I would agree. At this point Blake isn't signed, so the decision is really his. However, I hope that he does what Paul did and facilitate a trade. Blake reminds me of Amare Stoudemire but just a little more athletic. These one-way player like Blake are not always the best to build around, so yes my preference as stated above is a full rebuild...but again I don't know what to expect to be honest with you. When I was told about the CP3 trade yesterday I almost lost my ****. I never thought it would happen, but when it did i thought he pulled a Durant and just left. When i saw that we got a pick for him I was relieved, when I saw that we got a couple of young players like Dekker and Harrel i had a smile on my face. When i saw that the deal included Beverly and Williams I was fully happy. The writing was on the wall that Paul was gone, but to get pieces back allows us to soften that blow. As for you guys, that definitely helped your team to clear cap space and finally begin to assemble a team to challenge Golden State. I wonder what other guys you may shed in order to make a run for a third star as rumors suggest you are trying to do. I mean can you guys even shed more salary at this point?
that's the plan. When you have DM, I've come to realize there's always surprises and a way to get things done no matter what seems to be doable or not
Here's the thing. Doc Rivers has been the President of Basketball operations for the Clippers for a few years now. His pattern has been to keep the core of Blake, Chris, Deandre, and J.J. while trading away draft picks to acquire former players of his like Big Baby Davis, Paul Pierce, and Jeff Green. So essentially his only way to operate is to add over the hill, or average level players, to compliment the core. This trade is a huge departure from what Doc does. Hence this is evidence of West as work. Doc never plays rookies or young guys, so he would never ask for a package including Dekker or the others.
Wilbon: A shocker to me. A stunner. Apparently he & Harden talked & talked & talked. I don't know how it's going to work. I don't. I know D'Antoni is a creative mind offensively. He'll have to be at his most creative. Paul wasn't coming back if Griffin was gonna be there. Wasn't gonna happen.
bspn should just cancel all programming effective immediately, starting with Pardon The Intestinal-eruption
I know what you're saying... but what is factual here is that CP3 said I'm leaving. It doesn't have anything to do with Jerry West or Doc or whomever at that point. He wants to go. At that point, it was in EVERYBODY'S best interest to consummate a trade. LAC got assets back. CP3 actually will ultimately benefit financial. And the Rockets only got rid of the guys that they would have had to to create space in order to sign CP3, but this way they are able to operate over the cap and keep the MLE and other exceptions. It was a win-win-win ONCE CP3 made the decision. Not sure what West has to do with that?
coaching is certainly an issue, but not the only issue. An unspoken truth exists that the core of players we had just weren't that great, and together as a team underachieved. There are players in this league who put up good numbers in their career, like say Dwight Howard, Rudy Gay, Blake Griffin, etc. I think sometimes we are so focused on their numbers that we don't get a true measure of what they truly bring or don't bring. In the Clippers case, we had many players who were specialists in a way. For example, JJ Redick was a good three point shooter, but his defense was terrible. Blake Griffin was a good mid-range shooter, but also a terrible defender. DJ was an adequate defender, but had no offensive moves past a lob from Chris Paul. What this creates is a core that is highly limited and one-dimensional. We essentially had a good offensive team, but with middle of the pack defense. That all equates to exactly what the Clippers managed to achieve...a second round out. Therefore, the blame for the Clippers was more far rooted than just Doc, it was in part Blake, part DJ, part Redick, part Chris Paul, and yes...as you mentioned part nepotism.
@pageC4 if you have any questions concerning the future of basketball please direct them to @basketballholic
Why do you guys hate everyone who doubts the pairing won't work? ESPN is not the only network saying it won't work. I'm with Morey... get stars and figure out later... but stop acting like everyone who's critical is an idiot when a lot of the skepticism is valid Jesus Christ
Sure, Doc wouldn't ask for Dekker, a first rounder, or the young guys..West most likely asked for these, or at the very minimum advised Doc to ask for them. That's where we Clippers fans give West credit a role in the outcome. We have seen enough of Doc's moves to know that's not how he operates. Now true CP3 decided to leave, and it was inevitable, but the players asked for in return just happen to be the exact package that put our club better in this situation.
I don't think you get it from a math standpoint. Those players are the only way the math works out for both teams. The exact package you would have wanted would have actually included Gordon over Williams, and more picks. Houston gave up the minimum to get CP3 in this deal. Beverly, if kept would have also been irate because there was little to no way he gets extended. It's not Morey's style (outside of stars) and Bev was on that super saver budget deal. For us, it made sense to send him out now, as opposed to when things get toxic (especially if James does extend this summer). Unless West convinced CP3 to opt back in (not likely), not sure how this isn't more of a deal that any GM/President of bball operations would have done in the first place. Get something, anything, for nothing. Especially if that something is a low risk high reward player like Bev.
Keep in mind that wilbon doesn't like analytics and sees himself as a defender of the old guard of basketball. He also isn't s big fan if hardens style of play.
Well, in any case maybe none of these guys will be on the team by the time the season starts. Right now we are basically waiting on Blake..if he goes, this is going to be a total rebuild, and if that happens then at the very least there's something to be take from this experience. The new NBA landscape with its salary limits makes max level contracts a very important decision, so it teaches us to be mindful of who we max out. if a player is getting paid $20 million or more a year, you better expect him to play good defense and put up a minimum of 20 PPG. We just weren't getting that combinations from some of the players we signed.
The fact Blake is even fielding calls from the likes of PHX has me scratching my head. In no way PHX is a better situation than LAC. None. Now, if he could go to OKC, that could be interesting for him.
