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

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.

what massive free agent is going to sign w/ the paul + griffin + caron superteam?

The vast majority of guys in the nba are first round picks! If 6 is too many, what about 5? Or is 4 your cut-off? What if they through in a guy drafted in the first round in return?

We aren't going to see eye-to-eye on this no matter how many times we go back and forth. And we can't even share a drink over our preseason bar conversation through the net.

I'll toast you later if I grab a beer from the fridge.

xposts

Ugh - throw in not through in. I need to proofread.

well the massive free agent would be Dwight

If 6 is too many, what about 5? Or is 4 your cut-off?

four seems about right to me, yes

hahaha gtfo matt

dwight and blake feel like very similar players and not too complementary

I would pull the trigger on the CP3 to clips deal, just to see CP3 and Blake blow out their knees in a single play

you guys aren't seriously about to discuss the possibility of chris paul and dwight howard signing with the clippers, right?

it would be awesome if it happened

you guys aren't seriously about to discuss the possibility of chris paul and dwight howard signing with the clippers, right?

― v-shasty, Sunday, December 11, 2011 8:53 PM (1 minute ago) Bookmark Permalink

I wouldn't trade for paul in the first place if he didn't extend.

but if he did, yes I think Dwight would be interested.

Gordon, Bledsoe, Aminu, 2 Clippers 1st rounders but not the Minnesota pick. I think that's fair.

According to the "Trade Machine" they don't need to put Kamen in it for salary purposes.

is blake still on his rookie contract? what other big contracts do the clips have?

http://hoopshype.com/salaries/la_clippers.html

tons o' room

huh, funny that doesn't work... anyway if they didn't sign deandre they would be like 22m under the cap next year.

if they sign paul & howard sure... that's a good trade

but otherwise there isn't another crop of wade/bron/melo/amare/howard/d will/paul players just following these guys like an assembly line of franchise altering FAs

I kinda agree with EZ though - yeah you have stories like the thunder and the melo-less nuggs and that time when the rockets won 50 in a row w/o yao and/or t-mac, but those teams never go deep in the playoffs

for every thunder there is a hawks