Los Angeles Clippers: Oklahoma City Thunder Version 2.0

The Art of Drafting

Last season, the bottom-dwelling Oklahoma City Thunder came out of nowhere to shock the NBA world and win 50 games, following a 23 win season the year before.  How did they do this? 

It was the art of the draft my friends.  The Thunder are a perfect example of how to properly build through the draft and several teams have certainly taken note of it.  We can expect that several bottom dwelling teams would like to do the same. 

The Los Angeles Clippers are the perfect example of a team that is following in the footsteps of the Oklahoma City Thunder and building through the draft, in particular through top 10 lottery picks and in the case of both teams, at least one first-overall pick.

With that being said, who could be the next team to try this, and most importantly will they be successful?

Oklahoma City Thunder Depth Chart

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LOS ANGELES, CA - FEBRUARY 19: Kevin Durant #35 of the Oklahoma City Thunder competes in the Foot Locker Three-Point Contest apart of NBA All-Star Saturday Night at Staples Center on February 19, 2011 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevork Djansez

PG:  Russell Westbrook, Eric Maynor, Royal Ivey

SG:  Thabo Sefolosha, James Harden, Nate Robinson, Daequan Cook

SF:  Kevin Durant, Morris Peterson

PF:  Serge Ibaka, Nick Collison, D.J. White,

C:  Kendrick Perkins, Byron Mullens, Nazr Mohammed Cole Aldrich

Los Angeles Clippers Depth Chart

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LOS ANGELES, CA - DECEMBER 01: DeAndre Jordan #9 of the Los Angeles Clippers reacts after two missed free throws against the San Antonio Spurs at the Staples Center on December 1, 2010 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledge

PG:  Mo Williams, Eric Bledsoe

SG:  Eric Gordon, Randy Foye, Willie Warren

SF:  Ryan Gomes, Al-Farouq Aminu, Jamario Moon

PF:  Blake Griffin, Ike Diogu, Craig Smith, Brian Cook

C:  DeAndre Jordan, Chris Kaman

Draft History: How'd OKC Do That Again?

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LOS ANGELES, CA - JANUARY 17: Russell Westbrook #0 of the Oklahoma City Thunder waits for play during the game between the Los Angeles Lakers at the Staples Center on January 17, 2011 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledge

So, here’s how it works. It took the Thunder three top 10 lottery picks to get where they are right now,

2007: Pick 1: Kevin Durant

2008: Pick 4: Russell Westbrook

2009: Pick 3: James Harden

LA Clippers: Let's Give That a Whirl!

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LOS ANGELES - NOVEMBER 3: Eric Gordon #10 of the Los Angeles Clippers goes up for a shot against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Staples Center on November 3, 2010 in Los Angeles, California. The Clippers won 107-92. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledg

As for the Clippers, after trading their pick in this year’s draft, it seems as if they are comfortable with the great young talent they currently have and they will now look towards free agency in order to complete their rebuilding process. Here’s how it looks so far…

2008: Pick 8: Eric Gordon (Pick 35: DeAndre Jordan)

2009: Pick 1: Blake Griffin

2010: Pick 8 Al-Farouq Aminu, (Pick 18: Eric Bledsoe: Traded from OKC)

Conclusion

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LOS ANGELES, CA - FEBRUARY 20: Blake Griffin #32 of the Los Angeles Clippers and the Western Conference goes up for a dunk in the first half of the 2011 NBA All-Star Game at Staples Center on February 20, 2011 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: Us

Conclusion:

I would also argue that the Clippers are actually in a better position because they have a scoring guard and a dominant presence in the post, whereas the Thunder had no such presence in the post and had a scoring guard and a scoring small forward instead.

Furthermore, I know they’re head office has made some pretty bad choices in the past and all along, that has been my argument as to why they would never succeed. Somehow, though, I’ve been won over!

I don’t care how bad the front office in Clipper land may be, there is no way they can screw this up.

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