LA Clippers: One Trade They Need to Make Ahead of the 2011-2012 NBA Season
It seems that Clippers fans have been treated to nothing but disappointment and failure since 1984 when the team was relocated to Los Angeles. Blown draft picks, disappointing injuries and just plain bad luck has struck this franchise like no other.
All this has led the Clippers name to become synonymous with losing. Such a horrid history may seem to be too much to turn around, but this past season one man proved that there is still hope. Blake Griffin was hands down the most exciting figure in sports this year.
In his rookie season he took the NBA by storm and displayed athleticism that even for the NBA seemed extraordinary. Even though they shared an arena with the two time defending champion LA Lakers last season, the Clips were the more exciting team to watch with Blake flying through the roof to catch and finish seemingly impossible Alley Oops.
During his rookie campaign he was selected to be an All-Star, while also dazzling fans during the dunk contest on his way to winning the competition. As great and explosive as Blake is, the Clippers are going to need more if they want to be competitive in the powerhouse Western Conference.
You may be laughing at the simple possibility of that happening, but here’s exactly how they can do that. The future is now for the Clippers with Blake Griffin in place the Clippers have a young core along with Eric Gordon at the two position and Eric Bledsoe.
Last season Chris Kaman was plagued with injury and with the former All-Star healthy, the Clippers could have made even more noise. With Kaman out, DeAndre Jordan got more minutes and proved that he could develop into a Tyson Chandler type of center. He played with great energy and hustle on the boards and defensively.
Eric Gordon has also improved almost every aspect of his game, as his averages rose across the board, along with his shooting percentages from the line and from the field. The front office made a deal last season shipping out Baron Davis to Cleveland and getting a proven solid point guard in Mo Williams in return.
Clippers management were vocally disappointed with Davis not showing up to training camp physically fit to play, and they deserve credit for getting a veteran point guard like Williams to lead this young team instead. With their current roster the Clippers are by no means short on talent but one move that has been rumored in NBA circles would make them even better.
The 76ers">Philadelphia 76ers have been openly shopping Andre Igoudala leading up to Thursday’s NBA Draft as they now see that last year’s number two pick Evan Turner may have what it takes to fill the wing position for them moving forward.
The rumored trade is a one for one swap of Igoudala for Clippers center Chris Kaman, who has proved to be a force in the low post when healthy. Adding Igoudala would make the Clippers a much better team defensively on the perimeter while also giving them more fire power offensively with Iggy’s explosiveness in his attack to the basket.
Igoudala is one of the most versatile players in the NBA today and he’s someone the Clippers could count on to defend some of the game’s best perimeter players such as LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Kevin Durant or Kobe Bryant.
Trading away Kaman who has battled injury more than most is something the Clippers can afford to do with the arrival of Blake Griffin and the effectiveness of Jordan to do all the dirty work expected from a big man.
Adding Iggy would also reunite him with Eric Gordon who played alongside him during the FIBA World Championship this past summer in Turkey as they helped the US claim gold. Such a roster under the leadership of coach Vinny Del Negro could hit the NBA by storm next season and even sneak up into the playoff picture.
For Clipper fans the future is bright and by adding Iggy, Griffin won’t be the only Clipper posterizing opponents and sending the Staples Center crowd into a frenzy
