Clippers Focus on The Next Piece to The Puzzle!!!

It has been reported by Mark J. Miller from Yahoo Sports that the Los Angeles Clippers have approached the Philadelphia 76er's inquiring about Andre Iguodala.

The Clippers were amongst the teams that had a forum with the evil King James.  They headed into this offseason with a roster in need of a legit Small Forward and James, was a long shot, but the target none the less.

In the recent week LeBron and his posse moved their show to South Beach.

That left the Clippers still searching for their Small Forward to join a solid foundation.  The list of candidates ranges from the much talked about often injured Tracey McGrady and fellow injury concerned icon Grant Hill plus the under achiever Mike Miller, and even the upstart Tyrus Thomas or Rudy Gay.  Miller, Thomas and Gay have already signed with other team. For me Hill doesn't fit the puzzle and McGrady would need to be an incentive based contract in my opinion.

The Clippers may have taken steps towards finding a fit with the proven track record and toolset to complement Baron Davis, Eric Gordan, Blake Griffin and Chris Kaman.

Andre Iguodala or AI, should not be confused with his former teammate Allen Iverson.  (I refuse to call him AI 2) This AI is 26 years old and a pure Small Forward standing 6'6" tall and 207 pounds. 

Iguodala was selected ninth overall in the 2004 NBA draft.  This draft is known as the Dwight Howard draft but it should be noted Iguodala was selected behind such NBA mis-fires as our very own Shaun Livingston (injuries hurt this kid, he was looking to be on his way) and the Raptors head scratcher Rafael Araujo.

Dick Vitale was very critical of the 76er's when they selected AI but his career to date has been profitable thus far.

Six seasons into his career, which has only been with the 76er's, AI has held a 15.9 PPG average wear he has been very durable missing only 6 games total.  He's made it to the play-offs three times playing in 17 games including 2008-2009 where he put up an average of 21.5 PPG.

Considered explosive yet versatile where he is a solid defender and can get hot shooting keeping defenders on their toes with his slasher speed and ball handling. 

AI to this day is still not considered a pure 3 point threat although his role with the Clippers would be ideal for his strengths.  In the Small Forward role he fills the need for a durable, explosive pure scorer so that Baron can focus on distributing the ball, Gordon is lights out from the perimeter and the tandem inside of Griffin and Kaman seem to fit well.

Andre is set to make just over $12 million this year and is under contract until 2013-2014 however that season is a player option with a price tag of over $15 million.  That would still give the Clippers three seasons with him locked up although it is a hefty contract.

The depth we already added in Foye, Gomes, Aminu and Bledsoe joining Jordan and a few others means GM Neil Olshey has a tough decision to make. 

To get AI what will be going the other way.  McGrady is talented but we all know the baggage he carries.   It sounds like the front office in Clipperland is seeing waht they can do and working hard to put together an improved product.  I'm excited to see what comes next. 

The Clippers off season may not be the most watched in the NBA but as a fan they are making small steps towards a Clippers team that will shock more then a few teams along the way.   

Go Clippers Go!!!