|
Clippers to attempt to make point in the draft
The Los Angeles Clippers have a colossal hole on their roster at the point guard position. Yet with the NBA draft coming Thursday, there is no guarantee that they'll choose one to fill that void.
At least that much can be gathered from figuring out which players are expected to be available at pick No. 14. But make no mistake about it, the Los Angeles Clippers need to address the point guard position, especially with Shaun Livingston expected to be out until January or February with multiple knee injuries.
"Certainly, Shaun's situation has us thinking about point guards," Los Angeles Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy said Monday. "Obviously, we have to protect ourselves in that position somehow."
That protection could be more likely to come via free agency or a trade. Ohio State's Mike Conley and Texas A&M's Acie Law look like two point guards who would be great for the Los Angeles Clippers , but they're expected to be taken before the 14th pick. The next best point guard available could be Georgia Tech's Javaris Crittendon , but there might be better players available who play different positions.
"I think you get in trouble looking for someone to fill a particular need," Los Angeles Clippers general manager Elgin Baylor said. "You might need a player, but he won't fit in as well. We're trying to get the player that would fit in best. When people say, `Go and get the best player,' the best player will serve our need, whether it's a guard or whatever position he plays."
Some of the talented non-point guards who could drop to the Los Angeles Clippers are USC 's Nick Young, Kansas' Julian Wright or Florida State's Al Thornton. That would leave free agency or a trade as the only answers for the point guard problem, and the free-agent crop at that position isn't too exciting.
Milwaukee's Maurice Williams will be an unrestricted free agent, but he could command more than the $5 million mid-level exception the Los Angeles Clippers can use to sign a player. That may leave Denver's Steve Blake as the next best available point guard. But a slew of teams likely will make a play for him, and he may not be that attractive in the first place.
With Sam Cassell turning 38 in November and having missed 24 games last season with injuries, it isn't reasonable to think he could play starter's minutes this season. Jason Hart was solid as a starter after Shaun Livingston was injured, and the Los Angeles Clippers could opt to re-sign him.
But for anything dramatic to happen for the team's roster needs to be met, Baylor may have to engineer some type of trade, which will be difficult with the league's salary-cap structure.
As for the Los Angeles Clippers trying to move up in the draft to land Conley or Law, that looks unlikely.
"That probably will be very difficult to do," Baylor said. "I don't think there's any possibility of moving up, because in order to do that, you're going to have to give up a good player, a player you don't want to move."
In other news, Guillermo Diaz, a second-round pick from last season, will be on the Los Angeles Clippers ' summer league team and has a shot at making the roster.
Sofoklis Schortsanitis, a second-round pick in 2003 who turned 22 on Friday, still is under contract with his Greek team and is not expected to be with the Los Angeles Clippers ' summer league team until next year.
See
more at www.dailybreeze.com
| 
