Clippers Desperate? Hornets Destined?

Posted by HoopsAvenue on July 18, 2008 under LA Clippers, New Orleans Hornets | Be the First to Comment

After losing out on Elton Brand last week, the Clippers finally landed somebody this week picking up Marcus Camby for virtually nothing. It’s usually a good thing to pick up a solid player for virtually nothing, but in the Clippers’ case, they are more or less waving the white flag in the free agency market this summer. Josh Smith is still out there. Emeka Okafor and Andre Iguodala are too. They are all young and will star for your franchise for years to come, but the Clippers instead decided it wasn’t worth the risk of going after a restricted free agent. But, why Camby? What does he add to the Clippers at 35 years old? Don’t get me wrong, Camby is a great rebounder and shot-blocker, but he’s not going to get them to the playoffs.

So, the Clippers, in their ongoing misery, manage to add Baron Davis and get the fanbase excited and then proceed to lose Corey Maggette and Elton Brand. And, now they tie their money up with an aging player? The sad thing is this is par for the course for the Clippers.

On the other side of the spectrum, the New Orleans Hornets are having a great free agency. They signed Chris Paul to an extension which basically guarantees the playoffs for the foreseeable future and they just picked up James Posey who was so important to the Celtics title run. So, the team that was 2nd in the West, just behind the Lakers with youth on their side, now picks up a championship level defender. The Lakers will have Andrew Bynum back next season, but it will be hard not to pick the Hornets to come out of the West. The Hornets definitely will be in the discussion when you talk about Western Conference contenders.