<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post"> Update: The Clippers have made a preliminary contract offer to Knight, the Orange County Register reports. Recommendation: Los Angeles is looking for a veteran backup to point guard Sam Cassell, and most recently lost out on Steve Francis, who signed with Houston. "It?s going to be a continuing process. We?re trying to work around a (contract) number,?? said agent Bill Strickland, when asked if there was anything imminent on the horizon. "But I have to say that we?re very interested in the Clippers." </div> Source: Yahoo Sports
<div class="quote_poster">durvasa Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">What are the chances Livingston comes back next season?</div> Livingston, the fourth overall pick in the 2004 NBA draft, underwent reconstructive surgery on his left knee last March and isn't expected back until midway through next season at the earliest. Source: Sporting News He was recently on the local news and he's ahead of schedule with his recovery.
Knight would be the ideal fit for the Clippers given Livingston's injury and Cassell's success as a two-guard last season. Yeah, he's up there in age, but as long as they don't offer him anything long-term, that's a moot point. I'm actually surprised that he's not a more valuable commodity. Teams are quick to jump all over players who put up 10+ ppg but can't run an offense and are turnover prone, but when a conservative ball handler with playmaking ability actually comes around, they're not that in-demand for some reason. If they do wind up with Knight, I guess this would be their depth chart? <font size=""1"">(Sorry if all the depth charts people are doing in all the team forums are getting old, but it's the offseason, and that's something that a lot of people are interested in figuring out around this time.)</font> PG - Sam Cassell / Brevin Knight / Shaun Livingston (half-season) / Jared Jordan SG - Cuttino Mobley / Quinton Ross / Sam Cassell / Guillermo Diaz SF - Corey Maggette / Al Thornton / Quinton Ross PF - Elton Brand / Tim Thomas / Aaron Williams C - Chris Kaman / Aaron Williams / Paul Davis Out of all the projected line-ups I've seen, that's one of the strongest yet.
It's wierd how fast his stock dropped. The year before the Bobcats drafted Felton, he was one of the better pure distributors in the league. Not a star, but certainly a very dependable starter. Last year, there were rumours that Toronto was even considering trading their first overall pick for a package of Knight and Charlotte's lottery pick. And this offseason, he gets cut out of nowhere and teams pursue players like Chucky Atkins, Rafer Alston, etc. over him.
<div class="quote_poster">durvasa Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">What are the chances Livingston comes back next season?</div> Good, but even though they say mid-way, I think if he was to come back it would be in like March, basically just to end the season. <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">PG - Sam Cassell / Brevin Knight / Shaun Livingston (half-season) / Jared Jordan SG - Cuttino Mobley / Quinton Ross / Sam Cassell / Guillermo Diaz SF - Corey Maggette / Al Thornton / Quinton Ross PF - Elton Brand / Tim Thomas / Aaron Williams C - Chris Kaman / Aaron Williams / Paul Davis</div> I'm hoping that Paul Davis will be able to move above Aaron Williams in the depth chart. He's nothing special, but he's shown ability to play in the NBA and contribute as the backup. If Kaman can play up to his potential this season, and Cassell can stay healthy, the Clippers are again a playoff team, and even a capable 50 win team. I don't know if Diaz is going to be brought on to the team though, has anything been said about that?
<div class="quote_poster">og15 Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">I'm hoping that Paul Davis will be able to move above Aaron Williams in the depth chart. He's nothing special, but he's shown ability to play in the NBA and contribute as the backup. If Kaman can play up to his potential this season, and Cassell can stay healthy, the Clippers are again a playoff team, and even a capable 50 win team. I don't know if Diaz is going to be brought on to the team though, has anything been said about that?</div> Yeah, agreed on Davis being an NBA player, but I think the Clippers are misusing him as a center. Rather, I think they should play him as a four alongside Brand or Kaman at the five. I actually had a huge post typed up, but I'm on my laptop, so I accidentally hit the back button and lost it. Basically everything I wanted to say about him, or a good majority of it at least, I wrote in this scouting report on him last year though - <div class="quote_poster">Quoting "my Davis mock draft write-up":</div><div class="quote_post">Strengths Davis is the poster-child for the benefits of staying in college all four years. While his draft stock may never have been higher than when he was in high school, his actual game has improved by leaps and bounds, as he’s transformed from a mechanical, lumbering stiff who lacked any sort of midrange game into a deceptively smooth, agile force in the paint who shoots it equally well from the outside as he does from in close. Possibly the most significant transformation to Davis’ game came between his junior and senior seasons though, when he worked all summer on his free-throw shooting. On a team that prides itself on it’s efficiency at the line like Michigan State, Davis always seemed to be the odd man out, shooting a mere 67% from the stripe in his junior season, but thanks to his summer of hard work, he emerged as the top free-throw shooter on the team this past year, shooting over 90% for the majority of the season. Almost needless to say, a big man who can shoot like that from the line is a very valuable commodity on the next level. Another area of his game which Davis developed this past summer was his jumper, which was pretty much nonexistent in his first few seasons at Michigan State. His shot is still a little flat, mostly due to his size, but he gets good rotation on it, has a soft touch, and has incredible accuracy for a player with a post game as developed as his. Davis is also very versatile for a prospect for his size. With the way his midrange game has developed, he can be a very effective pick-and-pop power forward and can stretch defenses, forcing them to decide whether or not to double down on (Brand) or drifting out to guard Davis on the perimeter. He also has a wide variety of post moves at his disposal though and being just a shade below 7’0” with a wide frame, he has the size to play in the post at the next level. In the post, he’s one of the most creative prospects in the draft and really knows how to use his body to establish position underneath the glass. His intelligence and experience as a four year college player is really evident. He’s not comparable to many effective NBA big men in terms of length or quickness, but he knows how to get the most out of what physical gifts he has. That polish, as well as his work ethic, makes him one of the most NBA-ready prospects in the draft. Weaknesses While Davis’ defense always seems to be the most criticized area of his game, he’s actually very fundamentally sound defender who shows great footwork and positioning in the post. However, that’s not to say that Davis is a defensive stopper by any stretch of the imagination. In fact, for a near seven-footer, he’s a horrible shot-blocker with horrible reaction time, averaging only 0.6 bpg on his career and never having swatted more than three shots in a game. Another problem Davis has defensively is his tendency to get into foul trouble, which stems not necessarily from his aggressive style of play but rather an inability to stop quicker players. Davis only fouled out three times this season, but that’s because when he gets three or four fouls called on him, he starts playing passive and uninspired on both ends of the floor. He’d almost be better served fouling out than staying on the floor and playing with his ‘no-contact’ mindset. For his size, Davis is very mobile, but he’s not fast, quick, or athletic, and that could create problems for him on the next level, especially defensively. The label of “stiff” shouldn’t be used here, because he’s surprisingly agile, but at the same time, his foot-speed is underwhelming and his movements can often be overly mechanical. While Davis is often compared to players like Brad Miller and Mehmet Okur, he lacks their passing game. He gets especially frustrated by double teams, not being able to find the open man, which is one of the reasons he gets the ‘turnover prone’ label.</div> As for Diaz, I just assumed he'd come over this year, seeing how the Clippers have an open roster spot. I'm really foggy about his whole situation.
I don't think they'll bring him yet, since the team doesn't really need another small guard (as he's not a PG). Also the Clippers re-signed Yaroslav Korolev, so he's still on the team, maybe he'll be able to contribute this season. Dunleavy is supposedly still high on him and felt he was better than a lot of the guys drafted this year.
Brevin Knight will be great for the Clippers they need a back up PG since Livengton may not be back intil half season is Knight even a PG.I think he will accept the offer.
If I'm Brevin Knight, I have to think there are good teams that want me to be their primary backup. If he signs with the Clippers, and Livingston comes back, he risks becoming the backup to the backup.
<div class="quote_poster">Montaman Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">If I'm Brevin Knight, I have to think there are good teams that want me to be their primary backup. If he signs with the Clippers, and Livingston comes back, he risks becoming the backup to the backup.</div> Possibly, but Sam Cassell is guranteed to miss at least 20 games with his various ailments, and Dunleavy likes using Livingston at SG so he can have two playmakers on the court at the same time.
