Clippers Desperate? Hornets Destined?
July 18, 2008
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.
Clippers…still Cursed
July 9, 2008
Just days ago Clipper fans across the globe (or, more realistically, across some areas of LA) were contemplating how far the Clippers might go in next season’s playoffs. Today those fans are hearing that Elton Brand is planning to leave the franchise for The City of Brotherly Love, a move that, no matter how unexpected, can’t be that surprising to fans of the NBA’s most cursed franchise.
The Clippers were a laughingstock in the 90s and haven’t fared too much better this decade despite short bursts of hope. It seemed LA’s 2nd team was finally turning the corner when they went 45-37 and qualified for the playoffs in 2005-06. The Clips couldn’t build on that momentum though and failed to make the playoffs each of the past two seasons, with Brand missing almost all of last season. Still, this didn’t look like your 90’s Clippers as the franchise enticed Baron Davis back to his hometown just a week ago. Sure, they’d lose Corey Maggette, but every team has financial constraints and a Davis-Brand combo could be lethal. But, now it looks like we’ll never see that 1-2 punch with Brand bolting for Philadelphia.
A look back at recent Clippers history:
- Clippers draft Darius Miles 3rd overall in the 2000 NBA Draft. No high school player had been picked as high in the draft before. He played 2 seasons with the Clippers, never averaging more than 10 points a game.
- In the summer of 2004, Kobe Bryant flirts with the idea of jumping ship to the Clippers before re-signing with the Lakers.
- Clippers draft Shaun Livingston 4th overall in the 2004 NBA Draft. To date, he’s missed 101 of 246 regular season games due to injuries.
- Elton Brand ruptures his Achilles tendon in August 2007 and misses nearly the entire 2007-08 season.
Just another day for Clippers fans.
Free Agency Update
July 2, 2008
Yesterday was the first day of the NBA free agency period and here’s what you need to know:
- Baron Davis has reportedly reached an agreement to sign with the Clippers. This is a bit surprising considering the professional e-mail he had previously sent to ESPN: “”Clipps r possible. G State is where I wanna b”. Now the Clippers have to worry about re-signing Elton Brand. They’re going to have to let Corey Maggette go to pull that off and Brand will have to take a paycut, but it looks like he is willing to do so.
- Gilbert Arenas received a max offer from the Warriors. So, Gil’s old team is going after him again now that they’ve lost their point guard. The Warriors are young and fun, which fits Arenas’ style, but it’s hard to see him choosing them over Washington.
Where do you think Davis, Arenas, Brand, and Maggette will wind up?
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