Where Are They Now, 2010; Part 16

When I came in from bowling last night, about 156 jillion messages awaited me asking me for my views on the news that Devin Brown had joined the Bulls. You know how sometimes you get an irrational like for a fringe NBA player, a staunch loyalty that reaches far in excess of that player's talent level, and you yearn for them to join your team if only for them to play badly so that you can break that bond? That guy is Devin Brown for me, and such a kinship made my name synonymous with that of Devin Brown to at least 1 person. This can only end well. Or rather; well, this can only end. Good times.

Of course, acquiring Brown means nothing more than acquiring a minimum salary backup. I don't think anyone is deluded into thinking otherwise, even those of us with inexplicable love for Downtown Devin Brown. His three point shooting this season is an anomaly until further notice, and he's still the same player he's always been; a mediocre one. But Brown doesn't have to be a good shooter or a good player to be a worthwhile player for the Bulls. He just has to be competent. Competent will do. Competent is fine. Competent is better than Lindsey Hunter.

Also, Jerome James is about ready to make his return from injury and apathy, and trading away Aaron Gray now makes James the only garbage time centre option. Isn't it better for the world that we let that happen?

A great trade all around. Genuinely very happy about this.


- Nando De Colo

Spurs draft pick Nando De Colo left France in the summer and moved to Valencia in the ACB in order to play against better competition. In the ACB he is averaging 12.1 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game, alongside 14.5 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game in the Eurocup. The points per game leads the team in the ACB, but it's only second in the team's Eurocup campaign behind Spanish guard Rafa Martinez's 13.8 points per game. Rafa Martinez is a 27 year old slightly undersized off-guard with an automatic jumpshot, strong hairline and not much else. You're better off worrying about Nando.

A few weeks ago, I lost my wallet at Finsbury Park train station when trying to catch the train. I rushed for the train, just made it on before the door shut, then checked my pockets as the train pulled away and realised I had lost my wallet sprinting up the stairs. I sulked about this for a good 3 days, but on the 4th day, an anonymous package arrived at my door. Someone - using deliberately anonymous handwriting so as to avoid being traced, and cheekily using the stamps I had in my wallet to cover the cost - had returned my driving license and Nando's (the chicken restaurant) loyalty card. They kept the wallet itself, but they returned the Nando's loyalty card. I don't know what this says about society. Or about Nando's.



- Taquan Dean

Dean started the year with Unicaja Malaga, averaging 11.7 points in the Euroleague and 9.3 points in the ACB. He took a lot of three pointers to get those numbers, hit only about 35% of them, did little else on the court, and did not really endear himself to the fans. (Ask a Malaga fan about Dean and gauge their reaction. They're generally a trifle brusque about it.) Malaga released Dean earlier this month, as mentioned in an earlier post, and yesterday he signed a one month contract with rival Spanish team Caja Laboral (the artists formally known as Tau Ceramica).



- Willie Deane

Deane started last season with Zalgiris in Lithuania, and then moved to Lukoil Akademik in Bulgaria. (That's the only Bulgarian team any relevant players sign for, and it's because they're Bulgaria's best and thus always in the EuroChallenge. Well, except this year.) He averaged 21/5 to finish the season there, and moved to Poland this summer to play for PGE Turow Zgorzelec. Turow released him after 11 Polish league games in which Dean averaged 9.4 points, 4.4 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game. He returned to Lukoil Akademik this month to replace Walker Russell, and totalled 12 points and 10 rebounds in his only game for them so far.



- Andrew DeClercq

DeClercq was covered a few months ago in the 1995 NBA Draft Round-up Thing. Back then, I wrote this about him:

DeClercq's last NBA season was in 2004/05, and the Magic showed no interest in him after the season. He wasn't very good anyway, and he also had a bad knee. Nonetheless, DeClercq rehabbed the knee for 18 months, and tried a comeback in 2006 preseason, working out for the Bulls, in the summer that saw them try out every big man alive. But no contract came his way, and he gave up trying after that. DeClercq doesn't really do much with his time these days, other than working with kids basketball camps and being a stay at home dad. He also contributed $2,300 to Todd Long's election campaign, whoever that is.

We can add to that now: DeClercq is now an assistant coach at Montverde Academy in Florida, which is Luc Richard Mbah A Moute's former high school. He is also the owner of two real estate ventures; New Creation Properties and ATD Properties. And he's also on the board of Vision360. Vision360's website doesn't work at the moment, but a quick search reveals that:

Vision360 is an evangelical, multi-denominational ministry that seeks to serve church planters and church planting agencies.

Groovy.



- Paul Delaney

UAB product Delaney is in Israel. He started the year with Hapoel Holon, but was replaced before the season started, and moved to Ironi Nahariya. I don't think Ironi means the same thing in Israel that it does in England. Delaney averages 14.0 points, 4.1 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.7 steals per game for the team, although he's shooting 33% from three point range and only 68% from the foul line.



- Mario Delas

Mario Delas is an upcoming draft prospect who was pretty badass at the World U-19 Championships this summer. His post footwork was mercurial for such a young age, and even though being a weak and unathletic 6'10 doesn't bode well for any potential NBA career, he was great fun to watch. Until recently, Delas had played his whole life with KK Split in his native Croatia, and even though he turned 20 only last week, that was still at least 5 years he'd spent there. This year he was averaging 9.9 points, 3.7 rebounds and 3.6 fouls for Split in 24 minutes per game, but earlier this month he set off for pastures new when he joined Zalgiris Kaunas, a team looking to reload on future talent to rebuild a once prestigious program. In his one Lithuanian league game for Zalgiris so far, Delas totalled 11 points and 5 rebounds.



- Tony Delk

Delk was also covered only recently, this time in the 11996 NBA Draft Roundup Thing. If you have a good hour to spare, I implore you to read those things. Here's the Delk bit:

The last time we checked in on Delk, he was a technical advisor in Puerto Rico. Well, he's not any more. Nowadays, along with Scott Padgett, he is working with John Calipari at Kentucky as a "coach in training."

- Eric Devendorf

Eric Devendorf declared for the draft after his junior season as he received some advice that it might have been a good idea. It wasn't. Devendorf went undrafted, not coming close to being drafted, and has barely played since then. He spoke of offers from various countries, and it was reported in early November that he was going to go play in Israel. But he didn't, instead returning to America and joining the D-League. He was picked up by the Reno Bighorns in late December, played three games for the team, totalled 38 minutes and 14 points....and then was released again. He now sits in the D-League's available players pool, getting paid a small amount of money for his troubles, but not playing any professional basketball.

For all of Devendorf's excessive overconfidence in himself, lack of NBA talent, and established mouthiness (or call it what you may), he's better than a good many players in the D-League. It shouldn't have gone THIS badly for him. Someone in the D-League should pick him up because they'll get a good infusion of talent if they do.



- Derrick Dial

Dial spent all of last season in the D-League. I'm not sure why exactly, because the D-League is not really designed for 33 year old journeyman point guards. Yet he played in 47 out of 50 games anyway, and averaged 13.3 points, 5.1 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game for the Tulsa 66ers. Dial is unsigned this year and.......well.



- Dimitris Diamantidis

Diamantidis is still with Panathinaikos because he has no reason to ever leave. He averages 10.6 points, 5.0 rebounds and 3.8 assists in 25 minutes per game in the Greek league, alongside 8.7 points, 2.6 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game in the Euroleague. I don't see any reason to think that he won't win the Euroleague's DPOY award this year. He's won every single one there's ever been to date, and he hasn't lost any ability yet.



Finally....

- Guillermo Diaz

Diaz was 4th in the Italian league in scoring last season, and spent the summer playing for the Puerto Rican national team. However, despite all of that pedigree, he is not currently signed anywhere.

Where Are They Now, 2009; Part 13

- Carlos Delfino is still with Khimky in Russia, despite the rumours of a return to the Raptors ramping up a bit after Toronto dumped Hassan Adams off to the Clippers a fortnight ago. However, while these rumours may not be unfounded, they sure are illogical. Let me tell you why the Raptors dumped Hassan Adams - they dumped Hassan Adams because Brian Colangelo gave Adams a guaranteed contract in July, something which Hassan then used as an excuse to not work very hard, showing up fat and unable to do the one thing that he's quite good at - running around off the ball. Additionally, Hassan Adams is not very good, which in hindsight was another reason not to give him that guaranteed contract. However, because Colangelo did, he brought the team so close to the tax threshold ($1,107 beneath it, to be exact) that the team could only carry 13 players in order to stay under it. When their big man injury situation got so bad that they had to sign somebody (Jake Voskuhl), the Raptors had to shift a contract in order to get underneath the threshold again. Adams was the logical choice - he was the final man on the bench, filled no team needs, had an appropriately sized yet easily moveable, and should never have been on the team in the first place. So the Raptors gave the Clippers some money as an incentive for taking on Hassan's dead weight cap number. THAT'S why the Raptors moved Hassan Adams. It wasn't a precursor to some move for Carlos bloody Delfino.

Let me ask you something - when you're so staunchly obliged to stay under the luxury tax that you can't even sign the irrelevant Jake Voskuhl without having to make corresponding roster moves to free up the money, while carrying the league minimum players all season in a bid to save further money, are you really going to throw a few million at a backup wing player, who just played his supposed career season with you and who still wasn't very good, chucking like Berry and somehow managing to shoot slightly less than his piss poor career average of 40% shooting? No, no you aren't. No matter how desperate you are for a short term fix,, Carlos Delfino isn't it. He's especially not it when obtaining him means roundly buggering your extremely delicate salary situation. And so that's why the Raptors won't be signing Carlos Delfino this season. Or if they do, they're dumb.

(By the way, Delfino averages 11.4 points and 4.1 rebounds in Russian league play. It's all good information.)

- Tony Delk retired from professional basketball in November 2007. This retirement lasted a mere manner of months, as he quickly unretired to join a team in Puerto Rico. Three games later, Delk retired again, and is now a "technical advisor" to that same Puerto Rican team, the Gigantes of Carolina. I assume that this means he mends the Jumbotron every now and then, and plays lots of Minesweeper.

- Derrick Dial is currently in the D-League with the Tulsa 66ers, which isn't really the place for 33 year old journeyman. Nevertheless, Dial is there, and he averages 11.3 points, 4.1 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 38% shooting, as the sixth man on a Tulsa team that averages 21.3 turnovers a game. And that's a lot of turnovers.

- Dimitris Diamantidis is in his fifth season with Panathinaikos, averaging 10.4 points, 4.9 rebounds and 3.6 assists in Euroleague play.

[Did I really just say "chucking like Berry"? Jesus. You'd better go. I wouldn't read me either.]

- Guillermo Diaz averages 17.6 points and 2.0 assists for Eldo Caserta, the Italian team that Jamar Butler also just joined. The 2.0 assists is a team high (tied with Butler, although Butler has played only three games), so there's clearly not a lot of passing from the Eldo backcourt there. Although that's probably not that surprising, coming from a backcourt featuring Guillermo Diaz, Horace Jenkins and Shan Foster.

- Dan Dickau is unsigned, and still trying to add to his healthy old list of NBA Teams That Dan Dickau Has Belonged To For At Least 8 Minutes - the Lakers are supposedly interested in him.

- Kaniel Dickens is in the Italian second division. He was in the first division, but his team - Napoli - went bankrupt, and so Kaniel had to look elsewhere. For Cimberio Varese, playing alongside Randolph Childress, Dickens averages 14.3 points and 7.1 rebounds, both team highs. While writing Kaniel's name just now, I noticed that an anagram of it happened to be "Dick Linesnake", which might just be the best name for a male porn star that I've ever heard. That, or he's an Anchorman character. Good times.

- Michael Dickerson's random comeback didn't last very long. Signing with the Cavaliers for training camp, after five and a half years out of the game, Dickerson faced impossible odds to make the team, and didn't overcome them. After being waived, Dickerson went back where he came from - to India, on a voyage of "spiritual discovery". Alrighty.

- Alain Digbeu - some old French git whsoe rights the Hawks still own - started the season with Kavala/Panorama in Greece (a team that seemingly couldn't decide which name to use), but left earlier this month. Whether he jumped or whether he was pushed, I couldn't say, but the 7.1 points per game on 36% shooting probably made him livewithoutable.

- And finally, an update on two players that have already been mentioned, but whose circumstances have since changed. Justin Frazier has signed with the San Antonio Spurs on a ten day contract, although what the Spurs think they'll see in those ten days that Austin hasn't shown over the last 12 years is a bit baffling. And, after describing at reasonable length how former Lakers guard Maurice Carter was seemingly out of basketball, he has just this week gotten back into it, as he was acquired by the Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the D-League.

Spooky coincidence? Maybe. But I'd like to think that I'm responsible for him getting employment. I'm not, but I like to think it anyway.

Summer signings, round 9

- Charlotte re-signed Ryan Hollins yesterday, in a move that, by itself, is fine. Hollins is a worthwhile prospect, and they're making only a small commitment to him. It's a move that can't really fail. But it does mean that, with Alexis Ajinca and Jermareo Davidson already under contract, Charlotte now has three centres who can run and jump and shit (well, I think we can all shit), but who don't have too many pre-requisite skills, and none of whom are ready for big time minutes. This seems like a weird priorities list.

- While we're on the subject of uninteresting Bobcat centres, their former (and perhaps future) training camp fodder Deji Akindele has signed with Scavolini in Italy. For fun, here's a Babelfish translation of the Italian press's coverage of Akindele's performances for the Toronto Raptors summer league team.

We have gone to analyze the figures of new pivot biancorosso the Deji Akindele. Along of the Spar Digging, in first left with the mesh of Toronto Raptors, it has left in quintet, and in the defeat against the Kings in 22 minuteren it has put to sign 13 heads, with 4 at 8 from 2, and 5 at 5 to the free ones, flavored from 7 bounces. In the challenge lost against Denver, in the 12 minuteren in Akindele field it has totaled 3 points, with 1 on 2 from 2, and 3 bounces. Against Philadelphia, the pivot nigeriano in 17 minuteren it has put 8 points, and recovered 7 bounces.

It is now my mission to accomodate "flavoured from 7 bounces" and "signed 13 heads" into day-to-day NBA verbiage.


- The Utah Jazz surprised all of us who cared by match Oklahoma City's offer sheet to C.J. Miles, despite it being for 4 years and about $15 million. Considering that they've barely used Miles in the three years that he's spent there, it seems like quite an investment in a bit-part. They'd better actually use him now. As for Oklahoma City, maybe they could spend the money a bit better now that they've had a reprieve.

- Golden State found their 15th man by signing Anthony Morrow out of whichever college Anthony Morrow last played for. Having watched Anthony Morrow in summer league, I can tell you that Anthony Morrow can shoot. This takes Golden State's "guards who can shoot" count up to a staggering two (the other being Marco Belinelli). Unfortunately, Anthony Morrow can't dribble, leaving Golden State's "players who can serve as the primary ball handler" count at 0. Something to work on there.

- Edin Bavcic, Sixers draft pick, has signed for the incorrigible Kepez Bid Antalya in Turkey. Can't even think of a cynical comment here.

- Nik Caner-Medley is about to sign with Pierrel Capo D'Orlando in Italy. Again, I can't think of a cynical comment here. I'm sorry, but we're having a heatwave over here, and on top of that, I have a migraine and can't see out of my right eye. You're lucky I'm even bothering. TheChrisDuhonLapdanceClub.com - the only NBA website to make you feel guilty about reading its content.

- Guillermo Diaz had an "NBA Escape" clause in his contract with Italian team Peps Elvo Juvecaserta, but since that didn't get exercised (and I can guess why), Diaz is going back there next season.

- An earlier blog post talked about how free agent guard Maurice Evans initially agreed to sign with the Golden State Warriors, before changing hismind after deciding that he wasn't getting enough money. The Warriors then looked elsewhere. But Evans got what he wanted on the end (if signing in Atlanta can ever be called that) - a 3 year, $7.5 millionish deal from the Hawks, where he can try and fail to replace Josh Childress. Everyone's a winner. But mainly Golden State.

- Mustafa Shakur has signed with Procul Haram in Poland, alongside the impossibly named Koko Archibong. Pape Sow recently left Prokom (which is the team's real name, not the web of 70's music-based deceit that I spun you earlier), which is a damn shame, because a bizarre number of Prokom games are on TV over here, and it's ALWAYS good to see Pape Sow. Mustafa Shakur.....not so much.

- The Sixers signed Royal Ivey, who TOTALLY helps their backcourt shooting woes. (Seriously, the worst shooting teeam in the NBA by a country mile goes and signs Royal Ivey? Royal Ivey????? That's a good plan, is it? Oh, and by the way, I'm going to contradict my own Royal Ivey player profile here, but Royal Ivey is NOT a good defensive player. If you don't believe me, feast your mince pies on this. Spectacularly bad.)

- Ryan Gomes re-signed with the Minnesota Timberwolves, who quietly have re-signed Gomes and Craig Smith for less than the cost of one DeSagana Diop. Well done them.

- Sasha Vujacic re-signed with the L.A. Lakers for some years and some million. I got nothing. Seriosly, it's a world of hurt in my head right now. How am I supposed to think up witticisms? All I can think of is the pain relieving qualities of a shotgun?

- Zabian Dowdell. Nancy. No. Gone. Google. Ow. Pain. Hot.

Bed.

Where Are They Now? Part 10

Willie Deane - who is not my lover, just some bitch who says that I am the one, in a non-Matrixy way - is playing in the seminal Bulgarian league, for the even more seminal Lukoil Akademik Sophia. Impressively, he is not the only person from this series of posts to play for that team, so all fascinated viewers can wait until we get to the letter S before we find out who Willie's backcourt teammate is.

F.W. Andrew DeClercq slipped out of the league with knee problems, and hasn't been heard from since trying to make a comeback with the Bulls in late September 2006, a weird month for Chicago that saw them give tryouts to almost every free agent big man on the planet - including Shawn Kemp, who didn't turn up - before all of them managed to lose to Martynas Andriuskevicius. Weird times.

Tony Delk is either playing for Carolina in Puerto Rico, or he isn't. Sorry about the uselessness of that - I just have conflicting information.

Derrick Dial disappeared for ages, but has this month reappeared in the D-League, playing for the Tulsa Cockerels. (See previous comments, re: the reformation of D-League teams nicknames into easily truncated juvenile sex talk.)

Guillermo Diaz didn't take his NBA kick in the balls too badly, and is playing for Pepsi Caserta (sponsored by Coca Cola) in Italy.

Kaniel Dickens has starred in the D-League all season, enough so to get two ten day cotnracts recently from the Cleveland Cavaliers. He is now once again in the D-League, playing for the Colorado Balls.

Do you know who Alain Digbeu is? No, no you don't. And nor do you care. Digbeu was a draft choice by the Atlanta Hawks from several million years ago. You've never heard of him because you've never needed to hear from him - his insignificance is so all-empowering that he doesn't even gain afterthought status. Still, if I've now turned you onto the idea of following Alain Digbeu's career - and the Hawks do still own his rights, so you never know! - then you'll be orgasmic to learn that Digbeu is playing for Alicante in Spain. Fun times.

Vlade Divac is long since retired, and now works for Real Madrid in a role which he freely admits leaves him having to "literally do nothing". Lucky bastard.

Nigel Dixon recently played for San German in Puerto Rico, and is still fat.

Marcus Douthit is playing for Antalya in Turkey. By the way, if anyone knows what happened to Marcus Douthit in that extortion trial of his from a few years ago, I'd like to hear it. I can find absolutely nothing that says what became of it, just that he was charged.

Zabian Dowdell is playing for Nancy in France.

Christian Drejer, former Nets draft choice and apparently arrogant as all hell (allegedly), is playing for Lottomatica Roma in Italy, alongside Gregor Fucka, whose name I just wanted to type.

30 teams in 36 or so days: L.A. Clippers

This is the first of 30 installments that will serve the dual purpose of being both offseason recaps and poorly thought predictions for next season, for all 30 NBA teams. These will be done in an order: that order is the order that I choose to do them in. There won't be an alphabetical approach, nor one based on standings. They'll be truly random. Randomness is the future.

___________________________________________


L.A. Clippers


Players acquired via free agency or trade:

Brevin Knight (2 years, $3.3 million)
Ruben Patterson (one year minimum)
Josh Powell (3 years, $2.6 million)
Guillermo Diaz (three year minimum)



Players acquired via draft:

First round: Al Thornton (14th overall)
Second round: Jared Jordan (45th overall, unsigned)


Players retained:

Quinton Ross (exercised team option)


Players departed:

James Singleton (declined team option, signed in Spain), Jason Hart (signed with Utah), Yaroslav Korolev (initially agreed to re-sign with the team right back at the start of free agency, but hasn't done it yet, and now reports are flying about him signing in Europe instead), Daniel Ewing (waived, signed in Russia), Will Conroy (waived, signed in Italy)



Bobbins:

In amongst all the weird and strange things that have gone on throughout the league during this offseason, it seems to have escaped the attention of most people that the Los Angeles Clippers had one of the most economical and shrewd offseasons out there. After not getting ridiculously lucky and moving up in the lottery, the Clippers ended up drafting a consensus good pick, and also managed to draft a player in the second round who seemingly has trade value before he has even taken the court.

Not stopping there, the Clippers waited for a while as other teams overspent for players, before making their own free agency splashes. Somehow, in Knight and Patterson, they managed to acquire via free agency two players who could very realistically be in the top 8 of the league's best team, and who are fringe starters/quality backups anywhere in the league, all for only a combined price tag of 3 years and roughly $4 million.

That's pretty amazing, really, given that this current NBA climate is one predicated on wildly overpaying for people who aren't worth it, just so that you can get them. But more on that later. (Hint: Orlando.)

And yet it's all for nothing. No matter what they do in terms of bringing people in, the Clippers aren't going to win anything this season, nor in the foreseeable future.

They may have been a mid-to-low seed playoff team, even in the strong Western Conference, had all of the above taken place in conjunction with a run of good luck with injuries. But that's not what has happened: superstar Elton Brand is almost certainly out for the season with a ruptured achilles tendon, and overrated guard Shaun Livingston is also out indefinitely with all manner of bad times going on in his left leg. And by "indefinitely", they really do mean indefinitely. Not the sort of "indefinitely" that seems to be labelled to people who are day to day with back spasms, in which scenario "indefinitely" is basically a byword for "we wouldn't like to say when he'll be back for fear of retribution, but it won't be long". This is the sort of indefinitely that is truly indefinite, where it's far from definite that a return is even possible. He really did carnage up that thing.

Without those two, the Clippers aren't going anywhere. OK, so that's more of an endorsement of Brand than it is Livingston, but the point remains - the Clippers could have been a good team. But now, they aren't.

Indeed, it's only because of the injuries that the Clippers were able to acquire Knight and Patterson in the first place. With Livingston down, the only remaining options at point guard left were the unsuitable Conroy, Ewing and Hart (all since allowed to leave or, in the case of Ewing, actively encouraged), and the aged Sam Cassell, who is entering what is probably his final season before he retires to tend to his colony (Cassell alien jokes are easy, aren't they?). Even if it's not on a very good team - a concept with which he is entirely familiar - this presented an opportunity for Brevin Knight to play good minutes, something that seems to be very dear to him. (Note: Knight signed after Brand's injury had occurred, and it's extent widely publicised. So apparently the playoffs weren't that important to him.) Similarly, Patterson signed after Brand's injury - unable to get a contract that he deemed sufficient from any other team this offseason, Patterson took the next best thing in big minutes and a probable starting spot, filling in for Brand (who's going to stop him starting? Tim Thomas? Paul Davis?)

For once, the Clippers were too competent for their own good.

None of the Clippers's other moves figure to impact the lives of anything or anyone in the world today. They replaced a small guard with shoot-first tendencies (Ewing) with a small guard with shoot-first tendencies (Diaz), and swapped a 26 year old tweener forward with some fairly decent all around skills (Singleton) with a 24 year old tweener forward with some fairly decent all around skills (Powell). And once again, the Clippers will find that they don't have minutes for either of them when at full strength, despite having signed the pair for a combined 6 years. The Powell signing, when combined with the drafting of Thornton and the Patterson signing, pushes their guy-who-can-play-either-forward-spot-but-who-is-probably-better-at-small-forward quotient back up to a healthy four people - we await news on whether Korolev will make this five. Given that they're now out of roster spots, it is doubtful. There isn't even a spot for Jared Jordan, unless he beats out Guillermo Diaz.

And they still have Aaron Williams at backup centre. Hmmm. I think somebody overlooked this bit.


Next season:

Depends. If they keep things as they are with the current roster, this team probably limps to a 30-33 win season - even in spite of not having a power forward that is actually a power forward - and gives it another hearty go next year. Yet if they choose to go the other way and blow the doors off of this thing, then they could be the worst team in the league. It's one of those. It's one more significant injury and a Cassell buyout away from being a certain tank job.

If Elton Brand opts out next offseason - which he might - the Clippers will have max cap room. Corey Maggette also has an opt out, and is perhaps the more likely of the two to do so. Should this happen, that leaves them with the majority of the remaining players under contract being doddering old farts (Knight, Thomas, Cuttino Mobley), and with not much of a youth moment.

Given that they're not going anywhere this year due to injury, and given that they're staring down the barrel of a very unpleasant situation next offseason that is out of their current control.....

.....it's a fair assumption to say that the roster that they will begin this season with, is pretty unlikely to be the one that they end it with.

Now watch as they stand pat and show me up. How spiteful.