Chris Kaman Leaving L.A.? Five Options for the Clippers

What? You didn't really believe he'd stick around with the Clippers now that the Camby-man's coming to town, did you?

The two players largely duplicate each other's skill set.  Each is a defensive presence that has difficulty producing his own offense.

While some Clippers fans dream of a pairing that would lead to them having a tandem that would average 26 rebounds and 6.5 blocks per game, that simply would not happen. 

Invariably, the two players would get in each other's way on defense, take away rebounds and blocks from each other, and neither would be utilized optimally.

In addition, sophomore Al Thornton's natural position is power forward, rather than playing as a SF alongside Camby and Kaman. 

Therefore, it only makes sense that Kaman's going to be on the move very soon to give the Clippers some help at other positions. 

Keep in mind that Kaman is coming off of a fantastic year in which he averaged 15.7 PPG, 12.7 RPG, and 2.77 BPG.  On a team other than the Clippers, those are potentially All-Star numbers. Considering he's still only 26 years old, he should command a major player in a deal.

Just a note: I haven't done the math, but I assume that after absorbing Camby's salary and signing Baron Davis, the Clippers are back in the situation where they can't simply take back a ridiculous amount of salary for while not giving up any in return anymore.  If that's not the case, then there are probably several other interesting trades that could happen instead.

Here are some of the best deals I can come up with, in no particular order:

Trade No. 1: Kaman in a sign-and-trade with the Chicago Bulls for Ben Gordon and Cedric Simmons

There has to be an odd man out in the Bulls' backcourt, and Gordon may be the easiest to move.

Kaman would give the Bulls a solid inside presence to pair with Derrick Rose and clear up minutes in the backcourt for Thabo Sefolosha, Larry Hughes, and Kirk Hinrich.  Meanwhile, Gordon would give Baron Davis a strong running mate in L.A., while of course the departure of Kaman would open up space for Camby to be at his best.

Simmons would only be included assuming that his contract was needed to get the salaries to match.

Trade No. 2: Kaman to the Detroit Pistons for Richard Hamilton

Honestly, I looked hard at Rasheed Wallace and Tayshaun Prince, but finally decided on Hamilton for a variety of reasons.

First of all, Hamilton once again gives the Clippers a legitimate second option alongside Davis.  In fact, Hamilton would likely be exceptional in that backcourt considering how good he is playing off the ball, which would suit Davis fine seeing as Davis figures to be the primary option.

Second, Hamilton has an obvious replacement in Detroit, with Rodney Stuckey able to slide into the starting lineup alongside Billups.  Though in a perfect world, the Pistons would like to move Wallace and simply plug Kaman into the starting lineup next to Jason Maxiel or Antonio McDyess, the Clippers are unlikely to have much interest in Wallace, considering his age.

This would create a glut of big men for the Pistons between Wallace, Maxiel, McDyess, and Kaman, without even mentioning reserves Amir Johnson and Cheik Samb. 

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