'04 Departures & Arrivals Coming into this season, much was made of the Clippers losing such young talents as Lamar Odom, Michael Olowokandi and Andre Miller. Yet, few noticed the several key additions that were made somewhat "under the radar". Players like Peja Drobjnak, Bobby Simmons, Glen Rice and Eddie House have all made solid contributions in their own right. Oh yes, and the Clippers did also happen to lock up two of the games brightest young stars to long-term deals, something unheard of in the lore of Clipperdom. All the while remaining 10 million under the cap for next season. One last piece to the puzzle, let's not forget Mike Dunleavy - the best coach the team has had since Larry Brown. This raises the question of: addition by subtraction? In my mind, absolutely. I'd like to know how the rest of the Clipper faithful (wherever you are) feel about this issue. Was all of the offseason shakeup for better, or worse?
Clippers actually did a good job this off-season. I felt that Maggette and Brand were worth keeping, and that miller and Odom weren't. Manangement actually agreed with me this time. The drafting of Kaman was great too. He's exactly what the Clippers need in the future. He was #2 on my wishlist behind Wade, too bad Miami snatched him up (Lebron, Darko, Carmelo, and Bosh were locks for 1-4 and were out of the question). The problem is the accumulation of bad moves in past years. I couldn't believe they passed up on trading Miles and the #12 pick (ended up being Ely) for Baron Davis. From what I read, Sterling felt that Davis was "too flashy." Very frustrating considering Davis is one of the few players in the league that would've loved to be a Clipper. The Irony!!! The Clippers have taken a step forward, but they are still in a deep hole. Hopefully, the good moves will continue.
Ah, I forgot completely about Kaman. That's another big addition to the roster. In hindsight, not making the deal for Davis was absolutely a mistake. But, that really is the only hole left to fill now. This team needs a dependable PG - badly. Other than that, I would keep all the other parts in place and see what happens over the course of the next couple of seasons.
I also think they did a nice job this off-season for all the reasons notMUCHgame stated. Obviously, the Clips could see Miller wasn't the guy to satisfy them at the PG spot, Odom could never get his career straight in LA, and Kandi Man is a injury prone Center, so they did the right thing by holding on to Brand and Maggette. They have a bright future, especially if they can hold on to Q, their a fun team to watch, don't be suprised if they bairly miss a playoff spot this season.
