we upgraded the 1 and 3 and picked a hustle guy. The 1 was OK with Clarkson and upgrading the 3 could be done my several of the posters here I'm sure. We still need a C who is NBA level and depth just about everywhere. LMA gets us a big who, at this point in his career, should be a PF. We still need a banger big to rebound and play stopper and a veteran 3 to help the kids out. Don't know if we can land everything we need in one offseason but we'll have Kobe's money next year to fill in a gap or two as well. It was nice hanging with you guys on draft night. Go Lakers and maybe I'll be back when the season starts.
Russell (4.2) / _______ JC (845k) / Young (5.2) Brown (845k) Kobe (25) / _______ / Brown (500k) Randle (3.1) / Kelly (1.7) / Nance (1) LMA (18.9) / Black (845k) / Sacre (1) Really we need 4 things from that..... 1.) Point guard/Shooting guard - I'd use the Room exception here.......Brooks, Watson, Rondo, Nelson 2.) Small forward - I'd spend the 4.6 million here........Corey Brewer, Aminu, McDaniels, Dunleavy 3.) Backup Center - I'm talking some 7 foot monster for vet min.....Ajinca, Aldrich, Hollins 4.) Round it with some vet mins - Drop Sacre........Boozer, Price, Thornton, Gee, Dorell Wright, STAT We still have options. I'm not worried.
So you don't think we keep Ellington at SG and have Russell and JC as PG's, Doc? Or you're looking to move on from him. I wouldn't mind having Ellington back at SG at all.
Yeah same outline for me but we go 4.6 for backup PG and we go room exception for Ellington. Slide Young back to the SF spot. We'd be REALLY weak at the rim but it is what it is. We need the other depth more at this point. Small ball wins.
A few things. LMA has never liked playing C, that's why R. Lopez was such a huge addition for Portland. Randle losing weight and improving his shot seems to indicate that he's going to play some SF, he was already small and quick for a PF. I'm thinking only 1 of Nance/Kelly ends up on the roster, hopefully Nance because he's cheaper and I've lost faith in Kelly becoming a rotation player. I think we go after a bargain C who will do the dirty work and anchor the defense like Lopez did in Portland and hopefully Upshaw makes the roster to do more of the same off the bench and Sacre is dumped. A. Brown is a very good shooter and defender and should make the roster. I think we sign another defender at SF who can also play SG if needed, to cover for the injury risk with Kobe/Randle and the risk of Randle/Brown nit being strong at SF in their rookie seasons. With Clarkson and Russell both being combo guards, I think we add a veteran PG for the minimum. So after we give up a future 2nd for someone to take on Kelly and Sacre, we have about 25-26M in space. - Sign Aldridge(18.9) - Sign Biyombo (6) - Sign K.J. McDaniels (2 from the Room Exception) - Sign Aaron Brooks (Minimum) Those guys fit our needs nearly perfectly. Biyombo is 1 of the best defenders and rebounders in the game, younger/better version of R. Lopez. McDaniels is 1 of the best defenders at SG/SF that we could get. Brooks is a solid veteran PG who can knock down the 3. Russell/Clarkson/Brooks Kobe/McDaniels/Brown Randle/Young/A. Brown LMA/Black/Nance Biyombo/Upshaw I think that team has a chance at not only playoffs, but contending.
^+1 about how to best utilize Aldridge... Best example is how Bogut works for the Warriors. He does all the s**t and the slop so The Splash Twins, Green, Iguadala and the rest can do their thing. Looks like we are trying to copy their blueprint. Makes sense, Kupchak did learn from their advisor.
I like the idea, but I'm not really a fan of Biyombo. I think I'd rather have Robin Lopez (repair LMA and Lopez! lol) or Kosta Koufos.
As do I for this team. Aldridge is a far better player, but with Randle at pf and no proven defensive wing, we need a defensive anchor more than another scoring option. At this point, this is what I want to see: Russell/Clarkson/Price Clarkson/KJ McDaniels/Kobe Kobe/Young/Nance Randle/Black/Nance Jordan/Biyombo/Upshaw Probably still a year away from the playoffs, but we'd suck to play and may sneak in at 8. A couple seasons after that, look out.
Yeah Aldridge seemed real sexy before the draft, but I'm not sure he comes here if he's asked to play C. Can't complain with DeAndre but his offense is seriously limited. He's currently my third choice behind Marc Gasol and Robin Lopez.
Yes. His offense is limited, but he had a fantastic pg feeding him the ball. And what did we just draft? DeAndre is my #1 choice now. 3 years younger than Aldridge as well. Some of his prime would probably overlap with these youngins coming into their own.
Is he really? Where'd you see that? I brought it up earlier, I think he makes a ton of sense now at Center. Russell would be a younger CP3 in training, Kobe and Clarkson and even Randle are all more scorers, so somewhere along the line you need a big body who will catch lobs, rebound, and protect the rim right? I still like a few other guys more, but he's a really nice fit now.
Couple of questions to you gurus. 1. How much is the max for DeAndre? 2. Could the Clippers afford that max to keep him?
The Clippers project to be able to offer Jordan about $109 million over five years. His max with another team projects to be about $81 million over four years. This would probably nudge the Clippers over the luxury tax threshold for a third consecutive season in 2015-16, triggering the dreaded repeater tax the following season.
The more I think about it, Deandre makes probably the best sense in terms of fit here. Of course, I was never a fan of him being a Clipper and his horrid free throw shooting, but he has a lot of things going for him that works for us. 1. Age - He's 26. Youngest of the top 3 free agents that I'm targeting of Gasol and Aldridge. He stays relatively healthy and can play heavy minutes. A huge plus. 2. Pick and roll finishing - He's an elite pick and roll finisher. We all know that. Pair that with a guy like Russell who has great vision and spread the floor, it's perfect. 3. Defense - LMA isn't known to be a defender. Deandre is a great help defender and would really keep guys honest inside. Things he can work on? 1. Free Throws - I don't think he can improve that much, but anything is a plus for him. 2. Defense - I wish he kept his blocks in play. I also think he could be a better post defender, because he gets taken so easily despite his size. 3. Post offense - DJ certainly has the tools to be an option in the post. Maybe Kobe can show him a few things?
Pincus on Twitter. Can't link it from work, but he said Jordan's visiting Clips, Mavs, Bucks and Lakers on day 1
