| 30 Teams, 30 Days: LA Clippers Draft Preview Authored by Jason M. Williams - May 30, 2009 - 4:56 pm
| Current Featured Columns | | Merry Christmas, Raptors Fans The Raptors might not be playing good basketball right now, but there are plenty of things for Toronto fans to be thankful for this holiday season.
A Melo Behind The SuperstarsCarmelo Anthony has never been one of the league's most efficient offensive players.
 |
2009-10 Season Preview: Portland Trailblazers
The 08-09 Blazers transitioned into a young, perennial playoff team and they will need to prove themselves to be a fringe championship contender this season before competing for that distinction in earnest during the 10-11 season.
|
 |
New Season, Same Worries
The page has turned on a new season, but the Pacers are still struggling to find a second option behind Danny Granger and to stop opponents from lighting up the scoreboard.
|
 |
What To Make Of Gilbert And The Wizards
The Washington Wizards are probably the toughest team to predict in the NBA this season, but we saw good indicators despite a rough night against Atlanta.
|
|
More from RealGM's Columnists
|
| |
2009 Draft Picks: 1st
Pre-Draft 2009-10 Projected Starters:
PG Baron Davis
SG Eric Gordon
SF Al Thornton
PF Zach Randolph
C Marcus Camby
Key Reserves:
C Chris Kaman
PF DeAndre Jordan
PG Mike Taylor
What the Clippers Do Well:
As written on a yearly basis, the Clippers have a great team on paper, but their 63 losses last year would suggest otherwise. Many of those losses were due to injuries to Chris Kaman, Marcus Camby, and Baron Davis, but the Clips have plenty of talented headed back next season not to mention the top overall pick in the draft.
Individually, the Clippers have some of the best big men in the game. They have a dominant help defender in the aging Marcus Camby, the double-double 20-10 machine Zach Randolph, and perhaps their best beast on the block Chris Kaman. Also throw in the fact that they got a steal in last year’s draft by nabbing DeAndre Jordan early in the second round, and the Clips can bully up down low with the best of them.
In the backcourt, they have one of the best playmaking point guards in the league – when he’s happy. Baron Davis came home to his native Los Angeles hoping to re-energize the team and get them back to its winning ways. Sharing the load with Davis are two young energetic combo guards, who are each capable of scoring in bunches. Eric Gordon was the team’s top overall pick and Mike Taylor had moments of dominance – see Madison Square Garden performance – that tell Clipper front management that they are the future of the team at guard.
And of course, Al Thornton continues to get better as the starting small forward. He set career highs with 16.8 points and 5.2 rebounds per game, while shooting 44.6% from the field.
Greatest Areas of Improvement:
A Natural Point Guard
Since Shaun Livingston’s career-hampering leg injury took place, the Clips have been in a tailspin ever since. Now they have a bevy of guards who love to score, which doesn’t bode well when they have plenty of big men who need the rock. Coach Mike Dunleavy needs a facilitator on offense in the mold of Jason Kidd to make sure everyone gets their fair share of shots to remain happy and cohesive as a unit.
Team Chemistry
The Clippers have everything you can ask for on the roster – minus a pass-first point guard – but together they haven’t been able to click to produce winning basketball. This is an area that suggests that the problems flow down from the top, where Dunleavy has been floundering at getting this squad motivated to succeed.
Who’s Gone Number 1 Recently?
To no one’s surprise, those who have made the top overall selection have normally done better in the seasons following the selection. Dwight is turning onto a historically dominant big man, Bogut continues to improve while healthy, Bargnani is breaking out as a skilled big man, Oden has shown flashes of why he was picked with the top pick, and Rose already has 10-time All Star written all over him.
2008
Derrick Rose, Chicago Bulls
2007
Greg Oden, Portland Trail Blazers
2006
Andrea Bargnani, Toronto Raptors
2005
Andrew Bogut, Milwaukee Bucks
2004
Dwight Howard, Orlando Magic
Who Should the Clippers Target?
For more in-depth analysis and background regarding the players that the Clippers should target in this year’s Draft, click on each player name to be redirected to Christopher Reina’s Draft Prospect Report piece.
- Blake Griffin of Oklahoma
Blake Griffin was on a level all by himself this past season in NCAA basketball. He dominated the nation and nearly single-handedly guided the Oklahoma Sooners to the Final Four. His combination of strength and athleticism should translate immediately to the pros and he could pair with Baron Davis on the run as a dangerous big man in transition. The only problem with making him the top overall pick is the obvious logjam at the big man position. The Clips are already crowded down low with high-priced big men and another high potential project in Jordan. Ideally, they will take Griffin and turn Kaman into someone like J-Kidd.
- Ricky Rubio of DKV Joventut
Sadly enough, Rubio fits perfectly for the Clips, and Los Angeles fits perfectly for Rubio. Rubio is an enigmatic true point guard prospect in the greatest sense of the word. His intelligence, vision, and defensive abilities make him a perfect fit for this team looking for a facilitator. Rubio would love to come to America and play for a big city like New York or Los Angeles, rather than being mired in Memphis or Oklahoma City – no offense. The main reason for this is that he comes with a big $6M buyout clause to get free from his contract overseas. Since the NBA mandates that the team who selects him in the draft can only pay a maximum of $500k, this obviously means Rubio will have to pay a large chunk of change in order to play in the states. Advertising opportunities make this easier in a bigger city, and the European inhabitants of the big cities will offer Rubio a bigger immediate fan base.
Who Do the Fans Want?
According to Andrew Perna’s Lottery Summit with the Clippers, an interactive column featuring the responses of true RealGM hoops fans hoping to add their two cents to the Clippers Draft discussion, the fans of Los Angeles have made it known that they would an upgrade in the paint. The consensus of Clipper Nation suggested that they want the first overall selection in the 2009 NBA Draft to be:
Blake Griffin, PF – Oklahoma
The Verdicts
1. What could the team have done differently to make the playoffs?
SportsFan215: The Clippers would have had to do a lot of things differently to make the playoffs. The two biggest things that hurt us were injuries and the lack of team chemistry.
JJ LoDuca: If they worked harder and utilized the talent that we had. On paper, we were easily one of the top eight teams in the West. A lack of effort from some of our leading guys (cough, Baron, cough) resulted in a trickle-down effect that left the whole team effortless.
jflipclip: Fire Mike Dunleavy. In all seriousness, it was a tough season because of the influx of new players that Clippers obtained. With all the injuries sustained, it's hard to think of something that could've been done.
ClipperDomination: Dunleavy has to be one of the worst coaches in the NBA. He's mastered the art of making talented teams stink. Honestly, I think he's the main reason why the Clippers have continued to play like the Clippers everyone is accustomed to knowing, no matter how much talent they have on paper.
mkwest: Not much. Their glaring problems were lack of chemistry (only five returning members and only two of them were on the roster by season's end), health, and coaching.
illastrate: Nothing. Even if we had stayed healthy, there were too many factors against us, namely coaching and lack of chemistry.
mattfish: Obviously, the team lacked leadership, determination, focus, and chemistry. Not sure what they can do to improve that ... a weekend camping trip through the forest roasting marshmallows and relying on teamwork to survive?
2. Where were the team’s biggest strengths?
SportsFan215: The biggest strength has to start with Eric Gordon, who was the team’s best player for the majority of the year as a rookie.
LifeLongFan: Gordon.
JJ LoDuca: I think we were a respectable defensive team throughout the season, mostly thanks to Marcus Camby. I might be mistaken, but I think we were a top-ten team in blocks.
jflipclip: I really don't think we played that well defensively. Most of our premiere defenders were gone (Cuttino Mobley, Elton Brand, Quintin Ross) and it was definitely lost, even though Camby was great at blocking shots. We had no strengths, everything was either average or below average. I guess you can say Gordon.
ClipperDomination: There really weren't any "team" strengths. Not great defensively, not great offensively, and not great in really anything. However, Ralph and Mike continued their solid announcing!
mkwest: Our team's announcing and the Clipper Spirit Dance team. Our defense was very frustrating. We did manage to rank third in blocks for the season. Camby, Kaman, Jordan and Skinner all managed over a block a game with Thornton just under a block.
illastrate: Shot blocking. That's about it.
mattfish: Besides Ralph Lawler, I think in a lot of games the Clippers were able to keep up with opponents until the second half, where eventually they got blown out. Is first-half play a strength?
3. Who had a surprisingly effective season?
SportsFan215: I would say our two second-round picks from last year, Mike Taylor and DeAndre Jordan. They were both effective when they got playing time, and the highlight was Mike Taylor's 35 point performance against the Knicks in Madison Square Garden.
LifeLongFan: Steve Novak had an amazing stretch of 3's, then, not so much.
JJ LoDuca: Gordon was a huge surprise. He exceeded everyone's expectations and played well on a consistent basis.
jflipclip: Gordon.
ClipperDomination: Gordon has the game to be a fantastic player down the road. When Novak hit the three ball effectively, there was no better shooter in the league.
mkwest: The Rookies. Gordon was the biggest highlight of the team as far as I'm concerned. I wouldn't say I was that surprised that he would be effective for us, but he definitely caught on quickly and made it easier to watch all of those games.
illastrate: Gordon, but it was no surprise, he's just that good.
mattfish: I knew Gordon was going to be good, it was just a matter of when. The biggest surprises I think were Novak and Fred Jones, who were solid off the bench and always gave a good effort.
4. Who had a surprisingly ineffective season?
mkwest: The Brothers' Davis. Not so much Paul, but Baron and Ricky were terrible. I cannot stand the play of Ricky Davis at all. He only had a handful of "decent" games all season long. Watching him play just ticked me off even more than when Mo Evans reneged on his deal with the Warriors. Had he not, we would have had Azubuike instead of Ricky.
SportsFan215: This answer is self-explanatory. Baron Davis.
LifeLongFan: Davis, Al Thornton stopped growing.
JJ LoDuca: Uh … Baron. 'Nuff said.
jflipclip: Davis.
ClipperDomination: Davis (lazy, lazy, lazy), Chris Kaman (and his twenty injuries he said he had throughout the season), and Thornton (I feel bad for him because Dunleavy is grooming him into Corey Maggette 2.0).
illastrate: Davis. I don't think anybody expected he'd have this terrible of a season; probably his worst ever.
mattfish: Davis. It was probably the most disappointing performance of the season, next to Elton Brand on the 76ers. After all the excitement and hype of him coming back to L.A., and also the opening night “this year isn't the same Clippers" announcement, I knew we were doomed.
5. How confident are you in the front office heading into the offseason?
JJ LoDuca: Pretty confident, keeping in mind the things they did last summer after Brand bailed. They got Marcus Camby in exchange for a bag of walnuts, signed Baron, and traded for Zach Randolph in the beginning of the season, all of which seemed like good moves at the time.
SportsFan215: Semi-confident. It will be hard to mess up the #1 pick, but the front office still will need to make a few moves to upgrade the small forward position and give the roster more depth.
LifeLongFan: I’m not confident at all. We need a lot of help, and last year we traded half our team and then blamed consistency for a bad season.
jflipclip: Somewhat. I believe they will do the right thing and draft Griffin. After that, Clippers are in a great position to trade some players if they wish. Whether or not they do it, they can't possibly screw things up unless it's on draft day. Also, even though we often hear it a lot, I like how optimistic Baron and Dunleavy are for next season.
ClipperDomination: I'm not getting my hopes up high, but I'll remain optimistic. I know all signs point to them making the right decision with the #1 pick in the draft, but they must find a way to trade away the frontcourt depth that poses problems down the road for this team's future.
mkwest: Having won the lottery makes it so much easier. We would have a lot more room for error, had we gotten a lower pick. Now it's pretty much a no-brainer of who to select.
illastrate: I’m more confident now that we've won the lottery, but I'm taking the "believe it when I see it" approach.
mattfish: If we had the 3rd or 4th pick I wouldn't be so sure. But with the 1st pick, I think there's little they can screw up. Hopefully, we can make a smart trade or two to offload contracts and complete the bench.
6. What are the team’s biggest needs in the draft?
SportsFan215: The Clippers just need impact players (Blake Griffin) through the draft. I would focus on players with high basketball IQ's and good work ethics. I would also try to acquire another pick, and start to build around Gordon and Griffin.
LifeLongFan: Picking Griffin, and maybe getting another pick.
JJ LoDuca: Just get the best talent available and either fit him in here or package him up in a nice deal for a superstar-type player.
jflipclip: Small forward. Thornton has some shooting ability, but that seems to be the best option off the bench since our bench lacks that. Clippers need a SF that can rotate the ball, shoot the open jump shot, and play some defense.
ClipperDomination: They should just grab the best player available and get talent to win down the road. Position wise, I would say a small forward is the most important need, as I believe Thornton has already reached his ceiling.
mkwest: Griffin. Leading up to the lottery, I wanted Griffin for this team not only for his talent, but due to the fact that he has a high basketball IQ and a tremendous work ethic.
illastrate: Everything. If we could buy a second rounder and draft a player such as Danny Green, that would help.
mattfish: A backup point guard who can run the offense and distribute without needing to score (Davis and Taylor are both scoring guards). Also, an athletic small forward that can pass and play tough defense.
7. Who would you like the Clippers to take with the first overall pick?
SportsFan215: With the first pick in the 2009 NBA Draft, the Los Angeles Clippers select Blake Griffin out of Oklahoma.
LifeLongFan: Griffin.
JJ LoDuca: If we don't select Griffin…
jflipclip: Griffin.
ClipperDomination: A guy by the name of Blake Griffin. I think you might have heard of him.
mkwest: Griffin.
illastrate: Griffin. Anything less would be unacceptable.
mattfish: Griffin. Please don't trade this pick away. He displays the intangibles like leadership and determination that this team seriously lacks.
Picks Over the Past Five Years
The Clippers have grabbed a couple of key members of next season’s rotation in the past two years, including one of the best picks in 2007, Al Thornton, and last year, Eric Gordon, and two promising youngsters, DeAndre Jordan and Mike Taylor.
2008
Eric Gordon, 7th
DeAndre Jordan, 35th
Mike Taylor, 55th (traded from Portland)
2007
Al Thornton, 14th
Jared Jordan, 45th
2006
None
2005
Yaroslav Korolev, 12th
Daniel Ewing, 32nd
2004
Shaun Livingston, 4th
Lionel Chalmers, 33rd
Click here to read other draft previews in our 30 Teams, 30 Days series
Who do you want the Clippers to draft at number 1? Feel free to contact Jason M. Williams with your thoughts. He can be reached at Jason.Williams@RealGM.com for comments and questions. |
