Lunchtime Lobs: Monday, July 7

Here are your latest updates on the Clippers’ free agency and the Donald Sterling situation:

• On Sunday the Clippers agreed to a two-year deal for point guard Jordan Farmar, who will be replacing Darren Collison as Chris Paul’s backup.
• ClipperBlog published a 3-on-3 examining Spencer Hawes’ fit with the Clippers.
• Jamal Crawford (and his agent) may want an extension, but BasketballInsiders.com outlines why that cannot happen yet.
• The trial over the Clippers’ sale has begun, according to AP reports.

 

Follow Lob City Blog on Twitter for updates and to talk about the Clippers. Post questions or comments below, or email them to LobCityBlog@gmail.com.

Lunchtime Lobs: Wednesday, June 5

The offseason is really heating up in the NBA with the ongoing coaching carousel, draft speculation and the impending free agency period. Here are your five daily reads to give you a taste of all that’s going on.

 

• The draft is less than 48 hours away, and ESPN’s Chad Ford has the Clippers taking Clemson small forward K.J. McDaniels with the No. 28 pick (subscription required).
• LeBron James’ first choice is still to stay in Miami, but joining the Clippers is intriguing.
• Clippers assistant coach Tyronn Lue didn’t get the Cleveland Cavaliers head coaching position, but he will be joining the team anyway as an assistant.
• To help replace their depleted assistant coach ranks, Doc Rivers is targeting Lawrence Frank.
• The Donald Sterling Scandal threatens to derail sponsorships for the 2014-15 season.

Lunchtime Lobs: Friday, June 20

Sorry for the hiatus, but Lob City Blog is back just in time to help you waste away your final afternoon of the work week.

• Darren Collison says he hopes to return to the Clippers next season.
• Answers to five questions Clippers fans should know heading into the 2014 NBA Draft.
• After missing out on the Cleveland Cavaliers’ head coaching position, Clippers assistant coach Alvin Gentry is leaving to become an assistant with Steve Kerr and the Golden State Warriors, adding another twist to this growing rivalry.
• A judge has rejected Shelly Sterling’s injunction request after alleged threats made by her husband, Donald Sterling.
• The Clippers are being sued by a former unpaid intern who claims the team violated labor laws.

Follow Lob City Blog on Twitter for updates and to talk about the Clippers. Post questions or comments below, or email them to LobCityBlog@gmail.com.

Does Redick Deserve No-Defense Team Nomination?

As mentioned in the morning’s Lunchtime Lobs, Tim Kawakami released a 2014 NBA No-Defense team today. The first team included Kyrie Irving, James Harden, Eric Gordon, J.J. Hickson and Andrea Bargnani. It’s hard to argue with those picks, as this five-man squad might give up 150 points per game. But at honorable mention was Clippers shooting guard J.J. Redick.

He’s no Tony Allen, but is Redick really the third-worst shooting guard in the NBA defensively? Kawakami certainly thinks so:

[Redick] and Jamal Crawford on the same team. That’s like a No-Defense Hall of Fame meeting, right there. But Doc Rivers is such a good coach that he got the most out of them offensively and figured out how to hide them both on defense.

The Clippers had the No. 8 defense this season, allowing 102.1 points per 100 possessions. When Redick was on the floor they were worse, allowing 104.5 points. That’s only .6 points worse than Matt Barnes’ defensive rating, and he’s thought of as a pretty solid defender.

Lob City Mailbag: June 9

The Donald Sterling situation continues to play out even into the NBA Finals. The Clippers were done playing weeks ago, but that just means it’s time to talk about the offseason and speculate on their future. For future mailbags, send questions by email to LobCityBlog@gmail.com or via Twitter to @lob_city_blog.

 

Is there any scenario where the Clippers should consider trading Blake Griffin or Chris Paul? – Joe B.

Chris Paul is the top point guard in the NBA. Blake Griffin finished third in MVP voting this season and is just 25 years old. The Clippers are serious championship contenders as is, and few players in the league would be an upgrade over either player.

Also, the Clippers have a very solid center in DeAndre Jordan, and no NBA center is dominant enough to justify trading Griffin or Paul. They could upgrade at shooting guard, but J.J. Redick is a solid player and shooting guard is the NBA’s weakest position. Realistically, small forward is the only position where the Clippers could make a major improvement.

That happens to be the position the two top NBA players play.

Offseason Report Card: Jared Dudley

Jared Dudley

2013-14 Salary: $4.25 million | Age: 28 | Role: Starting small forward (first half of season)

Season Stats: 43.8 FG%, 36.0 3P%, 6.9 PPG, 2.2 RPG, 1.4 APG

 

Season Review

Prior to the 2013-14 season, the Clippers were part of a three-team trade that netted them shooting guard J.J. Redick and small forward Jared Dudley for combo guard Eric Bledsoe and a second-round pick. Although Bledsoe was a valuable young player, most analysts looked favorably on the move for the Clippers. ESPN’s Kevin Pelton (subscription required) gave them an A- grade immediately afterwards:

Dudley and Redick are ideal role players because they are dangerous from beyond the arc and know their limitations. Both players are efficient scorers who will benefit from Paul’s ability to set them up. And they come at reasonable rates. Dudley, who will make $4.25 million the next two seasons before he has the ability to opt out, has one of the NBA’s better non-rookie contracts.

Dudley started the season at small forward for the Clippers despite battling tendonitis in his right knee. He struggled with his shot too often—he scored 15 or more points just six times all season—and was eventually moved to the bench in favor of Matt Barnes. The Clippers even tried to move him at the trade deadline, just months after acquiring him.

In the playoffs his role continued to decline, and he saw even less time on the court. Despite his reputation as a solid defender, he could do nothing against Kevin Durant, and the Clippers lost in six games in the second round.

Lunchtime Lobs: Monday, June 9

Back to the work-week grind, everyone. Four reads and one tweet for your latest Clippers news.

• NBA commissioner Adam Silver said “We’re almost there” with the sale of the Clippers and that there’s no chance Donald Sterling’s lifetime ban is lifted.
• From the Orange County Register: Is the letter “s” holding up the Clippers sale?
• Adrian Wojnarowski has tweeted that Clippers assistant coaches Alvin Gentry and Tyronn Lue will have second interviews for the open head coaching position with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
• EA Sports’ first “NBA Live 15” screenshots include Blake Griffin.
• And Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News gave J.J. Redick an honorable mention nod for his 2014 NBA No-Defense team.

 

Follow Lob City Blog on Twitter for updates and to talk about the Clippers. Post questions or comments below, or email them to LobCityBlog@gmail.com.

Shelly Sterling’s Potential Role Acceptable

Early in May, Miami Heat forward LeBron James said that NBA players wanted no members of the Sterling family to own the Clippers and wanted them out of the league entirely. And at the time there didn’t seem to be a scenario in which a member of the Sterlings maintained ties to the league.

But if a CNN report that Shelly Sterling may run a charity with $200 million from the proceeds of the team’s sale comes to fruition, that would be one situation that the players should be able to live with.

According to the report, Sterling and new Clippers owner Steve Ballmer would serve as co-chairs of a foundation that would “target underprivileged families, battered women, minorities and inner-city youths.” The NBA has reportedly been receptive to the idea.

Despite her husband’s eccentricity since the tape of his racist remarks was released, Sterling has handled being thrust into the public spotlight as well as possible. She’s said the right things, she expedited the sale of the team to a quality owner and now she plans to start this charity.

Players will need to be able to live with her maintaining a loose affiliation with the league.

For all the complaints about how much the Sterlings gained from the forced sale, she is donating 10 percent of that back to a good cause. And she appears, at least to an extent, to want to make up for her husband’s mistakes. There’s no reason to hold her back from doing that.

The Sterlings are the Clippers’ past, and there’s nothing the NBA can do to change that. But allowing Sterling to create this charity and to partner it with the NBA would help to heal the wounds at least a little bit.

This charity won’t make up for everything that was said, but it’s certainly a start.

 

Follow Lob City Blog on Twitter for updates and to talk about the Clippers. Post questions or comments below, or email them to LobCityBlog@gmail.com.

Potential Free Agent Targets: Power Forwards

As broken down in this video post, the Clippers are over the salary cap and will not be able to spend more than $2 million on any given free agent this offseason. Their starting frontcourt of Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan is among the best in the league, but if Glen Davis declines his player option as expected they will no other frontcourt players on the roster for next season.

They do have the No. 28 pick in the draft to grab one big man, but they’ll need to add others for cheap. Their options will be limited to veterans looking to play for a contender or young guys who have fallen out of favor in the league. Some options at center have already been discussed, but here are five potential targets for the Clippers at power forward.

Offseason Report Card: Glen Davis

Glen Davis

2013-14 Salary: $338,594 | Age: 28 | Role: Backup power forward

Season Stats (with Clippers): 48.1 FG%, 4.2 PPG, 3.0 RPG, .3 APG, .3 APG

 

Season Recap

Davis began the 2013-14 season with the Orlando Magic but was bought out of his contract after the deadline, and he signed with the Clippers and would play the final 23 games of the season with the team.

He immediately joined the rotation to provide depth behind Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan, averaging 13 and 16 minutes per game in March and April, repectively He was solid offensively, averaging four points per game on 48 percent shooting. But defensively he was a sieve, allowing opposing power forwards and centers to post a PER of at least 22 against him (15 is average), according to 82games.com.

In he was again a decent offensive option off the bench, shooting 50 percent from the field in the first round and 70 percent against the Oklahoma City Thunder.