OFFICIAL LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS 2024 OFFSEASON THREAD

[lawdog1]

Doc Rivers' teams have blown 9 playoff series leads during his coaching career. The most in NBA history with George Karl. Just saying.

 

[P C H]

Offseason thread officially lol

My side of things though. It's long winded:

I don't think Doc the coach has to leave but I think a shake up in terms of his responsibilites in the front office is in order. I genuinely think that his relationships with these guys (namely redick, crawford) have bled into the construct of the team. From who he signs and gives chances to, to who he doesn't trade or trade for, he's really doing Doc the coach a disservice.

I'm all for Blake and CP to be back. They're just too good and productive right now and as blake continues to expand his game (Shot almost 40% on 3's since Feb on 3 attempts a game) I think the fit of DJ and him will be even better. At times they do look like an odd fit, but talent trumps fit and by all metrics, they've been fine together for the entirety of their careers. Went in depth about redick and crawford, but those are two players who obviously should be moved if they're serious about competing.

Where we need MAJOR improvement, is on the margins and this is why I want a good, outside source to aid in this regard. See, if we're going to keep CP and Blake then obviously we're sending a message that we're still trying to compete for a title and if that be the case, then we've GOT TO improve on the margins. This is a concept that's lost to the casual fan, but these are where championships are won and lost man. You have to hit on these guys and doc deserves blame for this. It sucks because the reality is that, finding and hitting on buy low guys is tough and hard, but when you're the gm and you construct your team in a way that has 3 guys taking up most of the cap, it becomes even more imperative to hit on these guys.

You look at the championship teams, the spurs, the warriors, etc. their vet minimum guys (which doc has done relatively well on), their LATE DRAFT PICKS, the D League, has been a haven for finding talent on the margins. Going forward, I truly hope that our FO is more active and aggressive in these realms of talent. Rehashed vets are the only real way that we've tried to get talent from and those were a compilation of 09 eastern conference all stars. When you draft late, you have to explore the d-league and explore FA with less of a relationship based point of view.

And even with ALL OF THIS BEING SAID, none of this matters if CP and / or Blake continue to miss significant time during the regular season with injury. There's an argument to be made that even with doc's ineptness with roster construction, this team would be at 57 to 60 wins per year if Blake and CP could just consistently play 70 games together. What people don't take into account when evaluating the clippers is that they're winning 50+ games while one or both of their best players are missing significant time literally EVERY season. No amount of coaching / roster construction can get you to a 2 or even a 3 seed if your best players are hurt a lot.

So, moving forward you've got to get your best players healthy, rid yourself of redick and crawford, and find a way to maximize yourself on the margins.

 

[Nipsey3000]

i have been saying it in this thread for pages now...this team is no better right this second than they were the day vinny del negro was fired. and by that metric alone. a coaching change is needed.

i'm with lawdawg in wanting to see everyone return but not tripping if everyone leaves. one thing is for sure, this is not the donald sterling/LA sports arena days. the clippers are/should be a prime free agent destination for years to come.

the problem with keeping doc as coach and not gm, is that i feel that a gm change wont yield results right away. unless its a great gm that can get that horrible crawford deal off the books, what can be done to yield results right away?

 

[P C H]

Whoever the GM is, the Clippers just have to change their approach to finding talent on the margins.

They've put band-aids on this for way too long. The spencer hawes, antwaun jamisons, jordan farmars, byron mullens, Mo Speights, (who wasn't bad this year but he can't rebound, can't defend, and can only shoot 3's. Basically a better byron mullens lol) the nate robinsons, this **** has to stop.

We gotta start valuing our late picks, (whenever we get some) the d-league, (once we get our team this season), Free Agency, etc. IMO we just dont value this arena the way the spurs, warriors, or even the grizzlies do.

 

[P C H]

i have been saying it in this thread for pages now...this team is no better right this second than they were the day vinny del negro was fired. and by that metric alone. a coaching change is needed.

i'm with lawdawg in wanting to see everyone return but not tripping if everyone leaves. one thing is for sure, this is not the donald sterling/LA sports arena days. the clippers are/should be a prime free agent destination for years to come.

the problem with keeping doc as coach and not gm, is that i feel that a gm change wont yield results right away. unless its a great gm that can get that horrible crawford deal off the books, what can be done to yield results right away?

I mean if Doc was a "bad" coach, we wouldn't be as successful as we've been. I know we get tired of winning 50 games and getting bounced, but that says something, considering just how much time Blake / CP have missed each year. Idk if there's a coach that could get more out of LAC given how injury prone blake and cp have been under doc.

And a gm change would yield results for the present and future I think. A new GM who's more in tune with the talent surrounding the NBA in all arenas (instead of who he's familiar and has some relationship with aka doc) could be the difference between signing player x instead of player y and player y winning a game in the playoffs for us.

 

[Nipsey3000]

I mean if Doc was a "bad" coach, we wouldn't be as successful as we've been. I know we get tired of winning 50 games and getting bounced, but that says something, considering just how much time Blake / CP have missed each year. Idk if there's a coach that could get more out of LAC given how injury prone blake and cp have been under doc.

And a gm change would yield results for the present and future I think. A new GM who's more in tune with the talent surrounding the NBA in all arenas (instead of who he's familiar and has some relationship with aka doc) could be the difference between signing player x instead of player y and player y winning a game in the playoffs for us.

i definitely dont think doc is a bad coach. overrated, yes. but this team was then, what it is now, nothing more and nothing less with docs presence. i dont think that the answer is finding a more proven/respected coach. if this was the case, coaches like steve kerr, quin snyder, brad stevens, tyronn lue, etc etc wouldnt be successful in this league. i mean there are only so many popovich's, pat riley's etc to go around. dr. jack ramsay aint walking thru that door. lol

but you def have a point with a new gm being more in tune with talent around the league. enough of the retreads. bottom line is that crawford deal is awful and almost untradeable, and our draft pick situation is awful for the next few years. those are 2 issues that will be hard for a new gm to overcome. not impossible though.

we literally could have been the best rebounding team in the league, we were good on defense at times but we could have been a perennial top 3 defense in the league. i feel like because of basketball philosophy, we werent either of those things. if you rebound and play defense, you can hide alot of team issues. in addition, we are always top 10 in offense so it was never about doing those things because we couldnt score you know?

 

[HIM]

I'll read/respond to all of y'alls posts tomorrow but just wanted to throw a couple things out there.


-DON'T BRING JJ BACK
*JJ is a cool dude. Complete professional. Helped us a ton and was a huge part of our success. We just cannot play a 32 yr old, unathletic, undersized 2 in the playoffs.


-SIGN PLAYMAKER(S)
*We need a wing that can create for himself or others. Not wven a superstar. Someone like Ingles that canrun the PnR and knock down the 3. We litteraly have two playmakers on the entire roster. That's crazy.



Love Luc and would like to keep him but hoenstly he should go get pid somewhere. He had one foot out the league and instead earnes himself a nice payday.



If we can get Melo, I'm wit it. If not, please make some changes. I do not want this same team next year. We won't make a WCF.

 

[Nipsey3000]

^^ funny thing is, the clips had ingles and cut him. LOL

he was a major disruption during this series and deserves credit. his play is why they could afford to move hood to the bench.

i admire ingles...basketball perimeter players are pretty boys and they dont like to be touched. when you muck up the game for them it provides the ultimate contrast. this is why i think that some form of the hand check needs to come back to the NBA. the league needs to allow defensive players to defend again.

 

[P C H]

Ingles wasn't an NBA player when we cut him though. No one valued him as such. Credit to him for improving and making the most of the opportunity with Utah.

 

[Nipsey3000]

Ingles wasn't an NBA player when we cut him though. No one valued him as such. Credit to him for improving and making the most of the opportunity with Utah.

agreed. he was def a scrub at the time

 

[lawdog1]

agreed. he was def a scrub at the time

I don't think scrub is the right word. He was a good foreign player who was unproven in the NBA. He definitely played well in training camp and summer league and I remember hoping he'd make the team. He impressed me. As I recall, Doc cut him because he felt we already had enough depth at the wing positions and only had one back-up PG on the roster, so he elected to keep Cunningham. Was not an outrageous decision by Doc at the time, but definitely came back to bite him. To me, Ingles and ISO Joe were the players who really won the series for Utah.

And the Ingles situation illustrates exactly something PCH said earlier about Doc's flaws as a GM. He doesn't take chances on unproven guys. Only signs and/or plays people who he already knows and trusts. I guess you could call is a "safe" approach, but it for sure has contributed to some of the stagnation with the team we've seen the last couple years.

I also think Doc is a little weird with the standards he has for new players. Like, he doesn't give them enough opportunity to prove themselves before he writes them off. I can't think of another team in recent years that has signed/traded for so many guys, only to dump them after a season or less. That's just not good management.

 

[djlunchbox]

My heart hurts and I have no words.

I wouldn't be surprised if it all gets blown up but a change is necessary.

What makes it hurt more was in the VDN age we had no expectations, it was just fun to watch them go out there and play.

I can't bet on Blake anymore man and I think CP might be over him too.

We'll see what the off season brings.

 

[P C H]

 
[h1]The Clippers’ Season is Over. Here are 6 Predictions for What’s Next[/h1]
32 comments
[h2]After another first-round exit, there’s sure to be a shake-up in Lob City.[/h2]
by Lucas Hann@LucasJHann May 1, 2017, 8:40am PDT

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The Clippers lost game 7 at home to the Utah Jazz, and they lost it badly. With it, they also lost another opportunity at a deep playoff run, and quite possibly the last chance for this core to make some noise together in the postseason.

Chris Paul, J.J. Redick, and Blake Griffin—three of the Clippers’ “core four”—are going to be free agents. The team’s fifth starter, Luc Mbah a Moute, will be a free agent as well, and with him will go key reserves like Raymond Felton and Marreese Speights. Doc Rivers, the team’s head coach and President of basketball operations, has slowly felt his seat grow warmer over recent years.

There’s going to be a lot of drama, excitement, and existential dread in the next two months as the NBA Playoffs play out without the Clippers, the NBA Draft goes by without a Clippers pick, and we wait for a free agency period that will surely take years off of all of our lives. As we enter this chaotic period, here are 6 predictions for the hellstorm that is to come. May we look back on this post and laugh when it all goes to **** two months from now.
[h1]Chris Paul will re-sign with the Los Angeles Clippers[/h1]
Ok, maybe this one isn’t sexy, but it’s important. Paul can make an obscene amount of money (we’re talking over 200 million over the next 5 years) by signing a max contract with his bird rights, and he’s not walking away from that—or the city of Los Angeles, where his family has settled in.

This is great for the Clippers, because it means that they keep being good, but it’s also important—it means that the direction of the franchise for the next half-decade will continue to be focused on the short-term, maximizing Paul’s championship window.
[h1]Blake Griffin will too, but it’s going to be stressful[/h1]
Ultimately, all of the talk about big change for these superstars is going to come down to this: the Clippers’ best pathway towards building a contender is to re-sign these two and either build successfully around them, or have them as trade chips down the line. For Chris Paul, that’s what makes the decision so easy. But for Blake Griffin, who has had injury issues for years and has seemingly lost some athleticism, the Clippers front office will be a little less willing to pony up a max offer.

Still, they’ll ultimately accept that they have to. Chandler Parsons got a max deal last summer—and Blake Griffin is a better player with a less troubling injury history. There’s going to be max interest for Blake, but staying a Clipper both gives him more money and lets him stay in Los Angeles, where he has some other business ventures.
[h1]J.J. Redick is going to leave, and it’s not gonna be pretty[/h1]
Redick has had a phenomenal four-year run with the Clippers, and I’ve loved watching him play, so this kills me—but he’s not going to be a Clipper next year. He’s slowed down on both ends of the floor, and while offensively that leaves him as just slightly less elite, his lack of size and athleticism on the defensive end was exposed more than ever this season, especially in the starting lineup alongside the diminutive Chris Paul.

Mix in the feeling that the Clippers need to make some kind of change, the necessity of retaining Paul and Griffin to be relevant, Redick’s miserable playoff performance, and the massive offers that he’s going to get, and it just makes too much sense that J.J. won’t be back in L.A. next year. Some team like the Knicks, who will spend recklessly on an aging, declining wing, will throw 18 million a year at Redick. It’s the kind of money that the Clippers should balk at, and J.J. should take in a heartbeat.

Here’s what’s most interesting though—I don’t think it will be an amicable divorce. Redick’s frustration levels peaked this season, and occasionally boiled over, regarding locker room drama and tension within the Clippers’ organization. I get the feeling that after four years as his backcourt partner, J.J. is less than enamored with Chris Paul’s grating, competitive personality, and we saw that on national television during game 7 when the two exchanged words during a timeout.

There’s been an undeniable level of dysfunction within this Clippers group, although we haven’t quite nailed down specifics. I think Redick, after his departure, will take some shots at the Clippers in the press, whether it be immediately or years down the line. It will probably sour the way we remember the greatest shooter in Clippers history.
[h1]Carmelo Anthony will be a Clipper[/h1]
This is part B of “shaking up the core”, which begins with letting J.J. Redick walk. I’m not sure exactly how this deal will wind up (a lot depends on if the Knicks are the team that ends up signing J.J., in which case some sign-and-trade scenarios become possible), but the Clippers are going to aggressively make a play to add another star scorer. Anthony’s biggest red flag is his sub-par defense, but with Redick moving on, the Clippers can look to pair Anthony with a superior defender on the wing. Plus, they should still be able to re-sign Luc Mbah a Moute as a 2nd unit combo forward and defensive specialist.

Anthony is a big part of selling the vision that this franchise can reload and run it back without being “the same thing over and over again.” Adding a solid 3rd big with the MLE isn’t going to cut it anymore, but this presents a compelling product for the Clippers’ free agents, the team’s fanbase, and veterans that LAC will recruit at a discount to round out the roster. You know how great and fun the Clippers are, but it was growing stale and you were bored. Well, we’ve got the same Clippers that you love, but with a twist: Melo.
[h1]Doc Rivers is going home[/h1]
By draft day in late June, Doc Rivers will be the President of Basketball Operations for the Orlando Magic. After Rob Hennigan’s experiment crashed and burned in Orlando, there’s an opening for Rivers to return. I believe that Doc’s wife has stayed in Florida for the last several years, even with Doc living in Los Angeles to coach the Clippers, and it makes a lot of sense for him to take a step back from coaching and focus on running a team so he doesn’t have to deal with the day-to-day burdens and the long road trips.

Still, why would he leave the Clippers? Well, after four years of failure to build a contending supporting cast around the Clippers’ core, it’s time for Steve Ballmer to pull Doc’s basketball operations duties. If Rivers stays in L.A., I believe it will be strictly as the head coach, and rather than deal with a new boss, Doc will choose to go home and be the boss in Orlando.
[h1]The Clippers will poach David Griffin from the Cavaliers[/h1]
Perhaps the scariest thing about losing Doc Rivers isn’t that we’ll miss the positive contributions that he makes, but rather that the grass isn’t necessarily greener. Steve Ballmer is relatively inexperienced as an NBA owner and doesn’t have an incredibly deep knowledge of how to run a team. Doc Rivers is a veteran who has been around the league forever, and even if you thought he wasn’t doing a good job, he had a steady hand.

Now, with Rivers out of the picture, Ballmer will be left on his own to find a replacement general manager—someone whose vision for the franchise will determine a coaching hire and this summer’s roster moves, shaping the next half-decade of Clipper basketball. Even if you don’t trust Doc Rivers to be that guy anymore, I’m not sure that we trust Ballmer to bring in the right man for the job in a market that is murky at best.

There’s one clear-cut big-time NBA executive who is going to be available, and Steve Ballmer can offer him a contending roster, the greatest city on the planet, and a really big salary. When push comes to shove, Ballmer will write whatever check is necessary to lure David Griffin to Los Angeles. Griffin has had success building make-shift rosters around the Cavaliers’ maximum-salary players, and he’ll face a similar predicament with LAC. Tension from both parties has led Cleveland to let his contract expire at the end of this season without an extension, and teams will be ready to pounce on the architect of the 2016 NBA Champions, but none will come with more money or a better situation than the L.A. Clippers

 

[lawdog1]

^^^ Could live with all of that. And if JJ takes some shots on his way out, wouldn't even be mad at him. I'm sure he has some justifiable complaints.

 

[P C H]

Yup.

 

[P C H]

Random but it's always weird when I see ****** in the Laker thread bringing up the Clippers.

Like I don't remember the last time the Lakers were discussed in here.

Idk how if you're a Laker fan you're pressed about what we do and don't do.

 

[djlunchbox]

Random but it's always weird when I see ****** in the Laker thread bringing up the Clippers.


Like I don't remember the last time the Lakers were discussed in here.

Idk how if you're a Laker fan you're pressed about what we do and don't do.

Dawg i've had to see this on my TL for twitter, IG and facebook

Laker fans are so gassed about the Clippers. Like for no reason. Just cuz some of their fans jumped on the Clippers train they mad.

And then their go to argument is always look at our banners. That's like saying check out this VHS copy of Jurassic Park.

Like ***** the last time y'all had a winning season was 2013, last time y'all were relevant was 2010.

And then the worse part is they stay talking trash about CP3, calling him over ratted blah blah blah, but still bring up and get mad about the blocked trade. Like WTF?

 

[wavycrocket]

 

[HIM]

Random but it's always weird when I see ****** in the Laker thread bringing up the Clippers.


Like I don't remember the last time the Lakers were discussed in here.

Idk how if you're a Laker fan you're pressed about what we do and don't do.

It's the same dudes that say they couldn't care less about the Clippers, too. But every Lakers fan I know in real life stopped watching that team 3 years ago. Idk any Lakers fan that still watches even 10 games a season. It's hilarious

 

[lawdog1]

Random but it's always weird when I see ****** in the Laker thread bringing up the Clippers.


Like I don't remember the last time the Lakers were discussed in here.

Idk how if you're a Laker fan you're pressed about what we do and don't do.

Extremely puzzling, but its mostly Lakers fans who came around in the 2000s who feel that way. The long-timers who were fans before that don't seem to care nearly as much. They realize that whatever the Clippers do or don't do has absolutely no bearing on the Lakers status, etc.

 

[pmatic]

Win or lose this round, I think the Clippers should re-sign Blake this summer and look to trade him next year (when he becomes eligible) to bolster the depth of the team.

 

[P C H]

 The Clippers say forward Blake Griffin had surgery today to repair an injury to the plantar plate of his right big toe in Charlotte

 

[lawdog1]

I'm going to preface this by saying I am, of course, disappointed with how the last two seasons ended and that I 100 percent think we should have gone to at least WCF in the last 5 years. That said, the fact that, as of right now, the prevailing legacy for this Clippers group is going to be that they were "failures" is ******* ridiculous and shows absurd the "only-rings-matter" mentality has become. We were indisputably one of the worst franchises in sports, on a number of levels, before Blake got here. Never went to the playoffs more than twice, people didn't want to play here, arena was empty a lot of the time, etc. Nobody would have predicted we'd put together a half-decade run of 50 win seasons and playoff appearances, have multiple perennial all-stars and sell out Staples every game. But we have and its remarkable.

Not to mention, winning championships isn't easy. This team came together when the Pop-Duncan Spurs were still around, LeBron - who will go down as a top 5 player ever still was in his prime, and this insanely good Warriors team developed. So, even if we got to the WCF or Finals, no guarantee we would have won and there's not shame in that.

Yes, this team has been disappointing. Arguably underachieved. But should they be thought of as failures? Hell no.

/end rant.

 

[P C H]

I'm going to preface this by saying I am, of course, disappointed with how the last two seasons ended and that I 100 percent think we should have gone to at least WCF in the last 5 years. That said, the fact that, as of right now, the prevailing legacy for this Clippers group is going to be that they were "failures" is ******* ridiculous and shows absurd the "only-rings-matter" mentality has become. We were indisputably one of the worst franchises in sports, on a number of levels, before Blake got here. Never went to the playoffs more than twice, people didn't want to play here, arena was empty a lot of the time, etc. Nobody would have predicted we'd put together a half-decade run of 50 win seasons and playoff appearances, have multiple perennial all-stars and sell out Staples every game. But we have and its remarkable.

Not to mention, winning championships isn't easy. This team came together when the Pop-Duncan Spurs were still around, LeBron - who will go down as a top 5 player ever still was in his prime, and this insanely good Warriors team developed. So, even if we got to the WCF or Finals, no guarantee we would have won and there's not shame in that.

Yes, this team has been disappointing. Arguably underachieved. But should they be thought of as failures? Hell no.

/end rant.

This is so logical and ppl can't seem to take this rational approach when it comes to LAC. Repped.

 

[lawdog1]

I wonder how many surgeries Blake has had now? Gotta be easily into double digits...