J.R. Smith has literally been shanghaied away for the foreshortened 2011-2012 NBA season: rolling ILH sandbox thread

But Paul & Blake together? you give up most anything for that combo.

i mean you're essentially trading three top 10 picks, a top 20 pick, and then two MORE first round picks for one player

idk man

for 2 years of chris paul

Picks are potential. Take a sure thing over potential or lose Blake. You might lose Blake if Paul doesn't work out, you will lose Blake with what you have there now.

it was reported last year that doctors have informed Paul that he will inevitably need microfracture. I think the time frame is within the next 3 years.

dang - well amare came back but.. guess CP3 is still young

you will lose Blake with what you have there now.

i don't think this is true at all -- banking on signing cp3 to a long term extension in order to keep blake seems a lot more risky to me than trying to build a west coast version of the thunder, where you have a good, young core that grows together and bonds because of that and wants to stay and play together

i mean i know the clippers are the clippers but being in LA gives them more of a chance than most, esp if they recognize that they could be better than the lakers in a few years

But the likelihood they'll be better than the Thunder is really low. Since they have to go through them to advance, I don't see why Blake wouldn't want proven parts instead of a hodgepodge of possibilities.

it's hard to overstate how valuable that timberwolves pick is.

But my main thought is it's the Clippers. They'll fuck it up either way, but I'd love to watch a couple of years of Blake & Chris alley-oops.

I think Blake would be ok with choosing Anthony Davis and Eric Gordon over Chris Paul.

But the likelihood they'll be better than the Thunder is really low. Since they have to go through them to advance, I don't see why Blake wouldn't want proven parts instead of a hodgepodge of possibilities.

― EZ Snappin, Sunday, December 11, 2011 8:02 PM (1 minute ago) Bookmark

i just don't agree w/ this

if they made that trade this is their team,

pg chris paul
sg randy foye
sf ryan gomes
pf blake griffin
c ...they wouldn't have one

i don't see how that team is better than the clippers current core PLUS two more first round picks

If the Clippers were a well run franchise they would just be focusing on signing Deron as a free agent imo.

but since they're total bush league they know getting glamour free agents is almost impossible.

they don't need deron williams. if eric bledsoe is the fourth best player on their team (and he will be once they get a player from that t wolves pick) they will have a really good team. they aren't ready to win a title now, they shouldn't be trying to win a title now. there's a bunch of teams that have already built up teams that are better than them. they need to continue to draft well, build chemistry with their core and make a run in 2013 and on.

i think people are really underestimating the clippers chances of keeping blake if they follow that model

blake's knee could blow out again idk

Clips have Caron Butler at SF, but I get your point.

I just don't see why Blake wouldn't leave in two years because the potential is all further in the future than that.

they don't need deron williams, but they could have him! Instead they sign flotsam like Caron. You're absolutely right that they should just keep drafting well. But if you've got cap room you use it, especially with the 90% salary floor forthcoming.

it's really not! the thunder made the playoffs two years after they drafted durant and it became very clear that they were going to be a force

the clippers are going to make the playoffs this year

Well shit, if they get the next Durant it's a no brainer!

so, as i understand it, you won't "officially" know if a player is passed over in the amnesty bidding process until 6PM EST on the day the bidding ends. but does the player learn beforehand is he's selected? if so, and if billups is chosen, i'm guessing we'll hear about it -- loudly.

...they have the next durant

and yes, this upcoming draft is going to be one of the deepest in a VERY long time

I watched the Clippers blow too many games last year to think they're gonna make the playoffs. Too many dumb, raw players in the rotation.

getting rid of kaman would be a nice start.

god did you see any of those awful games early in the season that they lost almost entirely because of Kaman?

name 8 teams in the west better than them

but Matt, those dumb raw players are all better than Paul. Even if they're worse than an average NBA player right now, Bledsoe and Aminu are first ballot hall of famers, as is whomever they might get next year.

they're gonna be better than the hornets, could be better than houston, portland and denver

alright whatever -- a two man team of blake griffin and chris paul is obviously enough to win you an nba title, and is a better idea than building an actual team

the idea that either

a. chris paul is going to sign a long term deal w/ the clippers after their team is decimated by a trade for him

or

b. chris paul, blake griffin, caron butler and a bunch of bums are going to win the nba title in the next two years

is completely idiotic, and if the clippers deal away one of the best young cores in the nba bcuz they think one of those things is true, they really are going to be the clippers forever

I think that right now they're a playoff team that'll lose in the first round. If that's the goal, they've reached the promised land.

None of this matters anyways - the Clips are about making money not winning, so the constant churn of young players and the tease of future greatness is all Sterling has ever needed.

I think that right now they're a playoff team that'll lose in the first round. If that's the goal, they've reached the promised land.

what's the ultimate goal? the clippers winning an nba title this year or next year with chris paul and blake griffin as their only top 75 players? their goal isn't to build a team that may win the nba title, even if it's -- gasp! -- four years from now?

this argument is completely inane

name 8 teams in the west better than them

― v-shasty, Sunday, December 11, 2011 8:24 PM (3 minutes ago) Bookmark Permalink

well, let's see how free agency shakes out first!

I'm not as high on Bledsoe as Aminu as you seem to be. When it comes to their "core" I see it as gordon, griffin and the minnesota pick.

if they gutted the team but kept the minnesota pick I might be down if Paul extended. They'd probably become a free agent destination even with their ownership.

griffin is gonna be one of the 10 best players in the nba, gordon is gonna be top 20, the t wolves pick could net them another huge star. bledsoe will be a top 15 point guard, aminu at worst is a decent sixth man. deandre jordan fits w/ them.

this seems like a no brainer to me. i'm not saying that this is a championship dynasty or something, but paul + griffin + butler and no picks and no other conceivable way to significantly improve your team is not winning you jack, esp not in the next two years

if the clippers make that trade for chris paul he'd hitch hike to the knicks

Tim Reynolds @ByTimReynolds -- Get some new people. RT @sportsfreakk33: people keep saying trade Lebron for Howard

i truly don't think that the free agency model is the way to win, btw -- the heat are an incredibly unique situation, not a prototype

I agree this is inane. You are starry-eyed over potential and, after living through the Celtics of Gerald Green and Jefferson and Perk and top picks year after year, I'm less enamored of possibilities versus proven talent.

Not having a center is the real kick-in-the-balls for the Clips if they make the trade, and the Warriors offer sheet is murder if you take it or leave it.

They aren't going to win with Paul in the next two years, but hopefully they'll be good enough to sign both stars and fill in the blanks around them. That potential is higher than the young core they have now, in my opinion.

But as I said, it's the Clips so they're likely fucked no matter what they do. I'd just like to see them role the dice for once instead of always accumulating parts that leave asap.

If all those guys reach the peaks you project than of course it's a dumb trade. But if any of them besides Griffin actually do I'd be pleasantly surprised; even more surprised if it's while they're on the Clippers.

Outside of the Spurs almost all the champions of recent vintage have been built through free agents or trades. Three in one fell swoop is the rarity, as is it all falling in place in one go.

You are starry-eyed over potential and, after living through the Celtics of Gerald Green and Jefferson and Perk

i'm sorry but all of the guys on the clippers are already better than gerald green, jefferson was a very good nba player, and perk was a key component of a team that won a title and probably would've won another had he not blew his acl out

i'm not starry eyed over potential, i'm being realistic that chris paul, as good as he is, isn't worth essentially six first round picks

bledsoe will be a top 15 point guard, aminu at worst is a decent sixth man.
― v-shasty, Sunday, December 11, 2011 8:35 PM (8 minutes ago) Bookmark Permalink

I'm not that high on Bledsoe at all. He has serious issues with his shooting. Yeah it's possible but it's also possible he won't even be a top 30 pg imo.

I love Aminu but he also has bust potential.

Like I said I wouldn't do this trade as reported but not because of aminu or bledsoe.