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

Izulde · 06-02-2011, 02:44 AM

...And I forgot to save again? Wow, my memory's going.

So 21-20 as the last I saved was the 25th. On the replay:

Thunder: 100-121 L
Warriors: 105-113 L
Trailblazers: 81-109 L Tyson Chandler strained abs - 14 days
Bulls: 97-107 W

...Well that wasn't good. Instead of 24-21, we're 22-23 and a couple games out of the 8th seed.

No trades last month. I'm depressed now. Time to cheer myself up.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1_B9FCZJMA

Okay, I'm more cheerful now. Sort of. Gwyneth Paltrow's Spanish is so perfect, it's ridiculous. Like so perfect she speaks like a native Spaniard. And I love her cover of Cee-lo in that video. Now I'm the sort of guy who likes pretty chicks with all the right features and who are younger.. but hot damn Gwyneth looks fine as hell for being almost 40. Too bad she's married.

Now I'm gloomy she's married. So what does a sad Jestor do?

He makes blockbuster trades.

Los Angeles Clippers receive
PG Stephen Curry
PF Louis Amundson

Golden State Warriors receive
PF Blake Griffin

What this means for the Clippers
Very strange trade for the Clippers, considering how well Raymond Felton and Eric Gordon have been doing in the backcourt. But GM Jestor has been in love with Curry since the latter's Davidson days and was reportedly unenthusiastic about Griffin's inconsistency. Curry could also become a very solid floor general once he develops. Amundson is a salary throw-in.

What this means for the Warriors
Fantastic work for Golden State, who picks up a young franchise player in the making in Griffin. We fully expect to see a David Lee/Griffin frontcourt for years to come. The deal also opens up considerable more playing time for raw, but promising Harvard alum Jeremy Lin.

Winner: Golden State
Given how hard quality post players are to find, this strikes us as a bad deal for the Clippers. Warriors by a mile.

As if that was the only move I was making.

Los Angeles Clippers receive
C Joakim Noah
Chicago Bulls 2013 2nd round pick

Chicago Bulls receive
SG Eric Gordon

What this means for the Clippers
That huge hole caused by the Blake Griffin deal just filled by Noah, one of the best young rebounding and defensive bigs in the league. The 2nd round pick is just a nice little bonus. Noah's another one of the college players Jestor loved watching. What's next, Gerry McNamara signing a contract with the Clips?

What this means for the Bulls
Rose and Gordon are going to be a scary, scoring backcourt for years to come. Good luck trying to shut those two down. This also means a starting spot for Omer Asik to develop.

Winner: Draw
This is a trade that should benefit both teams, both in the short term and in the long run. Gordon didn't have a place in the starting lineup after the Clippers traded for Stephen Curry, and had a void in the post. Meanwhile, Chicago needed another offensive option to go with Rose and Carlos Boozer.

98-96 loss to Cavaliers, but it's going to take a while to adjust. I grimace when Stephen Curry turns the ball over 9 times to go with his 30 points and 8 assists. Why is Ryan Gomes starting at PF? Joakim Noah shoots ugly, but 9 points, 11 rebounds, and 3 blocks is okay. 10 points for Timofey Mozgov off the bench.

...104-99 loss to the Wizards. Stephen Curry with 29 points, Nicolas Batum with 25. Another 7 turnovers for Curry. Note to self - be patient and don't trade him right away. Joakim Noah with 14 points and 12 rebounds.

Well that's one way to break the losing streak. We shock the Heat 102-97 in Miami. Nicolas Batum scores 27, Joakim Noah drops off 10 points and 12 rebounds, and Eric Bledsoe pops off 20 points to lead the second team. 6 assists to 4 turnovers isn't good enough yet, but it's the first positive A/TO ratio Stephen Curry's had here.

Losing again, 126-101 to Orlando. Riding Stephen Curry's ass about his turnovers has led to 21 points, 7 assists, 0 turnovers this game. Rule #1 of Jestorball - Thou shalt not turn the ball over. Three reserves with 10 points - DeAndre Jordan, Timofey Mozgov, and Eric Bledsoe.

And here's a 108-104 loss to the lowly Grizzlies. Nicolas Batum with 31 points and 8 rebounds, Joakim Noah with 20 and 8. Timofey Mozgov stepping up with 11 and 7 off the bench.

Holy defense! 86-64 win over the Hawks! Stephen Curry with 24 points and 8 rebounds to lead the charge. Raymond Felton snaps out of his funk for 23 points and 10 rebounds, and Joakim Noah is the 10 point, 15 rebound glasseater.

Hooray, a small winning streak. We beat the Bobcats 116-100, Stephen Curry singing "Fuck You" to all the haters with 26 points and 17 assists! Big ballas from the bench with Bledsoe, Eric ripping off 18 points, Ronny Turiaf adding 11 points, 8 rebounds, and DeAndre Jordan scoring 12.

We slap the Knicks 118-110, riding with Raymond Felton's 30 points, Joakim Noah's 20 points and 16 rebounds, Eric Bledsoe's 16 bench points, and Ronny Turiaf's 10 points and 5 blocks as the second team's other statistical star.

All-Star Break
Julian Wright - Slam Dunk Winner
Kyle Korver - Long Distance Shootout Winner

Rookies/Sophomores
What an exiting, fun shoot out. The Rookies top the Sophomores 136-130 and John Wall beasted with 29 points and 15 assists for MVP honors. Eric Bledsoe had a quiet 14 minutes with 3 points for the Rookies. Blake Griffin started for the Sophomores and posted 16 points and 7 rebounds. Stephen Curry started too and matched Wall well with 21 points, 11 assists, and 5 steals.

All-Star Game
Another fun scorefest, this one 144-136 for the East. 27 points for MVP Lebron James, who I sing "Fuck You" to under my breath as I watch the game on TV. No Clippers there, so I didn't feel like going in person.

Trade deadline. I already had two major deals earlier in the month, so I'm basically looking for a small deal to find a legitimate PF. I try to swing a deal to get Zach Randolph from the Grizzlies, who's on the block, but my offer of expirings plus a first doesn't interest them. Boo. Those whores.

If I could just trade Ryan Gomes things would be easier, but not one team is willing to take on his contract. I don't know why - he's a good role player, just undersized for the PF spot.

Nobody's willing to deal, and although I come close several times on a deal for Tim Duncan of all people, the Spurs get cold feet. So instead I call up our head coach and tell him to give Timofey Mozgov a hell of a lot more minutes.

Lo and behold, the Russian whose name is eerily close to mine starts next game and we pulverize Phoenix 111-97. Stephen Curry scores 27 points with 8 rebounds, Joakim Noah attacks the glass for 10 points and 15 rebounds, and, in the biggest brow-raiser of the evening, Tyson Chandler torches the Suns for 21 points and 10 rebounds off the bench.

So hell with it, I decide. We'll roll with what we've got.

Suns come to L.A. the very next night looking for revenge. They hobble out the recipients of a 124-93 beatdown. 28 points, 9 assists from Stephen Curry, 22 points, 11 rebounds from Joakim Noah, Raymond Felton with 20 points, and 14, 13, 12 bench points respectively from Ryan Gomes, Eric Bledsoe, and Tyson Chandler, and we're over .500 for the first time in forever.

The losing streak ends with a 125-108 loss to Portland. Can't fault Stephen Curry (32 points), Nicolas Batum (28 points), Joakim Noah (12 points, 10 rebounds), or Tyson Chandler (11 bench points).

Golden State comes to town and Stephen Curry is so amped up, he plays a perfect floor general with 17 points and 17 assists against 5 turnovers. Raymond Felton scores 24, and DeAndre Jordan and Eric Bledsoe pace the bench with 14 and 12 points in our 109-91 win. Tyson Chandler is dinged up for a week and a half and Nicolas Batum strains his knee for about the same time, giving the win a phyrric flavor.

Sure enough, we lose 118-102 to the Celtics to close out the month. Ryan Gomes scored 21 in place of the injured Batum, but our defense took a hit without the young Frenchman. 18 and 14 bench points for Ronny Turiaf and Eric Bledsoe respectively.

At 29-29, we're well out of the playoff race by now. But finishing .500 would be pretty damn good for this young team, as we grow into ourselves. After all, our starting lineup the last few games other than Boston:

PG Stephen Curry (22)
SG Raymond Felton (25)
SF Nicolas Batum (21)
PF Timofey Mozgov (24)
C Joakim Noah (25)

That's a very young starting five, one that I think looks much better than the original lineup we were looking at, even before the Batum deal:

PG Baron Davis (31)
SG Eric Gordon (21)
SF Al-Farouq Aminu (20)
PF Blake Griffin (21)
C Chris Kaman (28)

West Conference
1. Denver Nuggets (40-18)
2. Los Angeles Lakers (39-18)
3. New Orleans Hornets (35-21)
4. Houston Rockets (35-22)
5. Golden State Warriors (34-23)
6. San Antonio Spurs (33-23)
7. Dallas Mavericks (33-24)
8. Portland Trailblazers (32-25)
----------------------------------
9. Oklahoma City (30-27)
T10. Los Angeles Clippers (29-29)
T10. Utah Jazz (29-29)
12. Memphis Grizzlies (24-33)
T13. Phoenix Suns (19-37)
T13. Sacramento Kings (20-39)
15. Minnesota Timberwolves (11-46)

East Conference
1. Miami Heat (41-15)
2. Orlando Magic (39-18)
3. Boston Celtics (39-20)
4. Atlanta Hawks (33-24)
5. Chicago Bulls (29-29)*
6. New Jersey Nets (31-27)
7. Cleveland Cavaliers (27-28)
8. Indiana Pacers (28-32)
----------------------------
9. New York Knicks (26-31)
10. Philadelphia 76ers (25-31)
11. Milwaukee Bucks (26-34)
12. Washington Wizards (22-35)
13. Detroit Pistons (20-36)
14. Charlotte Bobcats (18-40)
15. Toronto Raptors (13-46)

Sucks to know we'd be the 7 seed in the East, but oh well.

06-02-2011, 02:44 AM	#6
Izulde Head Coach Join Date: Sep 2004	...And I forgot to save again? Wow, my memory's going. So 21-20 as the last I saved was the 25th. On the replay: Thunder: 100-121 L Warriors: 105-113 L Trailblazers: 81-109 L Tyson Chandler strained abs - 14 days Bulls: 97-107 W ...Well that wasn't good. Instead of 24-21, we're 22-23 and a couple games out of the 8th seed. No trades last month. I'm depressed now. Time to cheer myself up. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1_B9FCZJMA Okay, I'm more cheerful now. Sort of. Gwyneth Paltrow's Spanish is so perfect, it's ridiculous. Like so perfect she speaks like a native Spaniard. And I love her cover of Cee-lo in that video. Now I'm the sort of guy who likes pretty chicks with all the right features and who are younger.. but hot damn Gwyneth looks fine as hell for being almost 40. Too bad she's married. Now I'm gloomy she's married. So what does a sad Jestor do? He makes blockbuster trades. Los Angeles Clippers receive PG Stephen Curry PF Louis Amundson Golden State Warriors receive PF Blake Griffin What this means for the Clippers Very strange trade for the Clippers, considering how well Raymond Felton and Eric Gordon have been doing in the backcourt. But GM Jestor has been in love with Curry since the latter's Davidson days and was reportedly unenthusiastic about Griffin's inconsistency. Curry could also become a very solid floor general once he develops. Amundson is a salary throw-in. What this means for the Warriors Fantastic work for Golden State, who picks up a young franchise player in the making in Griffin. We fully expect to see a David Lee/Griffin frontcourt for years to come. The deal also opens up considerable more playing time for raw, but promising Harvard alum Jeremy Lin. Winner: Golden State Given how hard quality post players are to find, this strikes us as a bad deal for the Clippers. Warriors by a mile. As if that was the only move I was making. Los Angeles Clippers receive C Joakim Noah Chicago Bulls 2013 2nd round pick Chicago Bulls receive SG Eric Gordon What this means for the Clippers That huge hole caused by the Blake Griffin deal just filled by Noah, one of the best young rebounding and defensive bigs in the league. The 2nd round pick is just a nice little bonus. Noah's another one of the college players Jestor loved watching. What's next, Gerry McNamara signing a contract with the Clips? What this means for the Bulls Rose and Gordon are going to be a scary, scoring backcourt for years to come. Good luck trying to shut those two down. This also means a starting spot for Omer Asik to develop. Winner: Draw This is a trade that should benefit both teams, both in the short term and in the long run. Gordon didn't have a place in the starting lineup after the Clippers traded for Stephen Curry, and had a void in the post. Meanwhile, Chicago needed another offensive option to go with Rose and Carlos Boozer. 98-96 loss to Cavaliers, but it's going to take a while to adjust. I grimace when Stephen Curry turns the ball over 9 times to go with his 30 points and 8 assists. Why is Ryan Gomes starting at PF? Joakim Noah shoots ugly, but 9 points, 11 rebounds, and 3 blocks is okay. 10 points for Timofey Mozgov off the bench. ...104-99 loss to the Wizards. Stephen Curry with 29 points, Nicolas Batum with 25. Another 7 turnovers for Curry. Note to self - be patient and don't trade him right away. Joakim Noah with 14 points and 12 rebounds. Well that's one way to break the losing streak. We shock the Heat 102-97 in Miami. Nicolas Batum scores 27, Joakim Noah drops off 10 points and 12 rebounds, and Eric Bledsoe pops off 20 points to lead the second team. 6 assists to 4 turnovers isn't good enough yet, but it's the first positive A/TO ratio Stephen Curry's had here. Losing again, 126-101 to Orlando. Riding Stephen Curry's ass about his turnovers has led to 21 points, 7 assists, 0 turnovers this game. Rule #1 of Jestorball - Thou shalt not turn the ball over. Three reserves with 10 points - DeAndre Jordan, Timofey Mozgov, and Eric Bledsoe. And here's a 108-104 loss to the lowly Grizzlies. Nicolas Batum with 31 points and 8 rebounds, Joakim Noah with 20 and 8. Timofey Mozgov stepping up with 11 and 7 off the bench. Holy defense! 86-64 win over the Hawks! Stephen Curry with 24 points and 8 rebounds to lead the charge. Raymond Felton snaps out of his funk for 23 points and 10 rebounds, and Joakim Noah is the 10 point, 15 rebound glasseater. Hooray, a small winning streak. We beat the Bobcats 116-100, Stephen Curry singing "Fuck You" to all the haters with 26 points and 17 assists! Big ballas from the bench with Bledsoe, Eric ripping off 18 points, Ronny Turiaf adding 11 points, 8 rebounds, and DeAndre Jordan scoring 12. We slap the Knicks 118-110, riding with Raymond Felton's 30 points, Joakim Noah's 20 points and 16 rebounds, Eric Bledsoe's 16 bench points, and Ronny Turiaf's 10 points and 5 blocks as the second team's other statistical star. All-Star Break Julian Wright - Slam Dunk Winner Kyle Korver - Long Distance Shootout Winner Rookies/Sophomores What an exiting, fun shoot out. The Rookies top the Sophomores 136-130 and John Wall beasted with 29 points and 15 assists for MVP honors. Eric Bledsoe had a quiet 14 minutes with 3 points for the Rookies. Blake Griffin started for the Sophomores and posted 16 points and 7 rebounds. Stephen Curry started too and matched Wall well with 21 points, 11 assists, and 5 steals. All-Star Game Another fun scorefest, this one 144-136 for the East. 27 points for MVP Lebron James, who I sing "Fuck You" to under my breath as I watch the game on TV. No Clippers there, so I didn't feel like going in person. Trade deadline. I already had two major deals earlier in the month, so I'm basically looking for a small deal to find a legitimate PF. I try to swing a deal to get Zach Randolph from the Grizzlies, who's on the block, but my offer of expirings plus a first doesn't interest them. Boo. Those whores. If I could just trade Ryan Gomes things would be easier, but not one team is willing to take on his contract. I don't know why - he's a good role player, just undersized for the PF spot. Nobody's willing to deal, and although I come close several times on a deal for Tim Duncan of all people, the Spurs get cold feet. So instead I call up our head coach and tell him to give Timofey Mozgov a hell of a lot more minutes. Lo and behold, the Russian whose name is eerily close to mine starts next game and we pulverize Phoenix 111-97. Stephen Curry scores 27 points with 8 rebounds, Joakim Noah attacks the glass for 10 points and 15 rebounds, and, in the biggest brow-raiser of the evening, Tyson Chandler torches the Suns for 21 points and 10 rebounds off the bench. So hell with it, I decide. We'll roll with what we've got. Suns come to L.A. the very next night looking for revenge. They hobble out the recipients of a 124-93 beatdown. 28 points, 9 assists from Stephen Curry, 22 points, 11 rebounds from Joakim Noah, Raymond Felton with 20 points, and 14, 13, 12 bench points respectively from Ryan Gomes, Eric Bledsoe, and Tyson Chandler, and we're over .500 for the first time in forever. The losing streak ends with a 125-108 loss to Portland. Can't fault Stephen Curry (32 points), Nicolas Batum (28 points), Joakim Noah (12 points, 10 rebounds), or Tyson Chandler (11 bench points). Golden State comes to town and Stephen Curry is so amped up, he plays a perfect floor general with 17 points and 17 assists against 5 turnovers. Raymond Felton scores 24, and DeAndre Jordan and Eric Bledsoe pace the bench with 14 and 12 points in our 109-91 win. Tyson Chandler is dinged up for a week and a half and Nicolas Batum strains his knee for about the same time, giving the win a phyrric flavor. Sure enough, we lose 118-102 to the Celtics to close out the month. Ryan Gomes scored 21 in place of the injured Batum, but our defense took a hit without the young Frenchman. 18 and 14 bench points for Ronny Turiaf and Eric Bledsoe respectively. At 29-29, we're well out of the playoff race by now. But finishing .500 would be pretty damn good for this young team, as we grow into ourselves. After all, our starting lineup the last few games other than Boston: PG Stephen Curry (22) SG Raymond Felton (25) SF Nicolas Batum (21) PF Timofey Mozgov (24) C Joakim Noah (25) That's a very young starting five, one that I think looks much better than the original lineup we were looking at, even before the Batum deal: PG Baron Davis (31) SG Eric Gordon (21) SF Al-Farouq Aminu (20) PF Blake Griffin (21) C Chris Kaman (28) West Conference 1. Denver Nuggets (40-18) 2. Los Angeles Lakers (39-18) 3. New Orleans Hornets (35-21) 4. Houston Rockets (35-22) 5. Golden State Warriors (34-23) 6. San Antonio Spurs (33-23) 7. Dallas Mavericks (33-24) 8. Portland Trailblazers (32-25) ---------------------------------- 9. Oklahoma City (30-27) T10. Los Angeles Clippers (29-29) T10. Utah Jazz (29-29) 12. Memphis Grizzlies (24-33) T13. Phoenix Suns (19-37) T13. Sacramento Kings (20-39) 15. Minnesota Timberwolves (11-46) East Conference 1. Miami Heat (41-15) 2. Orlando Magic (39-18) 3. Boston Celtics (39-20) 4. Atlanta Hawks (33-24) 5. Chicago Bulls (29-29)* 6. New Jersey Nets (31-27) 7. Cleveland Cavaliers (27-28) 8. Indiana Pacers (28-32) ---------------------------- 9. New York Knicks (26-31) 10. Philadelphia 76ers (25-31) 11. Milwaukee Bucks (26-34) 12. Washington Wizards (22-35) 13. Detroit Pistons (20-36) 14. Charlotte Bobcats (18-40) 15. Toronto Raptors (13-46) Sucks to know we'd be the 7 seed in the East, but oh well. __________________ 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)