"Magic-MARK-er" <magicmarker RemoveThis @inAbox.com> wrote in
news:Xns9ADD969943D6BmagicmarkerinAboxcom@198.186.190.163:
> Did anyone read about Camby being traded by Denver to the
> Clippers? Poor guy; what did he do to deserve this?
>
> Mark
>
>
>
Clippers: The Camby Acquisition
By: Eric Pincus Last Updated: 7/16/08 3:22 PM ET |
http://www.hoopsworld.com/Story.asp?story_id=9498
After weighing their options, the Los Angeles Clippers triggered a deal
Tuesday for forward/center Marcus Camby. In return, the Denver Nuggets get
a future second round pick and a $10.1 million trade exception.
After losing both Elton Brand and Corey Maggette to free agency, the
Clippers have now added two key pieces in Baron Davis and Camby. LA is
also very high on their first-round draft pick Eric Gordon (7th overall).
Once Brand, Maggette and Davis had signed their respective contracts, the
Clippers were armed with roughly $12 million in cap space. They flirted
with the idea of signing a restricted free agent to an offer sheet.
It was decided that bids to land restricted players like Josh Smith, Emeka
Okafor, Luol Deng and Andre Iguodala would be matched and ultimately
fruitless.
LA spoke to the New York Knicks about forward Zach Randolph, but according
to reporters in the area the Clippers were rebuffed.
In Camby, the Clippers can pair a defensive-minded big man with rapidly
developing center Chris Kaman. The tandem has the potential to lead the
league in both rebounds and blocked shots.
Unlike Brand, Camby won't take away from Kaman's offense. Camby doesn't
look to score in the post and has a relatively accurate face-up jump shot.
The Clippers might have liked to have the problem of Brand and Kaman
battling for shots, but Camby may have been their best alternative under
the circumstances.
Certainly the Clippers could have risked an offer to a restricted free
agent or waited for additional opportunities (considering Camby is already
34 years old), but considering the price the Denver deal was a no-brainer.
With Camby, the Clippers have three significant contracts (Tim Thomas,
Cuttino Mobley and Camby) expiring before the summer of 2010 when a number
of high profile free agents could be available (LeBron James, Dwyane Wade,
Amare Stoudemire, etc).
Should they chose to make a move sooner the three expiring contracts could
be valuable trade bait next summer.
Camby's contract is very team-friendly. After a number of years battling
through injuries, Camby is coming off two strong seasons. His contract is
incentive-laced based on both performance and number of games played.
Technically Camby is guaranteed just $8 million. His compensation scales
upward by $500k each if he plays in at least 50, 55, 60 and 65 games.
If he does indeed play in at least 65 games, Camby's salary increases by
another $250k if he averaged a minimum of 10 points, 10 rebounds and two
blocks per game.
Should Camby's numbers get as high as 11.5 points, 10.7 rebounds and 2.6
blocks, his total compensation could be as high as $11,787,500.
In the meantime his cap number is computed at $10 million which leaves the
Clippers with between $869k and $5.7 million in cap space (depending on
Baron's exact starting salary). They can increase their spending power by
waiving/renouncing the rights to one or more of the following players:
Paul Davis, Josh Powell, Quinton Ross, Marcus Williams and Nick Fazekas.
In all likelihood, the Clippers look to lock down Ross (who is a Coach Mike
Dunleavy favorite) as a solid role playing defender off the bench. Ross
can play either shooting guard or small forward.
The team will also likely keep Powell. Once their cap space has been
exhausted, look for the Clippers to sign Shaun Livingston to a minimum
contract.
The Clippers also signed second round picks DeAndre Jordan (35th) and Mike
Taylor (55th, acquired from the Portland Trail Blazers) on Tuesday.
Assuming the Clippers start Camby at the four and Kaman at center, the
rotation for the 2008/9 season could be the following:
PG: Baron Davis/Brevin Knight/Mike Taylor/Shaun Livingston
SG: Cuttino Mobley/Eric Gordon
SF: Al Thornton/Quinton Ross
PF: Marcus Camby/Tim Thomas/Josh Powell
C: Chris Kaman/DeAndre Jordan
That's obviously subject to change should the Clippers use their cap space
to land another veteran. Nick Fazekas and Marcus Williams remain
restricted free agents. Paul Davis is unrestricted, still recovering from
an ACL tear, and had hoped to be ready to join the Clippers in Las Vegas
for NBA Summer League but couldn't get back in time.
The Clippers probably think they have a playoff team with two big men who
can defend (one who can score in the post), a dominant point guard and a
pair of explosive wing players.
If healthy, L.A. should be competitive but it may be difficult for them to
make the playoffs in the Western Conference. Arguably the Nuggets and
Warriors may drop off some from last year but the Clippers will be
competing against a number of quality playoff teams looking to return to
the postseason, not to mention the Portland Trail Blazers who appear
loaded.
Regardless, the Clippers have rebounded from what could have been a
terrible summer with the acquisitions of both Davis and Camby. Losing
their face of the franchise in Brand remains a difficult pill to swallow
but the team only made the playoffs once in his tenure.
This Clipper squad will play at a faster pace and should be fun to watch as
they fight for a playoff berth - even if a top-eight seed is hardly a lock
.. . .
>> Stay informed about: Marcus Camby to the Clips 
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