Blueprint for success Clippers desperately need change in philosophy Posted: Tuesday March 04, 2003 3:54 PM Updated: Tuesday March 04, 2003 4:35 PM While visiting the struggling Clippers earlier this season, I asked swingman Eric Piatkowski how he’d feel if head coach Alvin Gentry got fired. "Oh, man," he said, rolling his eyes. "I’ve already had four coaches in the last five years. I’d like to see us develop some continuity. "Besides, we’ve got it pretty good here. Alvin treats us like men. You never know how the next guy is going to be." Piatkowski, a nine-year veteran, has been around long enough to know how the NBA works. Teams that constantly shuffle coaches and players -- like the Clippers have done -- rarely succeed. Meanwhile, players who aren’t smart enough to know how good they have it probably aren’t worth keeping. That’s why L.A.’s decision Monday to fire Gentry and replace him with Dennis Johnson should be only a start. Whether DJ stays on as coach -- he will have 24 games to make his case -- is not nearly as important as which players will inhabit the Clippers' locker room next season. To put it bluntly, L.A. needs to clean house of some of its me-firsters who allowed the uncertainty over their own impending free agency to get in the way of team goals. Michael Olowokandi? Let him walk to San Antonio. Lamar Odom? Trade him for a savvy veteran. Corey Maggette? Too risky for a maximum contract. Quentin Richardson? Only if he’s willing to be a fourth banana. The Clippers have been a fun high-wire act the past two seasons, but this year’s disaster shows they need a change in philosophy. The best NBA teams aren’t just a collection of talented athletes. They’re a cohesive group with one or two stars and a bunch of role players willing to do the little things. That’s why the Clippers should go with a less-flashy approach. In Elton Brand and Andre Miller, L.A. has the two building blocks to create a solid playoff team for years to come. Playing together the next five or six years could allow them to become another dynamic duo along the lines of Utah’s John Stockton and Karl Malone. Brand, 23, is one of the game’s best power forwards. He gets you 18 and 10 every night. He draws double teams. He defends the post. He is among the league leaders in rebounds and blocked shots. Miller, 26, is one of the game’s best point guards. Despite his struggles this season while getting acclimated to a new team, he is a proven talent who led the league in assists a year ago. He has size, strength, vision and acute court sense. His outside shot needs work, but he’s a career 45.2 percent shooter (entering this season) who can penetrate and score inside. Brand and Miller can play the pick and roll, a staple of the NBA game. They can run the floor and finish. Perhaps most important, they are rugged defenders and rebounders at two key positions. "Elton’s a work horse. He brings it every night," Clippers assistant coach Rex Kalamian said. "Andre’s production has varied. Some nights he’s offensive-minded. Other nights he has looked to get people involved. He’s still getting comfortable here, mainly because of all the injuries, but there’s no question about his ability." Best of all, Brand and Miller are solid professionals who practice and play hard, seldom miss games with injuries and never make waves in the locker room. Unlike many young NBA stars, they don’t bring the kind of baggage that can poison team chemistry. "They’re both competitors who want to win," Kalamian said. "Given the chance to stay together and develop continuity, there’s no limit to how good they could be." The key to this plan, of course, is L.A. owner Donald Sterling. Given his penny-pinching history, it’s highly doubtful he’ll open up the checkbook for more than one of his six upcoming free agents. But Sterling has a new five-year local TV deal with Fox, and he’ll have an estimated $21 million to spend over the summer. If Sterling really wants to end his franchise’s reputation as the NBA’s longest-running joke, he has a golden opportunity. Invest the combined $160 million or so it would take to lock up Brand and Miller for the next seven years. Surround them with role players and an experienced hand to teach them. Then sit back and watch them develop. And if there are a few pennies left over for Piatkowski, bring him back as well. After all he’s been through with the Clippers, he deserves to be around for the good times. Marty Burns covers pro basketball for SI.com. Click here to send Marty a question or comment.
Here is the perfect blueprint for the Clips...............CONTRACTION. Contract this team, put this dead dog off life support. This team is just taking up space in an already overcrowded league. Those talented players should be on other teams trying to help them win for an owner who wants them to win. Donald Sterling (Clips owner) has said many times that he doesnt really care if the team wins or not, he is just in the business to make money. And so he will continue to draft good players with small contracts to attract fans, only to let them walk when there contract is up because he doesnt want to pay the price to field a winning ball club. Do you actually believe this blueprint idea non-sense? Take a good look at their blueprint for success in the past deacde? Has it worked? Man that's a tough one to answer. I am sorry to rant like this but, I strongly feel this is the most demoralizing situation to be in as a basketball player. To play and try win for an owner who doesnt care about his team and just worries about the almighty dollar is just pathetic. To be selected as a draft pick of the Clippers is like being punished and sent to hell for being a good basketball player. Take a look at everyone of their draft picks for the past decade as they walked on the stage to greet David Stern. None of them were smiling. Top pick Micheal Olowokandi was even insulted by Clips general manager Elgin Baylor who couldnt pronounce his name right at all that night in all of their interviews. He kept calling him "Ooo-lah-kan-dah" and "Ooo-lay-la-kan-da-hiee." Thank goodness they didnt draft Nicolz Skitzhvilli-whatever his name is. Baylor might have bit off his tongue trying to pronounce that name. Yeap, that really shows that they care alot about their players. Maybe that's he wants to leave so bad. Maybe that's why all of their free agents want to bolt like so many other former-Clips have done in the past. That's why they should be contracted.
Or better yet, the NBA should just force Sterling to sell the team to Bob Johnson, and let him move the Clippers to Charlotte. Charlotte gets an instant Eastern Conference contender, especially if Johnson retains everyone, and there's no dillution of the available talent pool by another team. Of course, that means giving Johnson back his expansion fee, so there goes that idea.
