Everything But Poker

So this is what I’ve been missing all these years. Wednesday night, after a miserable, rainy day in Southern California, the Clippers faced an unconventional foe that struck terror in the hearts of seasoned fans and was sure to do nothing but exacerbate our mid-winter gloom. For years, the Clippers have existed as a team just good enough to occasionally challenge tough teams that operate primarily in a standard half-court set, but not nearly cohesive or smart enough to adapt to those squads that thrive on speed, athleticism and a certain degree of organized chaos. But last night, against Derrick Rose and the Chicago Bulls, the Clippers finally did what good teams do: React, adapt, prevail.

Vinny Del Negro’s starting lineup was like nothing I had ever seen in the Staples Center. Kirk Hinrich (6-3), Rose (6-3), Luol Deng (6-9), Taj Gibson (6-9) and Joakim Noah (6-11) took the floor against the Clippers’ standard-as-it-gets starting squad with each member fit nicely into the PG-SG-SF-PF-C lineup convention. Not only were Chicago’s players of unorthodox sizes, they were also five of the six fastest players on the floor (Eric Gordon being the only Clipper that could possibly compete in a footrace).

From the opening tip – which Noah won – the Bulls demanded the game be played at a frenetic pace. Deng scored on a 15-foot jumper after a flurry of quick passes 15 seconds into the game, then Rose deflected the Clippers’ inbound pass off Baron Davis’ foot out of bounds. Eight seconds later Rose hit a jump shot from the elbow and the Clippers were trailing, 4-0, before their first possession.

By the end of the first quarter, Chicago held a 26-19 lead and refused to let the game slow down. Rose, whose lethal combination of size and quickness cannot be understated, wasted no time getting the ball up court after defensive rebounds and made shots, forcing the moderately fleet-a-foot Clipper tandem of Chris Kaman and Marcus Camby to bust their asses back on D. It was a pace that Clipper fans have clamored for since Baron Davis came to town, but now that the team had its hand forced by a much quicker and athletic squad, it became readily apparent why the disorder of Seven-Seconds-or-Less only suits a couple teams: You need the right players to run it.

And while the Bulls have all the quicks and hops to pull off Mike D’Antoni’s famed brainchild, they lack the discipline, intelligence and finely tuned skills that make the manic process work. Rose can get into the lane – and most of the time all the way to the rim – whenever he wants, but once he passes it off, there is no guarantee that Deng, Noah, Tyrus Thomas or Jannero Pargo will continue the flow to the next teammate, who undoubtedly stands wide open on the other side of the floor. That, and without John Salmons, who missed last night’s game with flu-like symptoms, they have no three-point threat to spread the floor (Chicago was 2-11 last night).

Nevertheless, it appeared early that the pace of the game alone would be enough to throw the Clippers off their game. After all, fans know this team is not accustomed to adjusting playing styles on the fly. True, the Clips blew out the high-scoring Warriors at the beginning of the season and they beat the Lakers a couple weeks ago by forcing turnovers and getting fast-break points, but at no point were Derek Fisher and Jordan Farmar initiating their offensive sets with more than 20 seconds left on the shot clock. That’s what Rose did, and Los Angeles responded with the exact same formula, only better.

Baron Davis and Sebastian Telfair ran the team with the control and confidence that Del Negro hopes Rose will gain as he gets older, albeit with a tad less explosiveness. With the vast compliment of talents surrounding the two point guards, from Eric Gordon and Rasual Butler on the perimeter to Kaman and Craig Smith in the paint, the Clippers proved that, in fact, they could adapt a new style to fit their opponent, and do it more effectively. Davis eventually took the game into his own hands, scoring 11 points in the fourth quarter including a deliberate shot-fake three-pointer that drew a foul, which led to a 104-97 Clippers' victory.

On the day that it was reported that Blake Griffin had successful knee surgery that “couldn’t have gone better,” the team gave its home fans a reason to believe that, when they return from an eight-game road trip that begins tonight in Denver, they may actually be closer to the playoffs than they are now. It’s not easy being a Clipper fan, but nights like Wednesday make me appreciate the things that fans of the Purple and Gold take for granted: That good players with intelligent floor leaders and clearly defined roles can react, adapt and prevail.

Follow Everything But Poker on Twitter: @widdoesSFL

Amid the recent firestorm of fan disapproval of management's performance over the past couple years, the Clippers pulled off a trade Wednesday that perfectly illustrates one of the most disconcerting realities of the NBA: that no NBA general manager can resist the lure of 20 points and 10 rebounds, no matter what package they come in. But, more importantly, it could act as collective backhand slap to the army of haters that has relentlessly portrayed the Clippers as a never-ending suckhole of despair. While the deal cannot be made official until after the salary cap is set next week, the L.A. Times reported that the Clippers will trade Zach Randolph to the Memphis Grizzlies for Quentin Richardson and possibly one other player, depending on the cap number.

Whatever, right? That deal is just the Clippers’ making room for No. 1 pick Blake Griffin to get some more burn as a rookie and dumping some salary while they’re at it.

Oh, if it were only that simple. While it’s true the Clippers were looking to trade one of their talented big men in order to get Griffin on the court, the idea of Randolph’s being the one to go was inconceivable as recently as last week. The other two guys, Chris Kaman and Marcus Camby, are valuable commodities to just about any NBA franchise. One is a 7-foot, ambidextrous post player with 15/12 potential and three years left on his contract at a manageable salary. The other a 6-11 former defensive player of the year with an admirable work ethic and an expiring contract, which is the NBA equivalent of pudding in your lunchbox --- enjoyable for a far-too-brief period of time and extremely valuable on the trade market.

Zach Randolph is none of those things. He is 6-9 and weighs 260 lbs. His work ethic is, well, non-existent. He chooses not to play defense, was suspended twice last season (once for punching Phoenix Sun Louis Amundson in the face during a game, the other for getting arrested for DUI), and has been traded twice in the past three years for just about pennies on the dollar. He is owed $33 million over the next two years, which currently makes him the 18th-highest paid player in the NBA --- ahead of LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, Dwight Howard and Chris Paul --- and is the perfect personification of the Clippers’ lifelong suckhole stigma.

Ah, but he is also one of the select few power forwards that can almost guarantee 20 points and 10 rebounds each night. In fact, that is what he averaged last season splitting time with the Knicks and Clippers, two teams that, only months after his acquisition, realized how grave a mistake they had made and immediately tried to get rid of him. In 2007 the Blazers traded him for Channing Frye and Steve Francis (who never played a game for Portland). The following year the Knicks shipped him off for Tim Thomas and Cuttino Mobley (who retired a week later). And on Wednesday, in return for Randolph’s services, the Clippers got Richardson, who returns to his former team with a bad back that may render him useless after it’s all said and done.

So to recap, despite his All-Star production each of the past six seasons, Zach Randolph is worth no more to his last three than a backup center (Frye), a poisonous, lethargic forward (Thomas) and an ailing shooting guard (Richardson). There was supposed to be no chance that he would get traded again, especially given the amount of money he is still owed. But the Memphis Grizzlies took the bait, showing how shockingly desperate NBA teams are for low-post point production, even at the cost of a team’s economic viability, emotional stability and community reputation.

****

Well, now that that absurdity has been covered, it’s time to look forward to the 2009-10 Clippers, a team that still night not have its opening night roster set. If there is any truth to the myth of addition by subtraction in professional basketball, the Randolph trade will likely become Example A. Even though the Clippers won only 19 games last year, there are few people that would argue that they did not have the talent to win more. Hence, sports writers --- especially ESPN.com’s Sports Guy --- have taken to calling Coach/GM Mike Dunleavy the worst coach and/or general manager in the sport – or all sports, for that matter. So when they landed the top pick in this year’s draft, the concern around Clipper offices was that they had too much talent and too few minutes during a game in which to play it.

If studied in a vacuum, Randolph’s departure means the Clippers need to find someone to score 20 points and 10 rebounds to maintain the 19-win total from a year ago. And while it’s a bit of a stretch to expect that from the rookie, it’s not impossible. Either way, I’m not in a vacuum (I’m in a room sitting next to a vacuum). What is lost from Z-Bo’s offensive production can be replaced by Griffin’s expected offensive output, plus his defensive contribution --- the simple fact that it exists at all is enough to exceed Randolph’s.

So the Clippers’ opening night lineup, as it appears right now, will likely be Baron Davis, Eric Gordon, Al Thornton, Marcus Camby and Chris Kaman, with Griffin, Richardson, Steve Novak and second-year players Mike Taylor and DeAndre Jordan coming off the bench. Griffin will probably be starting by 2010 and several outlets have reported that the Clippers are pursuing Lakers’ forward Trevor Ariza, so this lineup could still improve further. But at first glance, that squad looks like a serious playoff contender.

In fact, barring injuries to Gordon, Davis, Kaman and Camby, this team will have no excuse for not making the playoffs next season. They may be a bit thin on the wing and will rely heavily on Gordon, the second-year stud, but if Dunleavy can’t steer this team to the post-season, fans will call for his head for the second off-season in a row, only this time it will be completely warranted. Unfortunately, those injury concerns are very real, not that it will stop the fans from calling for Dunleavy’s head anyway.

Beyond the elevated expectations for this season, however, the Clippers have now positioned themselves as one of the most attractive destinations for free agents next summer. Getting rid of Randolph clears $17.3 million from the 2010-11 roster, and Richardson, Camby and Ricky Davis’ contracts all expire after this season, all of which will clear $19.4 million from the roster. That will leave the Clippers $20-25 million under the salary cap next summer, when superstars such as LeBron James, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh become free agents, all of whom will get the chance to play with emerging stars such as Gordon and Griffin.

Really, was there ever a team more tailor-made for LeBron James? An experienced, play-making point guard (Davis), a lights-out shooting guard (Gordon), an explosive, hard-working power forward (Griffin) and a dependable center (Kaman) --- plus plenty of emerging talent coming off the bench? George Bush could coach that team and it would still win it all. I could write Dunleavy’s sales pitch to the King James right now: LeBron, you will win a championship next year with this team. Want to sign?

OK, my math may be a little off, and the possibility of luring LeBron a ridiculous fantasy, but during my years as a Clipper fan, “the future” has been a tantalizing dream of success only twice: in 1992 after they nearly beat the Jazz in the first round of the playoffs, and in 2001 when the team had a young core of Elton Brand, Lamar Odom, Corey Maggette, Darius Miles and Richardson. Now for the third time, success is on the horizon, and this time it feels a little different. The first obstacle has been shipped out of town, now it’s time for all that talent to shine through. But, as they always say, this is the Clippers, so ...



Correction: Ramona Shelburne of the LA Daily News reports that, as it stands right now, the Clippers will be about $17 million under the cap next off-season. So that probably won't get the job done signing LeBron, but if the economy turns around in a big way, it could mean more cap room.