Things are looking up again in Clipper land...
With the 8th pick in this years draft the Clippers picked up a 6'9" small forward who averaged 15.8 ppg and 10.7 rpg as a sophomore at Wake Forest. Most scouts don't think Al-Farouq Aminu is ready to crack the starting lineup just yet but being that he was at the top of managements draft board you better believe he's going to be paying a lot this year.
Small forward has been a position of need ever since the Clippers traded away Al Thornton. Not that he was the answer but in his place most of last year the Clippers were starting Rasual Butler - a decent shooter but not someone who should be starting in the NBA.
Al-Farouq Aminu is described as long and athletic with a big wingspan... He runs the floor well and is a strong rebounder. He looks like Lamar Odom without the handles and ability to shoot from 3 point range. I think the important will be to see how he defends at this position. Some of the most athletic players in the NBA play at the small forward position and it'll be interesting to see if he's up the task.
Another position of need for the Clippers is the point guard spot. Baron Davis is getting old and resting him throughout the season is probably a good idea to get the most out of him at the end of games and down the stretch (Hopefully the Clippers are in a position to get to the playoffs). And if you're the Clippers you need to start looking for your point guard of the future...
Enter Eric Bledsoe out of Kentucky whom the Clippers landed through a trade with the Oklahoma Thunder who already have Russell Westbrook manning the point. Bledsoe is another one of those one and done freshman and is described as super athletic with a long wingspan... Many scouts felt that if Bledsoe had stuck around for another season that he would have been the best point guard in next years draft... Bledsoe impressed scouts with his explosiveness and his consistent jump shot.
I can already see Bledsoe coming off the bench to back up Baron Davis as a high-energy guy that scores points in bunches off the bench. Bledsoe is a definite upgrade at the backup point guard spot.
by Dan on February 19, 2010
It really hurt the other day when my beloved Los Angeles Clippers dumped Marcus Camby to the Portland Trail Blazers because I'm a long time fan of Marcus Camby. But I got over it because I knew they were getting rid of salary since they're waiting on Blake Griffin next year to fill the power forward spot and because they're promising to go after a big name free agent next season...
I'm not really sure why it hurts so much more to see them quit early on this season because I've seen it so many times from this franchise but it does. Seeing Sebastian Telfair go to Cleveland and Al Thornton to Washington doesn't hurt so much because neither one of those guys is a game changer and allegedly the LA Clippers did it all to go after one of the big three free agents next season.
I think the Clippers need to forget about going after LeBron James, they don't need another talented big guy like Chris Bosh so the choice is obvious to me:
The Los Angeles Clippers Need To Go After Dwyane Wade
The Miami Heat don't really have anybody worth mentioning on their roster and in Los Angeles Dwyane wade would get an opportunity to play in the second biggest market in the country according to New Yorkers and think about the players that D Wade would be surrounding himself with here in LA with the Clippers:
- You got a big and talented front line with Chris Kaman who has played like an all-star all year this season and you have the first pick of the draft from this past year in Blake Griffin who will be able to run the floor with Wade.
- There's a good and talented back court presence already with Eric Gordon and Baron Davis and teaming either one of those guys with Wade on the floor would be lethal.
- But I think the key is that D Wade may have lost his confidence in Miami's ability to sign a big free agent to play next to him barring of course they sign Chris Bosh but even then Miami is still short a talented big guy.
Tax wise Wade is better off playing in Miami but talent wise he's better off playing in LA with the Clips and marketing wise/ PR wise I can see the attraction of wanting to play next to Kobe Bryant and the Lakers... just imagine the marketing opportunities if a genuine rivalry were to develop in Los Angeles between two elite players like Kobe Bryant and Dwyane Wade!
That and Dwyane Wade has to see that he's getting lost in the limelight right now and that he needs to surround himself with better talent to get back up there with the likes of Kobe Bryant and the Lakers, LeBron James and the Cavaliers, Dwight Howard and the Magic and of course the trio of the Boston Celtics.
That's what I'm talking about and that's what the Clippers need to focus on. The Clippers need to focus on the fact that Dwyane Wade +Los Angeles Clippers = championship contender. I think they've proved that they're willing to spend money and now they just need to spend it on the right guy and his name is Dwyane Wade.
Los Angeles Clippers. Mike Dunleavy. Donald Sterling. Obey.