i mean seriously, if there was a way to send: francis, rice, and moochie to the clips for brand, piatkowski, miller, maggette i'd do it in a heartbeat... you'd be looking at (not necessarily starting, but you get the point): PG: andre miller/maddox (or a free agent) SG: piatkowski/mobley/maggette SF: maggette/posey/hawkins/griff PF: brand/griffin/taylor C: yao/cato/griff run the "o" through yao. you have cutters and movers in miller/maggette. you have defense in maggette, brand, and yao (miller and piatkowski are no worse defensively than francis/mobley). you have scoring off the bench in cat mobley. and you have toughness in brand, maggette, posey, etc. plus you dropped rice and moochie's contracts... i'd do it before la changed their mind....
I've said this time and time again, the only player that would land us Brand is Yao Ming. Brand is better than everybody on our team except Francis. I wouldn't trade Yao though because he has to much upside. But again I state that Brand is putting up the type of numbers that we all hope that Yao can put up on a constant basis; for his young career. I believe that Brand is only one year older than Yao. A deal that might get it done is Griffin and Moochie for Brand. Both are locked up for a while at a cheap price and both can produce.
When is the last time the Clippers have traded a *young* ROY? If you want to believe that Sterling will just give him up to a random offer rather than taking the best offer...knock yourself out. imo, The Sterling angle is just an exercise in dreaming about lopsided trades. you guys also realize that Griffin has no better trade value than Swift...if even that much.
why would players want to come over here to play for low money, low minutes, and not even getting close to beating a top contender like Dallas.
Griffin is far more likely to succedd than Swift. Griffin has incredible working habits, offseason and practice. Swift is lazy. He doesn't really care. Who can offer the Clippers a better C than Cato and a better PF prospect than Griffin?
Do you really think it's just an angle? Michael Olowakandi is going for 0. He's going to be gone - Former #1 pick, legitimate NBA center when very few exist. It's not just incompetence, it's cheapness. He doesn't want to pay anyone. Knowing this, is anyone going to give him dollar for dollar value? maybe, maybe not. He may want that for Brand but you think he'd get that for Miller too? I would take an under the radar Miller anyday if I can get him for a reasonable price - which is not Stevie Franchise. Of course if we can get Miller and Brand for Steve, that would be a good deal for us.
So called 'poison pill' contracts, the big extentions. The trading teams would have to be so far under the cap to accommodate all the dollars that don't count. Every guy who has signed one, last season Stevie, Wally Szerbiak, Baron Davis are stuck with their teams for probably three years before they can realistically be moved. Candy signed a tender so he is untradable until July 1, and only in a sign and trade.
I may be wrong but what I read and understood was that Elton Brand was not really looking for the max from the Clippers. He wanted $60M while Clippers offered $50M for the same amount of years - $10M apart. I wish Donald Sterling will okay the deal soonest because IT IS ON THE TABLE. And if think this deal is not on the table or the Rockets have not placed a call to LA - think again.
If Elton Brand gets the same amount of money as Rashard Lewis, he needs to fire his agent and sue him for malpractice.
Why everyone still so enamored with Andre Miller? Yeah, a guy that can barely lead a team to a 30 win season is exactly what this team needs...
Sane, Oh yeah, Griffin has a great "work ethic" like Brand, much less any better than anyone else. And why do you get to declare that the trade has to include a C and PF? It doesn't. That's just your logic. Aren't they going to trade Miller and Odom, too? I am sure they are much more interested in replacing Brand with a recognized name that will sell seats/merchandise than filling your roster criteria. Golden State, Denver, Memphis could all make very sexy trades (especially considering they have great draft picks), and I'm sure they would. 1/2 the teams in the league can make a better offer than Mobley and Griffin. Griffin potential means little. People take gambles when selecting in the draft. They don't take gambles with young ex-ROYs (20/10 ones at that); they want something established, or some big hype (like Chandler) in return. dream on
PG is the most difficult position in the NBA. It takes at least 2-3 years to develop chemistry with your teammates. Andre Miller on a terrible Cleveland team averaged over 10 assists per game. This year, he's stuck on a team where nobody cares and all the primary players are looking at their contracts or already have decided they don't want to be there. No, he's not Jason Kidd but he's young and talented. And in no other circumstance will you get this type of talent for less than market value as you will now with the dysfunctional Clippers.
When overused to suggest very lopsided trades for Elton Brand, who is clearly the 2nd or 3rd most coveted prize this summer (behind Duncan and possibly Kidd), then ...yes, it is just a way to dream up the impossible to feel like it has an ounce of credibility.
Funny how some of you have no problem making excuses for Andre Miller, yet you wouldn't even give Francis the benefit of the doubt last season when he was playing with frickin' migraines.
LOL. YEP. HE CAN DO WONDERS FOR AT TEAM!! He is surely a true point guard with 10 assists per game. But it don't matter if his team don't make the playoffs... I heard the Clippers are planning on keeping Elton Brand and Lamar Odom.
I wasn't here last here so I have no idea why youre quoting me. As far as making excuses for Miller, A) Miller is a pure point guard (and yes this matters. Steve Francis has one of the worst Assist/Turnover ratios in the league). B) The Rockets are not the Clippers or the Cavs C) Miller could be had for less than fair market value as he hates the Clips and they hate him D) Francis has never and will never lead the league in assists.
Youre so right. if Steve Francis was on the Cavaliers or the Clippers, theyd be a lock for the playoffs. And Franchise has led us to how many playoffs exactly?
I agree. Miller is a great assists guy, but not much of a leader at all. He's quiet and sullen. Hardly the kind of guy to rally the troops. Acquiring Brand is a no-brainer, if you can pull it off, which is doubtful. Even Donald Sterling won't let both Owolakandi and Brand go during the same off-season. But Miller and/or Piatkowski? No thanks. Gary Payton is a much better PG, a vocal leader and a premiere defensive stopper. Seattle wants him gone, and he'd probably be willing to sign for less than the max, given his age and desire to grab a ring. By the time he's ready to retire, Stevie would hopefully have learned enough to take over the point again. That's the direction I'd be looking if I were CD.
