK/CHI/NJN
Projected contract: 7-8 mil/yr for 5 yrs
7. Al Harrington - NY fans complain about him...
Possible destinations: LAL/BOS/ORL
Projected contracts: MLE
8. Ben Wallace - Lost his ups but is a valuable rebounder and enforcer type.
Possible destinations: DET/BOS/ORL
Projected contracts: Vet. Min.
9. Udonis Haslem - Good scrappy player ala Ronny Turiaf.
Possible destinations: MIA/NJN/BOS/ORL/MEM
Projected contract: MLE
10. Drew Gooden - A headcase but Mavs fans like him.
Possible destinations: DAL/CLE/BOS
Projected contract:2-3 mil/yr for 3-4 yrs

Others: Craig Smith (Good rebounder, scorer), Etan Thomas (at the Charles Oakley stage of his career), Amir Johnson (Had potential, never realized it), Matt Bonner (was overpaid, good min. player), Juwan Howard (retires?), Channing Frye (A rich man's Brian Cook), Ike Diogue (A homeless man's Elton Brand), Kurt Thomas (what does he have left in the tank?) Brian Skinner (retires), Chris Wilcox (min. level player)

Cs:
1. Shaquille O'Neal - Hard to say what he has left. How much will he want?
Possible Destinations: Any contender. Most likely CLE if Le-Bron re-signs.
Projected conract: MLE
2. Brad Miller - Decent starter. Great backup.
Possible Destinations: Just about anywhere.
Projected contract: MLE
3. Marcus Camby - Having a great year. How long can he keep it up?
Possible Destinations: Just about anywhere. Money is he stays in Portland.
Projected contract: 4-5 mil/yr for 2-3 yrs
4. Brendan Haywood - Decent starting C. Dallas wants to re-sign him.
Possible Destinations: DAL/OKC
Projected contract: MLE
5. Kwame Brown - Good defender. Otherwise a liability.
Possible destinations: Anywhere
Projected contract: 2-3 mil/yr to MLE for a stupid team. 4-5 yr contract.
6. Jamaal Magloire - Was an all-star...
Possible Destinations: Anywhere or retirement.
Projected contract: Vet. Min.
7. Nazr Mohammed - Decent backup.
Possible destinations: Anywhere
Projected contract: Vet. Min.-2 mil/yr for 3-4 yrs
8. Mark Blount - The Tim Thomas of centers.
Possible destinations: MIA/BOS/LAL
Projected contract: Vet min.
9. Francisco Elson - 3rd string backup.
Possible destinations: Anywhere
Projected contract: Vet min.
10. Rasho Nesterovic - 3rd string backup again.
Possible destinations: TOR/SAS/LAL
Projected contract: Vet min.

Others: Fabricio Oberto (min. level), Darko Milicic (going overseas), Primoz Brezec (overseas), Jerome James (done), Randolph Morris (min. player, maybe), Jarron Collins (maybe min.)

[Kobe>Jordan>God]

Interesting read. I'm waiting to see your SF rankings!

[donemilio21]

4. Steve Blake (can't make free throws)

I think that was only once in that game against us which we won because he missed the FTs.

[BadNFluenz]

Well I disagree with the PG rankings, Duhon/Ridnour are decent bench players IMO. I think that they're a bit "underrated", because they were/are forced to start and obviously they sucked as starters. But as Backups I think they're definitely good enough.

[Clip34life]

Post deleted.

[Clip34life]

The rankings are kind of an organic process. I will be re-ranking according to feedback. Also I'll be adding opinions as to where each FA will go later on.

[BadNFluenz]

Is Anthony Morrow really a Small Forward?
Anyway, I wouldn't take him over Brewer/Miller/Howard/Sual. Of course he can light it up from beyond the arc like anybody, but that sums it already up.

[Clip34life]

Under contract

C: Kaman/Jordan
PF: Griffin
SF:
SG: Gordon
PG: Davis
+1st and 2nd rounder.
1st rounder will most likely not be at any of our starting positions. Will probably be either a PG or a SF. 2nd rounder would most likely be a flyer to add depth to the SG or PF position.

With their 1st rounder cap hold on (probably a high pick) the Clippers are projected to have somewhere around 17 million dollars. This is given a 52ish million salary cap. I think it'll be more like 55 personally which would free up another 3 mil.

[mattfish]

We have a pretty good skeleton roster for offensive production. I'm more concerned about defense, where a good SF can fill in to guard the opposing SG/SF. Ronnie Brewer might be that guy? Morrow might be a good SF coming off the bench for some additional scoring firepower.

[scoobs07]

Clippers should offer Kaman/Gordan in sign and trade for LeBron or Wade, then offer the max to Bosh or Stoudamire.

PF-Bosh/Griffin/Smith
SF-LeBron/Novak
C-Jordan/Shaq(vet min.)
PG-Davis/Brown/2nd rd. pick
SG-Butler/lottery pick

[Clip34life]

Under contract

C: Kaman/Jordan
PF: Griffin
SF:
SG: Gordon
PG: Davis
+1st and 2nd rounder.
1st rounder will most likely not be at any of our starting positions. Will probably be either a PG or a SF. 2nd rounder would most likely be a flyer to add depth to the SG or PF position.

With their 1st rounder cap hold on (probably a high pick) the Clippers are projected to have somewhere around 17 million dollars. This is given a 52ish million salary cap. I think it'll be more like 55 personally which would free up another 3 mil.

Let's look at our roster position by position.

Center: At center we're set with Kaman and Jordan. We might want to consider trading Kaman and starting Jordan but that's a decision that's probably a year away at least.

Power Forward: We're going to assume that Griffin's recovery goes along as scheduled and that he'll be starting next season. That being said, it would be ideal to have a capable backup PF to spell our rookie.

Small Forward: At small forward we have absolutely no one. The ideal starter would be a great defender who can play some point forward at times.

Shooting Guard: Eric's our shooting guard. It would be nice to have a capable 6th man at this position backing him up.

Point Guard: Davis. Davis is a scoring point guard with spotty defense. His ideal backup would be a pass-first, defensive PG. If I'm Dunleavy I'm drafting a promising PG at this position to put pressure on Baron and make it possible to trade him in the future. So our lineup will be as follows.

Pre-2010 Summer
C: Kaman/Jordan
PF: Griffin/2nd round banger PF-type ala Maxiell or Landry
SF:
SG: Gordon
PG: Davis/ 1st round pick

Clippers game plan
A. Throw max at LeBron James. James will most likely reject this offer. Odds are he stays with Cleveland. I'll break it down really quickly.
MIA-James probably won't play with Wade and Wade doesn't really want to play with James per his statements.
NJN-Not enough talent to contend for a while.
NYK-Same as New Jersey. Even if it was James and Wade or James and Bosh, who else is on that roster??? If either one of James or Bosh gets injured that team can't hope to win a game without both of them playing. This is the drawback of the max cap space plan. There is no depth or decent talent left on those teams.
CHI-Could happen. Would be a good fit. I see Wade going there though.
LAC- If James signs they have no bench depth. They're more talented than any other team's starting 5 but without a bench I don't think James risks it.
SAC-Not going to happen.
MIN-Not going to happen.

B. Go after other big FAs. The Clippers already have Griffin and Kaman so just about any FA big man can be ruled out. They already have Eric Gordon on a cheap contract so it's doubtful they offer Wade the max or that he would even want to come here. That leaves us with one max FA left, Joe Johnson. The Clippers might throw the max at JJ but I don't think they would give him the years he wants. Also, I think JJ wants to stay on the East Coast and will get a max offer from one of NJN, CHI, or NYK. He doesn't care about winning and will just take an offer from one of those guys or stay in Miami. What does this mean? The Clippers will most likely strike out on all the top FAs. This isn't really a bad thing because even if they signed LeBron they're an injury away from being right back where they started. Let's be honest, someone will get injured. So what should they do now.

C. Go after Tracy McGrady. If he can keep producing at this level I say throw him a deal for up to 10 mil for 3 yrs. The dude is still in his prime and besides being a great scorer he's a great distributor. This would also leave us some money to round out our roster. There may be injury concerns but I think the short contract negates the risk on that front. With McGrady signed we can work to fill out our roster. At this point I would throw a 7 mil yr for 3 yrs contract at Ray Allen and see if Boston matches. If they don't we have signed two all-stars at discount prices and added enough firepower to make Phoenix blush. At this point we can use the vet min. to sign some vets to back up the PG, PF, and SF positions. I think in this market a lot of people will be left out in the cold. It's not inconceivable that we could pick up Devin Brown, Mike James, Bobby Simmons, Etan Thomas, and Mark Blount for the minimum. Our roster would look like this.

C: Kaman/Jordan/Blount
PF: Griffin/Thomas/2nd rounder
SF: McGrady/Simmons/1st rounder
SG: Gordon/Ray Allen/Brown
PG: Davis/James/

D. We strike out on all the big FAs. In this case the Clippers would be best served by trying to build depth and fill the holes in their roster. This is the most likely scenario. In this case their priorities are as follows.

1. Sign a starting SF who can defend. The ideal move would be to sign Ronnie Brewer for around 5 mil/yr for a few years.
2. Sign a competent backup PG. I think 4 mil/yr for 4-5 yrs for Raymond Felton would do the trick.
3. Get a veteran big man to spell Griffin. Udonis Haslem would be a good sign for 4-5 mil.
4. Fill out the roster. We can fill out the roster by re-upping Rasual Butler and then signing players like Nazr Mohammed, Eddie Jones and Mike James for the min.

Roster:
C: Kaman/Jordan/Mohammed
PF:Griffin/Haslem/2nd rounder
SF: Ronnie Brewer/Butler/1st rounder
SG: Gordon/ Eddie Jones
PG:Davis/Felton/James

[Clip34life]

Clippers should offer Kaman/Gordan in sign and trade for LeBron or Wade, then offer the max to Bosh or Stoudamire.

PF-Bosh/Griffin/Smith
SF-LeBron/Novak
C-Jordan/Shaq(vet min.)
PG-Davis/Brown/2nd rd. pick
SG-Butler/lottery pick

Unfortunately if the Clips did that sign and trade, they wouldn't have enough money to offer another max FA. They would have to trade Baron and Kaman for that to work out.

[Clip34life]

Anyone else want to do a mock FA? Be interested in hearing others' thoughts.

[scoobs07]

I would deal Kaman, Gordan and Griffin for LeBron. I would then sign Bosh.

[thanumba2clippersfan]

I would deal Kaman, Gordan and Griffin for LeBron. I would then sign Bosh.

We can't give all of that away for LeBron, take out Gordon or Griffin and throw in a pick. I still wouldn't do that because we may be trading 3 all star type players for one. I know LeBron is one of the best players but you don't need to gut your roster just to get him.

[scoobs07]

I would deal Kaman, Gordan and Griffin for LeBron. I would then sign Bosh.

We can't give all of that away for LeBron, take out Gordon or Griffin and throw in a pick. I still wouldn't do that because we may be trading 3 all star type players for one. I know LeBron is one of the best players but you don't need to gut your roster just to get him.

Are you kidding me? The franchise will do do whatever it takes to get out of the sewerand make themselves legit. This trade does not really gut the roster because its more like a 3 for 2 trade. Are you telling me you wouldnt trade Kaman, Gordan and Griffin for LeBron and Bosh?

[Clip34life]

I would deal Kaman, Gordan and Griffin for LeBron. I would then sign Bosh.

We can't give all of that away for LeBron, take out Gordon or Griffin and throw in a pick. I still wouldn't do that because we may be trading 3 all star type players for one. I know LeBron is one of the best players but you don't need to gut your roster just to get him.

Are you kidding me? The franchise will do do whatever it takes to get out of the sewerand make themselves legit. This trade does not really gut the roster because its more like a 3 for 2 trade. Are you telling me you wouldnt trade Kaman, Gordan and Griffin for LeBron and Bosh?

To put it simply, LeBron would not want to be traded to a gutted roster. He is an unrestricted FA so he can choose where he wants to go. LeBron would just sign with us outright. Also, you STILL don't give up enough for LeBron salary wise to be able to go out and sign bosh. You need to package Kaman and Davis to clear that space, it's the only way.

[mj_shoefanatic]

I don't think Lebron comes our way w/o Kaman and Griffin on the team and Bosh is all hype.

[CLiPPzWeRD12]

Think we could get T-Mac for the MLE?

I believe we can re-sign most of our current players, and retain our MLE..

Kaman / Jordan
Griffin / Gooden / Sofo
T-Mac / Outlaw
Gordon / Butler
Baron / Blake

Bring over Sofo, and that's 11 players.. Then we could fill the team out with this year's Draft Pick, the Bi-Annual Exception (probably around $2 million), the Traded-Player Exceptions, and if needed some Minimum Salary Players.. I think this team could keep us in the playoff hunt, even if we had some injuries.. and that's something that we haven't had in a long time.. Maybe never?

There's a chance that we can get Lebron, but in the event that we don't, we're going to need a deep bench.

[loflin3hree5ive]

After doing a little research, it seems Dunleavy has a good relationship with Lebron's agent, Leon Rose. Dunleavy worked out OJ Mayo for Rose in an effort to increase Mayo's draft stock, and was open to letting Iverson (Rose's headache) work out for the Clippers this past summer. Couple that with the John Lucas hire and Dunleavy has played his politics card right when it comes to Lebron. Just thought that was worth noting.