Amare is as good as gone. Paperwork being filed today.

If this guy's still around at 15, we'd be stupid not to grab him. Once he develops, he could play undersized center like Ben Wallace (hopefully by the time he develops, Shaq will be out of the league) and our starting lineup would be sick.

PG-Francis
SG-Mobley
SF-Butler
PF-Griff
C-Stoudemire

Good lord have mercy.

 

Grab him with the 15th pick!Could he play C for us????????or is he more a 4!That would be a spectaculary team

 

Stoudemire will be gone before the 10th pick, let alone our 15th. If we miss out on the Ming/Woods sweepstakes by getting the 6th, 7th or 8th pick, we should IMO consider grabbing him and taking Grizzard with the 15th spot.

I was impressed by Butler in the March Madness games, but he is going to make a very good SG. He is just too small and will be overmatched by the tall to super tall SFs that are taking over that position. Heck, I think K.T. would do just as well as Butler at SF if he practices his jumper all summer.

However, I still have high hopes we will get #1 / #2 / #3 so we can use #15 and Kenny to move up far enough to get Marcus, who also will be gone by #15. We really can do without a SF (with Rice returning) for another year.

 

Kenny Thomas for the Clippers #8 pick. I don't see the Clippers using their pick if it's that low. That might be high enough to get Stoudamire or Wilcox....or Marcus.

 

The only flaw in that scenario, DCkid, is that Sterling loves draftees because he doesn't have to pay them much for the three to five years in which they are indentured to him. So why wouldn't he take Stoudamire, Wilcox or Marcus himself? And remember, next year is K.T.'s last before his big payday (free agency).

 

No, the real flaw is that the Clippers would laugh at such an offer. No way in any draft is KT worth the 8th overall pick. Maybe Mobley and a 15, that'd get a team talking, but KT isn't going to get you anything but a mid 1st at best.

 

But based on last season the Clippers might be changing their tune a little bit and realizing that having so many lottery pick players who are going to be asking for big contracts in three years time is not how you build a succesful team.

 

Actually, MFClark is right on the money. K.T. is a decent role player a lot of teams would like. Unfortunately, he is not worth a #8 all by himself. But Sterling wants "cheap" indentured rookies even if he loses them in three years. With enough star-quality rooks, he can sell the team for mega-big bucks if he chose to do so.

 

Everybody keeps acting like the Clippers will give away all of their players for draft picks to keep their salary low. Last year they did the exact opposite. They traded their high pick for Elton Brand. Brands contract will come up a year before the draft pick.

The Clips get bashed for not keeping talent. Mo Taylor and Derrik Anderson being the last two. Well nobody rushed in to pick up Taylor at a high dollar contract. Big splat when he hit the market. Remember he went to the Rockets at a low ball offer, because he wanted to play and display his talents and try again next year. Only an idiot would sign him to a max contract (oops).

And while Anderson has shown himself to be a good player, he is by no means a frachise player. With the Spurs he was the third option and a sub with the Blazers. Yet with the Clips he demanded a high contract before the year was out, then would not talk to them at all because they hurt his feelings. I am sure the Clippers are not missing him a bit.

The Clips are not the model franchise, but once you get a reputation every story keeps backing it up, true or not. Dream if you want to, but the Clips are not going to give up front line players fopr cheap trash.

 

There is iron in your words of life and death, I mean draft and re-sign. However, Sterling is the epitome of the cheap owner, and a goodly many of the LAC crew are indentured for a while longer, so time will tell all. Olawokandi and Odom will be the first indicators whether change is in the wind for the LACers. Brand is different in that he really is their franchise player.

However, that bald guy on ESPN was really funny when he was telling how Sterling refused to put soap in the showers and the towels were the size of washcloths. He was not too optimistic that Sterling had changed.

You are right, Pat, no one (including the Rockets) will be able to waltz in and pick and choose what they need, leaving table change and a hearty Hi-Ho Silver.