Front Office Football Central - View Single Post - In Search of Glee: The Woeful Clippers' Climb To Greatness

Izulde · 05-21-2011, 09:37 PM

No trades last month other than ours.

86-75 loss to the Heat in which we don't do much outside of Chris Kaman's 20 points and 14 rebounds and Blake Griffin's 17 points and 10 rebounds. As an added kicker, Ronny Turiaf gets back spasms and is iffy for a week and a half.

We lose 107-83 to Dallas, Rasual Butler's 13 bench points the best showing. Then the Rockets beat us on the back end, 95-83, despite Eric Gordon's 26 points, Chris Kaman's 11 points and 19 rebounds, and Blake Griffin's 16 points and 14 rebounds.

Finally the losing streak ends, 121-108 over Memphis. Eric Gordon scores 34, Chris Kaman piles on 26 points and 14 rebounds, Baron Davis nets 16 points, 14 assists, and Rasual Butler pours in 15 bench points. 20 points, 16 rebounds from Chris Kaman, Baron Davis's 15 point, 11 assist double-double, and Ryan Gomes's 17 bench points lead us to a doubleheader sweep in beating Minnesota 105-94.

121-101 loss to Orlando. All five starters with 13+ points, headlined by Blake Griffin's 23 points and 10 rebounds, Chris Kaman's 15 points and 18 rebounds, and Baron Davis's 14 points, 11 assists, but it's not enough against one of the East's best.

Essentially, we are what we are right now. A mid-level West team that's capable of fighting for a lower playoff seed, but not much else. That means we either need to really go for it or we need to fall back and rebuild.

A quick look of our roster says that we can build around the 21 Three of Eric Gordon, Nicolas Batum, and Blake Griffin. I also really like rookie Eric Bledsoe's potential.

That means we've got Baron Davis and Chris Kaman to offer as the big prizes.

So some calling around and we land ourselves a pretty damn large deal.

Los Angeles Clippers receive
PG Raymond Felton
C Timofey Mozgov
C Eddy Curry
New York Knicks 2012 2nd

New York Knicks receive
C Chris Kaman
PG Randy Foye
SF Rasual Butler

What this means for the Clippers
For the second time in his Clippers tenure, Jestor strikes a deal with the Knicks and this one's much larger than the Ronny Turiaf trade last month. Felton takes over as the SG, allowing Eric Gordon to shift to 6th man and become the explosive second unit scorer. Mozgov slides in at C and if he develops to the level he's capable of, he could be a formidable young frontcourt duo with Blake Griffin. Curry is a giant expiring contract, which will make Donald Sterling happy.

What this means for the Knicks
It's a steep, steep drop from Felton to Tony Douglas, but we project Foye will be starting there sooner rather than later. Kaman will provide a terrific frontcourt pairing with Amar'e Stoudemire and even with the drop in PG play, the Knicks just took a major step to establishing themselves as a legitimate playoff team in the East. Butler was very good off the bench with the Clippers.

Winner: Draw
Interesting rearrangement of talent by both teams. If New York gets smart and promotes Foye over Douglas, they win this trade. Basketball is once again relevant in the Big Apple.

I have to admit, the idea of a Baron/Felton backcourt intrigues, so I hold off on Davis's shipping papers to see how this works.

Knicks: 11-9 at time of trade
Clippers: 11-10

34.7% shooting in a 97-89 loss to Portland. Ouch. Ryan Gomes with 18 points was the only good thing. Ronny Turiaf is the new starting center, by the way.

Eric Gordon scores 15 bench points, but we lose the next night, 107-95, in hosting Houston.

102-96 loss to the Thunder, with Eric Gordon scoring 25 bench points, so he's working out great in that role. But Baron Davis has been dreadful since the deal, dropping to 38.8% shooting on the season. That's just not acceptable.

22 points from Blake Griffin and 16 bench points from Eric Gordon and we finally snap the drought, beating the Bulls 101-88.

But that's not enough and so we execute another trade.

Los Angeles Clippers receive
C Tyson Chandler
Dallas Mavericks 2013 1st round pick

Dallas Mavericks receive
PG Baron Davis
SG Willie Warren

What this means for the Clippers
With this trade, the Red and White are officially dealing out of the West playoff race, acquiring Chandler's $12 million expiring contract, even though he projects to start at center, along with a first round pick in what should be Dirk Nowitzki's start of twilight years.

What this means for the Mavericks
Dallas started slowly and finally got up to 14-10, but with this deal gives them is a stopgap in Baron to replace Jason Kidd when Kidd retires. Warren is just a throw-in to get some youth on the team, one who seems unlikely to pan out.

Winner: Clippers
They weren't likely to make the playoffs this season anyway and now that they're pulling out of the race, that means a better pick. Plus, with Chandler and Eddy Curry's combined $23 million and change in expiring contracts, and their youth, the Clippers are putting themselves in great shape for the offseason and years beyond.

Starting Lineup
PG Raymond Felton
SG Eric Gordon
SF Nicolas Batum
PF Blake Griffin
C Tyson Chandler

Okay, now this is really starting to feel more like my team, even if Griffin and Gordon were already here.

So what happens? Tyson Chandler goes gangbusters for 22 points and 11 rebounds with 0 turnovers in his Clippers debut and we win 95-80 over the Pacers.

97-88 loss to Milwaukee the night after. Raymond Felton's 16 points and 11 assists and Eric Bledsoe's 14 bench points are our only standouts.

Ho ho ho, Merry Christmas as we celebrate a 102-71 ravishing of the Raptors to get back to .500. Raymond Felton just misses the triple double with 14 points, 13 assists, 9 rebounds and 1 turnover, while Blake Griffin doubles for 20 points and 11 rebounds, and Eric Bledsoe and Ryan Gomes spark the second team with 17 and 10 points.

We upset Dallas 124-107 on New Year's Eve with some stunning performances. No, I'm not talking about Blake Griffin's 20 points, 10 rebounds, and 3 blocks, or Eric Gordon's 22 points. I'm talking about Raymond Felton's 20 points and 18 assists, and Eric Bledsoe and Timofey Mozgov ripping up the bench for 18 points a piece.

That victory puts us at 15-14, a half-game out of the 8th seed anyway, just behind Dallas, who have gone 2-4 since the trade. Knicks went 3-6 and are now 14-15.

Crazy developments, indeed.

05-21-2011, 09:37 PM	#4
Izulde Head Coach Join Date: Sep 2004	No trades last month other than ours. 86-75 loss to the Heat in which we don't do much outside of Chris Kaman's 20 points and 14 rebounds and Blake Griffin's 17 points and 10 rebounds. As an added kicker, Ronny Turiaf gets back spasms and is iffy for a week and a half. We lose 107-83 to Dallas, Rasual Butler's 13 bench points the best showing. Then the Rockets beat us on the back end, 95-83, despite Eric Gordon's 26 points, Chris Kaman's 11 points and 19 rebounds, and Blake Griffin's 16 points and 14 rebounds. Finally the losing streak ends, 121-108 over Memphis. Eric Gordon scores 34, Chris Kaman piles on 26 points and 14 rebounds, Baron Davis nets 16 points, 14 assists, and Rasual Butler pours in 15 bench points. 20 points, 16 rebounds from Chris Kaman, Baron Davis's 15 point, 11 assist double-double, and Ryan Gomes's 17 bench points lead us to a doubleheader sweep in beating Minnesota 105-94. 121-101 loss to Orlando. All five starters with 13+ points, headlined by Blake Griffin's 23 points and 10 rebounds, Chris Kaman's 15 points and 18 rebounds, and Baron Davis's 14 points, 11 assists, but it's not enough against one of the East's best. Essentially, we are what we are right now. A mid-level West team that's capable of fighting for a lower playoff seed, but not much else. That means we either need to really go for it or we need to fall back and rebuild. A quick look of our roster says that we can build around the 21 Three of Eric Gordon, Nicolas Batum, and Blake Griffin. I also really like rookie Eric Bledsoe's potential. That means we've got Baron Davis and Chris Kaman to offer as the big prizes. So some calling around and we land ourselves a pretty damn large deal. Los Angeles Clippers receive PG Raymond Felton C Timofey Mozgov C Eddy Curry New York Knicks 2012 2nd New York Knicks receive C Chris Kaman PG Randy Foye SF Rasual Butler What this means for the Clippers For the second time in his Clippers tenure, Jestor strikes a deal with the Knicks and this one's much larger than the Ronny Turiaf trade last month. Felton takes over as the SG, allowing Eric Gordon to shift to 6th man and become the explosive second unit scorer. Mozgov slides in at C and if he develops to the level he's capable of, he could be a formidable young frontcourt duo with Blake Griffin. Curry is a giant expiring contract, which will make Donald Sterling happy. What this means for the Knicks It's a steep, steep drop from Felton to Tony Douglas, but we project Foye will be starting there sooner rather than later. Kaman will provide a terrific frontcourt pairing with Amar'e Stoudemire and even with the drop in PG play, the Knicks just took a major step to establishing themselves as a legitimate playoff team in the East. Butler was very good off the bench with the Clippers. Winner: Draw Interesting rearrangement of talent by both teams. If New York gets smart and promotes Foye over Douglas, they win this trade. Basketball is once again relevant in the Big Apple. I have to admit, the idea of a Baron/Felton backcourt intrigues, so I hold off on Davis's shipping papers to see how this works. Knicks: 11-9 at time of trade Clippers: 11-10 34.7% shooting in a 97-89 loss to Portland. Ouch. Ryan Gomes with 18 points was the only good thing. Ronny Turiaf is the new starting center, by the way. Eric Gordon scores 15 bench points, but we lose the next night, 107-95, in hosting Houston. 102-96 loss to the Thunder, with Eric Gordon scoring 25 bench points, so he's working out great in that role. But Baron Davis has been dreadful since the deal, dropping to 38.8% shooting on the season. That's just not acceptable. 22 points from Blake Griffin and 16 bench points from Eric Gordon and we finally snap the drought, beating the Bulls 101-88. But that's not enough and so we execute another trade. Los Angeles Clippers receive C Tyson Chandler Dallas Mavericks 2013 1st round pick Dallas Mavericks receive PG Baron Davis SG Willie Warren What this means for the Clippers With this trade, the Red and White are officially dealing out of the West playoff race, acquiring Chandler's $12 million expiring contract, even though he projects to start at center, along with a first round pick in what should be Dirk Nowitzki's start of twilight years. What this means for the Mavericks Dallas started slowly and finally got up to 14-10, but with this deal gives them is a stopgap in Baron to replace Jason Kidd when Kidd retires. Warren is just a throw-in to get some youth on the team, one who seems unlikely to pan out. Winner: Clippers They weren't likely to make the playoffs this season anyway and now that they're pulling out of the race, that means a better pick. Plus, with Chandler and Eddy Curry's combined $23 million and change in expiring contracts, and their youth, the Clippers are putting themselves in great shape for the offseason and years beyond. Starting Lineup PG Raymond Felton SG Eric Gordon SF Nicolas Batum PF Blake Griffin C Tyson Chandler Okay, now this is really starting to feel more like my team, even if Griffin and Gordon were already here. So what happens? Tyson Chandler goes gangbusters for 22 points and 11 rebounds with 0 turnovers in his Clippers debut and we win 95-80 over the Pacers. 97-88 loss to Milwaukee the night after. Raymond Felton's 16 points and 11 assists and Eric Bledsoe's 14 bench points are our only standouts. Ho ho ho, Merry Christmas as we celebrate a 102-71 ravishing of the Raptors to get back to .500. Raymond Felton just misses the triple double with 14 points, 13 assists, 9 rebounds and 1 turnover, while Blake Griffin doubles for 20 points and 11 rebounds, and Eric Bledsoe and Ryan Gomes spark the second team with 17 and 10 points. We upset Dallas 124-107 on New Year's Eve with some stunning performances. No, I'm not talking about Blake Griffin's 20 points, 10 rebounds, and 3 blocks, or Eric Gordon's 22 points. I'm talking about Raymond Felton's 20 points and 18 assists, and Eric Bledsoe and Timofey Mozgov ripping up the bench for 18 points a piece. That victory puts us at 15-14, a half-game out of the 8th seed anyway, just behind Dallas, who have gone 2-4 since the trade. Knicks went 3-6 and are now 14-15. Crazy developments, indeed. __________________ 2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty)