Josh Smith to Clippers

[crimson_stallion]

I like this for the Clips.

As for the Spurs, Kawhi's continued development has been underrated and helped the Spurs offset Parker, Duncan and Ginobili's decline over the past few years. Aldridge extends their window and should make them much more formidable.

Agreed, but I still think Leonard is overrated.

Not overrated in terms of his impact (which is undoubtedly huge) but overrated in that people seem to look at him as a future franchise player (in the mold of Lebron, KD, Anthony Davis, Tim Duncan, etc) who's going to carry the Spurs in the future but I just don't see him as having that type of potential.

I just can't see Leonard becoming a prolific enough offensive player to be able to really carry a contender on his shoulders.  Yes, I know the Spurs won a title a year ago, and I know Leonard was the finals MVP that year, but the Spurs that season were more 'Atlanta Hawks' than 'Cleveland Cavs" in terms of their style of play. They werren't a top heavy team that relied heavily on 2 or 3 superstars - they were a team that made use of their depth and teamwork to hit opponents with a balanced attack for 48 minutes..  It basically was a group full of hyper-role-players, with Leonard being the impact of the lot.

I can certainly see Leonard being an All-Star caliber player (like Milsap / Iggy) but I don't see him ever being a superstar, or the type of player that forms the center of a rebuild.  I think that's why the Spurs really NEEDED Aldridge - they needed that next TD-like force.

I know that I'll get flamed for saying all this because the Spurs are immortal gods and saying anything that goes against TD and crew is treated as Blasphemy in most parts, but well...that's just how I see it.

[Waew]

imagine if thibs comes to LA to be defensive coach..

[crimson_stallion]

imagine if thibs comes to LA to be defensive coach..

That would be something!

[rocknrollforyoursoul]

No more excuses, now.

The pressure is on.

After DeAndre's About Face, Lance, PP34 and the assortment of players they now have, the Clips need to AT LEAST get out of the west.

No more excuses.

I agree about no more excuses, but I still think they fail to reach the WCF.

[Eja117]

Hey how many all stars does it take for Doc Rivers to screw in a lightbulb? I figure like 8 to get it done and him to take credit for it.

[pearljammer10]

Interesting move from Smith. Giving up both pay and play from the Rockets where it seemed he fit well...But hey, like someone mentioned, hes getting paid by the Pistons so it doesnt really matter.

[dang] great move for the Clips however.

[JoeyAinge]

Josh smith gonna be throwing OOPS to DeAndre and Blake all game smh

[MJohnnyboy]

TP for the find. Wow...

I thought the Rockets were definitely going to re-sign him after how well he played for them and his friendship with Dwight Howard. Oh wait that's right I'm wrong all the time.

Paul/Griffin/Jordan/Pierce/Redick/Smith/Crawford/Stephenson/Johnson/Rivers.

This puts them in the same level with Spurs and Warriors and above Thunder/Grizzlies/Rockets, but that's if Doc can keep the egos in check.

I want to say these two words but I'll get in trouble if I do so I'll be PG.

Holy poop. The Clippers will pwn this season.

The Spurs added the best free agent available and signed David West who is better than Smith. I don't think they will beat San Antonio next year

"Same level" does not equal "will be better than".

And West vs Smith is definitely debatable as to who is better. West is smarter and tame but Smith is younger and more athletic. The Spurs no doubt had the best off-season because they added a star player, but the Clippers solved their biggest issue this off-season: Depth.

I'm not making any predictions on who comes out of the west, but the Clippers could definitely make more noise than they did last year.

[MJohnnyboy]

TP for the find. Wow...

I thought the Rockets were definitely going to re-sign him after how well he played for them and his friendship with Dwight Howard. Oh wait that's right I'm wrong all the time.

Paul/Griffin/Jordan/Pierce/Redick/Smith/Crawford/Stephenson/Johnson/Rivers.

This puts them in the same level with Spurs and Warriors and above Thunder/Grizzlies/Rockets, but that's if Doc can keep the egos in check.

I want to say these two words but I'll get in trouble if I do so I'll be PG.

Holy poop. The Clippers will pwn this season.

Bunch of old-timers, knuckleheads, and floppers. I'll give him Doc a "C" for effort, but they're still second-round fodders, maybe even first if they have to face a healthy Kevin Durant/Russell Westbrook.

Who are the old-timers? Pierce and Crawford? They aren't the Clips' main core. They'll be role players, and those guys can produce even at their age.

You may be right about what could possibly happen this season, but the Clippers improved themselves by adding Smith. If the Clippers were in the east, they'd give the Cavs a great series.

So if Doc did a mediocre job, what do you think he should have done this off-season that would have warranted an A grade? I think that:

A.Getting rid of someone who didn't fit in who was on a bad contract (Spencer Hawes)
B.Retaining your 3rd best player (Deandre Jordan)
C.Adding a player who has familiarity with your coaching and can step up to the plate in crunchtime (Paul Pierce)
D.Adding two guys who give you depth and versatility (Josh Smith and Lance Stephenson)
E.Adding two guys who round out the roster well (Wesley Johnson and Cole Aldrich)

deserves an A grade. I can't tell you what's going to happen this season but I can tell you that the Clips are clearly going for the gold, and, considering what they had at their disposal this off-season, I can't help but be impressed.

[Cman]

Interesting move from Smith. Giving up both pay and play from the Rockets where it seemed he fit well...But hey, like someone mentioned, hes getting paid by the Pistons so it doesnt really matter.

[dang] great move for the Clips however.

Ditto. I like that Smith turned down more money from Houston to join the LA Clippers. I agree with other posters that, on paper at least, the West has some very good teams. I'd rank them

Warriors
Spurs
Clippers
Thunder
Rockets
Grizzlies

Then a muddle of:
Utah/Dallas/New Orleans/Sacramento/Phoenix/Portland

[ederson]

Who are the old-timers? Pierce and Crawford? They aren't the Clips' main core. They'll be role players, and those guys can produce even at their age.

You may be right about what could possibly happen this season, but the Clippers improved themselves by adding Smith. If the Clippers were in the east, they'd give the Cavs a great series.

So if Doc did a mediocre job, what do you think he should have done this off-season that would have warranted an A grade? I think that:

A.Getting rid of someone who didn't fit in who was on a bad contract (Spencer Hawes)
B.Retaining your 3rd best player (Deandre Jordan)
C.Adding a player who has familiarity with your coaching and can step up to the plate in crunchtime (Paul Pierce)
D.Adding two guys who give you depth and versatility (Josh Smith and Lance Stephenson)
E.Adding two guys who round out the roster well (Wesley Johnson and Cole Aldrich)

deserves an A grade. I can't tell you what's going to happen this season but I can tell you that the Clips are clearly going for the gold, and, considering what they had at their disposal this off-season, I can't help but be impressed.

I remember a few weeks ago everyone saying that they can`t keep DJ and sign usefull FAs .... I don`t think the clips are yet Alpha dogs in the west but their offseason is impressive

[LGC88]

No more excuses, now.

The pressure is on.

After DeAndre's About Face, Lance, PP34 and the assortment of players they now have, the Clips need to AT LEAST get out of the west.

No more excuses.

TP for reminding me the "no more excuses".
I'm still bitter from that quote that Doc said towards Wilcox. Unforgivable to me.
Having said that, I give Doc an A for managing the best as a GM during the off season. You can argue all you want, but it's hard to imagine better moves with no cap space.
But I'm still scratching my head about how they managed to lose against Houston, specially after giving a finales level performance to beat the Spurs.

[RockinRyA]

TP for the find. Wow...

I thought the Rockets were definitely going to re-sign him after how well he played for them and his friendship with Dwight Howard. Oh wait that's right I'm wrong all the time.

Paul/Griffin/Jordan/Pierce/Redick/Smith/Crawford/Stephenson/Johnson/Rivers.

This puts them in the same level with Spurs and Warriors and above Thunder/Grizzlies/Rockets, but that's if Doc can keep the egos in check.

I want to say these two words but I'll get in trouble if I do so I'll be PG.

Holy poop. The Clippers will pwn this season.

The Spurs added the best free agent available and signed David West who is better than Smith. I don't think they will beat San Antonio next year

True to the first part, but at the same time:

1) Tim Duncan is another year older - it's only a matter of time before he drops off in a huge way, could easily be this season

2) Tony Parker is another year older - he's already declining, and his game relies heavily on his quickness - once that fades he's going to get really bad really quickly

3) Ginobili has fallen off a lot..he's basically a 3rd string player now.

If anything Aldridge just makes up for all of those 'losses' moreso than anything. 

Secondly, David West is NOT better than Josh Smith.  Smith is just a 'special' player that has to be utilised in a certain way in order to be effective.  He can play PF, and he can probably even spend some time at C - he absolutely should not EVER be played at the SF spot.  Maybe for 3 or 4 spot minutes, but that's about it.

If you look at his past career, he's usually played pretty well statistically when he's been used primarily as a PF.  Very poorly as a SF.

In the right situation, Smith is a better player than West, especially at this point in their careers.

Pierce is another year older as well. As with Crawford. Also the Spurs are becoming less reliant on Manu/Duncan and are shifting their focus to Kawhi and Green. Now with Aldridge, they even have to do less.

[MasterEmile]

TP for the find. Wow...

I thought the Rockets were definitely going to re-sign him after how well he played for them and his friendship with Dwight Howard. Oh wait that's right I'm wrong all the time.

Paul/Griffin/Jordan/Pierce/Redick/Smith/Crawford/Stephenson/Johnson/Rivers.

This puts them in the same level with Spurs and Warriors and above Thunder/Grizzlies/Rockets, but that's if Doc can keep the egos in check.

I want to say these two words but I'll get in trouble if I do so I'll be PG.

Holy poop. The Clippers will pwn this season.

The Spurs added the best free agent available and signed David West who is better than Smith. I don't think they will beat San Antonio next year

True to the first part, but at the same time:

1) Tim Duncan is another year older - it's only a matter of time before he drops off in a huge way, could easily be this season

2) Tony Parker is another year older - he's already declining, and his game relies heavily on his quickness - once that fades he's going to get really bad really quickly

3) Ginobili has fallen off a lot..he's basically a 3rd string player now.

If anything Aldridge just makes up for all of those 'losses' moreso than anything. 

Secondly, David West is NOT better than Josh Smith.  Smith is just a 'special' player that has to be utilised in a certain way in order to be effective.  He can play PF, and he can probably even spend some time at C - he absolutely should not EVER be played at the SF spot.  Maybe for 3 or 4 spot minutes, but that's about it.

If you look at his past career, he's usually played pretty well statistically when he's been used primarily as a PF.  Very poorly as a SF.

In the right situation, Smith is a better player than West, especially at this point in their careers.

Pierce is another year older as well. As with Crawford. Also the Spurs are becoming less reliant on Manu/Duncan and are shifting their focus to Kawhi and Green. Now with Aldridge, they even have to do less.

Duncan did everything in that Clippers series.

[SHAQATTACK]

I was shocked , thought Smith had found a new home with guys he liked and he played well off the bench.

Strange the didn't bring him back to rockets .    Might hurt their chances to win .