Trade for a SF

[Pacerlive]

My biggest grip with getting one of those high-paid SF like Gay, Iggy or Granger (or, although i hope they're not even considering that, Chandler, Green or Young) is that we'd lose our capspace for 2012 and the possiblity of signing a max FA then, and therefore we'd lose our leverage on any potential trade negotiations for any of those FA's. That may be the difference between having to include Gordon or DJ (as well as the Minny pick) in the hypothetic trade or not, and that's a massive difference on our future.

Unless we can get one of them for Gomes + Foye + Aminu like you say, but I don't think that's realistic.

Pacers fan here and I agree with you. Its a lateral move to trade for Granger if it cost you Gordon but I will say this. His family wants him in the midwest badly and with that little Birdy in your ear all the time he might not resign as a Clipper. I highly doubt he demands a trade or anything but I wouldn't be surprised if you guys trade him for a fear of not being able to resign him.

I have a feeling Bird is going to hold some salary back in hopes of signing Gordon to a max deal.

[Det the Threat]

Pacers fan here and I agree with you. Its a lateral move to trade for Granger if it cost you Gordon but I will say this. His family wants him in the midwest badly and with that little Birdy in your ear all the time he might not resign as a Clipper. I highly doubt he demands a trade or anything but I wouldn't be surprised if you guys trade him for a fear of not being able to resign him.

I have a feeling Bird is going to hold some salary back in hopes of signing Gordon to a max deal.

That's just crap you're talking about.

We hold his bird rights and are able to sign him longterm this summer.
And we'll do so, as him and Griffin are the two cornerstones of this franchise.

So there's nothing of him wanting to go back to the midwest or whatever and we certainly wouldn't trade him for a 28 year old small forward with hardly any upside or more talent then what Gordon's shown so for us.

All this Gordon wanting to go back to Indy etc. is stuff Pacers fans are talking about, not knowing that he likes it pretty much in L.A. and not wanting to believe that players, especially after their rookie deal, will take the most money, which is what makes the Clippers the best spot for him.

[Pacerlive]

Pacers fan here and I agree with you. Its a lateral move to trade for Granger if it cost you Gordon but I will say this. His family wants him in the midwest badly and with that little Birdy in your ear all the time he might not resign as a Clipper. I highly doubt he demands a trade or anything but I wouldn't be surprised if you guys trade him for a fear of not being able to resign him.

I have a feeling Bird is going to hold some salary back in hopes of signing Gordon to a max deal.

That's just crap you're talking about.

We hold his bird rights and are able to sign him longterm this summer.
And we'll do so, as him and Griffin are the two cornerstones of this franchise.

So there's nothing of him wanting to go back to the midwest or whatever and we certainly wouldn't trade him for a 28 year old small forward with hardly any upside or more talent then what Gordon's shown so for us.

All this Gordon wanting to go back to Indy etc. is stuff Pacers fans are talking about, not knowing that he likes it pretty much in L.A. and not wanting to believe that players, especially after their rookie deal, will take the most money, which is what makes the Clippers the best spot for him.

Hey, I know it sucks man and if I were a Clippers fan I would be pissed too if he didn't resign but there is no doubt that his family wants him closer to home. Is that enough for him not to resign? I have no clue but I can tell it depending on the new CBA and if Bird rights exist anymore I think it may influence his decision.

[QRich3]

Actually everytime I've seen him being asked about that, he's acknowledged that his family wants him there, and although he's always been very respectful to the Clippers and politically correct with his answers, I wouldn't rule out he wanting to get there sometime in his carreer.

But as Det says, he's a restricted FA in 2012 and I'd bet we match anything that he can be offered. In fact, if he keeps developing like this he's a good candidate to be offered the maximum. Obviously we don't know how's the CBA gonna look like, but you get the idea, he is one of the biggest pieces of our future and he isn't going nowhere for a long time.

[Pacerlive]

Actually everytime I've seen him being asked about that, he's acknowledged that his family wants him there, and although he's always been very respectful to the Clippers and politically correct with his answers, I wouldn't rule out he wanting to get there sometime in his carreer.

But as Det says, he's a restricted FA in 2012 and I'd bet we match anything that he can be offered. In fact, if he keeps developing like this he's a good candidate to be offered the maximum. Obviously we don't know how's the CBA gonna look like, but you get the idea, he is one of the biggest pieces of our future and he isn't going nowhere for a long time.

It might be that he goes no where but if he says behind close doors he doesn't want to play for them then what do the clips do? Or if he signs a 3 year deal then wants too bolt after that. I mean its not unheard of for EJ to change his mind.

[QRich3]

Well I don't think he is that kind of guy, he's always been loyal to the organization and never had a bad word even when the team was awful and he could have had reasons to.

Besides that, one thing is to say he might be thinking of coming close to his city later in his carrer, but to actually believe he's just gonna come and demand a trade is just not too realistic either. His career is just in a better situation here than it would be in Indiana right now, and that's always gonna count more than being closer to mama's house.

[Pacerlive]

I think his career is fine where ever he goes because he will be a max player any way it goes. As far as his future success I think it really doesn't matter. The pacers will be in the playoffs for years to come with the core they have and I can see the Clippers also being in the playoffs for a long time as long as smart moves are made and money doesn't become an issue.

[thanumba2clippersfan]

How did this turn into EJ leaving to the Pacers???

I'm sure that EJ and his family would be happy if he played in Indiana, but he has to make his own decision. And we are still in need of a consistent starting SF.

[Pacerlive]

I merely said that he "may" leave to the midwest not necessarily to the Pacers. Anyway it goes I wanted to post here because Danny is one of the few good sf's who have a reasonable contract which fits with the Clippers ability to have a big 3. If you bring in Iggy or Gay both of which get paid more than Granger How would that affect your ability to resign Jordan to a big contract and have Blake as the max. Maybe it all works out but if the new cba has a hard cap then it may be harder to have a big 3 in the future.

[mkwest]

EJ wants to win. He sees his peers (Rose, Mayo, Westbrook, etc.) in the playoffs and wants that for himself wherever he's playing. Playing at home can be appealing to him, but the desire to play in a winning situation would surpass that. The Pacers have a lot of cap space coming up and can very well become a perennial playoff team and potential contender with the right moves. We have a lot of flexibility and already have Blake making verbal gestures to force the hand of the FO. EJ is the other piece of the puzzle for us. These guys won't have any problem living near the beach in sunny Los Angeles and playing for the Clippers as long as a winning product is produced. We may not have been able to produce that in the past, but we also never had a Blake Griffin-type player. There's now more incentive for Sterling to spend.

EJ will be a restricted free-agent next summer (unless he is extended this summer). It's very unlikely that he would turn down large guaranteed salary at that time to risk becoming an unrestricted free agent the following year. As far as a 3 year contract goes, that still gives us 4 more years to get it together concerning him. If we couldn't get our act together by that time, then I wouldn't blame him for wanting out. Besides, at that time (4 years from now), the Pacers may not even have the financial ability to go after him. So, I'm not all that concerned at this time.

[Pacerlive]

I see him signing 3 year deal personally with the Clips. It will be odd to see the Clips be the best team in LA but I like the Clips more than the Lakers anyway. Good luck hopefully the owner doesn't get cheap on you guys.

[mkwest]

I see him signing 3 year deal personally with the Clips. It will be odd to see the Clips be the best team in LA but I like the Clips more than the Lakers anyway. Good luck hopefully the owner doesn't get cheap on you guys.

Thanks, and I hope that he puts his money where his mouth is as well. Good luck to the Pacers this offseason (coach & free-agency).