I’m sure you know by now about the wonder that is Blake Griffin. He has Clipper Nation (who ever knew one existed?) ranting and raving about his high-flying acrobatics. He has people chattering foreign words and phrases like “The Clippers are really fun to watch!” and “The Clippers could make the playoffs!” Plain and simple, he puts butts in seats at the Staples Center when the gold and purple are NOT playing. But the best thing about Blake Griffin is the opportunity he has to turn a tortured franchise upside down.

It’s not a secret that the Clippers have been the laughing stock of the NBA for almost as long as the league has existed. Since the Clippers moved to Los Angeles in 1984-85, they have made the playoffs four times, winning one series in 2005-06. They have had two measly seasons where they’ve had a winning record (1991-92, 2005-06). They also hold one of the worst record in NBA history at 12-70 in the 1986-87 season. So in 26 seasons, the franchise has moved past the first round once. Even their time in San Diego from 1978-84 was terrible, with only one winning season in six years.

To put those numbers in perspective, let’s take a look at the team they share Staples with. In the 62-year history of the Lakers, they’ve missed the playoffs only five times in winning 16 championships.

It’s pretty much the complete opposite for the Clippers. Another stunning anecdote is the fact that the Clippers have never won more than 47 games under the Clipper moniker. Dating back to their Buffalo Braves days from 1970-78, even when they made the playoffs in three consecutive years, the most they ever won was 49.

The Clippers have been cursed with what seems to be tremendously bad luck. They’ve only had a handful of significant players throughout their 40-year existence including three hall of famers who significantly contributed to the franchise in Adrian Dantlely, Bob McAdoo, and Bill Walton. Walton came to the team while they were in San Diego in 1979, just two years removed from a championship with the Trail Blazers. But foot injuries kept him off the court for 68 games. World B. Free made a dent while with the team in averaging 30 points per game in the 1979-80 season, which was good for second in the league behind George Gervin.

Outside of the aforementioned players, not many noteworthy players came through. There was the short stint Dominique Wilkins had near the tail end of his career in 1994. Other mentionables include Danny Manning, Ron Harper, Danny Ferry, Corey Maggette, Cuttino Mobley, Elton Brand, Andre Miller, and Sam Cassell. But these were all role players, drifters and nomads at best. They would never stay long. When Eric Piatkowski is one of your longest-tenured players in franchise history, you know there is a profound problem.

Their draft and transaction luck wasn’t much better than their on-court fortune. The list is extensive, but a few really stick out. There’s Michael Olawokandi’s promise but disastrous end in the NBA, letting Lamar Odom AND Elton Brand walk away in free agency in separate time frames, drafting the athletic but oft-injured Darius Miles… The list goes on.

One of the biggest mistakes of the franchise was keeping Mike Dunleavy Sr. around for as long as he was. Dunleavy Sr. coached the Clippers from 2003-10. It became a foregone conclusion every year that the Clippers would under-perform or be hit with devastating injuries, subsequently missing the playoffs badly. The 2005-06 season where they made the playoffs for the first time in 13 years turned out to be an aberration. But they kept him around anyway. He finished with an abysmal 215-326 record in his tenure with the Clippers before he resigned midway through the 2010 season. You can attribute the Clippers’ fortunes to just bad luck, or it can be put on the shoulders of one of the worst owners ever in professional sports. That man is Donald Sterling.

Sterling took over the team in 1981. Since then, he has contributed greatly to the downward spiral the Clippers have experienced. It took Dunleavy’s resignation to finally get him out of coaching the team. He let Elton Brand leave for greener pastures, and most recently he was allegedly heckling his own player in Baron Davis. He would say, “Why are you in the game?” and “Why did you take that shot? You are out of shape!” This was back when the Clippers were 5-20 this season.

Despite all of the rough times they’ve had to endure, the Clippers have a very bright future, perhaps the brightest future they’ve had in their history. They have a competent coach in Vinny Del Negro, an athletic and talented young roster, and a bona-fide superstar in just his first year in the league.

Blake Griffin already has his own highlight reel halfway through his first season in the league. He is one of six players in the league this year averaging a double-double (22.6 PPG, 12.8 RPG). He is one of the four out of six that are big men. He recently had a streak of 27 straight games with a double-double end, but only by two rebounds. And he’s a rookie. He was absolutely devastated when he went down in the preseason last year with a knee injury that kept him out the entire year. But he fought back and is a unanimous rookie of the year pick this season, again, only halfway through the season. Mike Wilbon of Pardon the Interruption fame recently said Griffin is the best and most popular Clipper of all time already. I think he’s right. Heck, you could make the case that he is one of the best players in the NBA. He is without a doubt an All-Star, despite his team being 10 games under .500.

Yet, with a 16-26 record, the Clippers are still in the playoff hunt. Granted, they have to leapfrog five teams to get there, but still. When you consider they started the season 5-21 and have gone 11-5 since, they have a shot. Their upcoming 11-game road trip will be a crucial stretch.

Blake Griffin has even made Baron Davis want to play basketball. Before Griffin, Davis looked apathetic and slow, but now that he has an alley-oop buddy, he’s playing much better. Griffin’s energy and effort will not allow Davis to slack off.

Another bright spot for the Clippers is Eric Gordon. He is currently averaging 24 points per game as well as 4.6 assists per game, up a whole seven points from his previous two year averages. Throw in the young core of Eric Bledsoe, Al-Farouq Aminu, Chris Kaman, and DeAndre Jordan and the Clippers have a promising group to build around and develop. Could it be possible that the Clippers could become the Oklahoma City Thunder in a couple of years? It sure looks like it, assuming Sterling doesn’t do something stupid to blow up the roster like trade away Kaman for a cupcake.

The Clippers are a fun team to watch. They have a potent one-two punch in Griffin and Gordon. Griffin is a guy that you have to see to believe. They are still very raw as a group, but with some time their individual skill sets will mesh together. I, for one, will be routing for this team’s future success. You can’t help but not love a chance to go to the Blake show.

By Josh Delp of the Sports Fan Blog Network

Former Chicago Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro has agreed to become the next head coach for the Los Angeles Clippers. The Clippers are one of the biggest disasters in sports history. However, they have a somewhat bright future. With cap space, Chris Kaman, Blake Griffin, Eric Gordon, and Baron Davis, the Clippers have something to work with.

Del Negro is not the coach to shift eyes towards the Clippers, but it is another step in the right direction for a franchise that does not find success too often. However, things could be on the rise for Los Angeles’s second most important basketball team.

by David at the Sports Fan Blog Network

With all the hype around LeBron James and the other marquee free agents, the Clippers have to be realistic. None of them are going to Clipperland. With a nucleus of Baron Davis, Chris Kaman, Eric Gordon, and Blake Griffin, the Clippers look better than some may think. They are clearly missing a small forward to fill that spot. And the right man to fill that hole would be Rudy Gay.

Gay is a restricted free agent, meaning the Memphis Grizzlies can match any offer made to him. However, a maximum contract offer could shy away Memphis from retaining Gay. The Clippers have to be realistic in thinking that they are going to get a huge name. But the Clippers must get Gay.

by David at the Sports Fan Blog Network

As NBA fans turn their attention to Los Angeles, where the Lakers are preparing to battle the Celtics for the second time in three years, it’s easy to overlook Los Angeles’ other franchise, the Clippers. For years, the Clippers have lived in the shadow of the Lakers, compiling losing seasons, and watching as their best players either left town or got hurt.

This past season was no different, as the Clippers limped to a 29-53 record. To make matters worse, Blake Griffin, the first pick of the 2009 draft and the player who was expected to lead the Clippers’ turnaround, was injured and was unable to play a single game. To make matters worse, the Clippers only received the 8th pick in the draft, where they are unlikely to land a game-changing player.

In many ways, the Clipper franchise appears to be cursed, as they have a record of bad luck and poor personnel decisions, in addition to one of the more controversial owners in sports, Donald Sterling. Why, then, might there be reason for optimism for Los Angeles’ 2nd team?

The primary reason for optimism amongst Clippers fans is an economic one. Next season, the Clippers only have 5 players under contract, and they have freed up enough money to offer a max contract to an established superstar. Despite the available money, however, is there a reason for a great player to head to leave their previous teams and head to a team without any prior track record of success.

Surprisingly, the answer might be yes. While the Clippers have been a doormat of the league for quite some time, they do have a talented roster that could lure a talented player to Los Angeles. First and foremost, the Clippers boast Eric Gordon, one of the most talented young shooting guards in the NBA. Although he is only finishing his second year, he has already established himself as one of the top jump-shooters in the league, and he has also shown solid athleticism. For a great player looking for a complimentary second player, they would be unlikely to find a better sidekick than Gordon.

In addition, the Clippers also boast a solid veteran presence in Chris Kaman and Baron Davis. Although Kaman is not regarded as an elite player, he provides a solid and dependable presence at the center position, which few other teams can offer. Like Kaman, Baron Davis also provides veteran leadership and solid production. Although Davis is no longer an elite point guard, he still has the ability to effectively distribue the basketball and control the tempo of a game.

With the presence of Blake Griffin, whose potential is considered to be nearly unlimited, it is fair to say that no other team could offer a better situation for a free agent looking to win and win immediately. Although Lebron James doesn’t appear likely to head to Los Angeles, there are a number of other talented players, such as Rudy Gay or Joe Johnson, who could contribute to the Clippers success for the 2010 season.  Although the Clippers must contend with decades of futility, there appears to be, for the first time, reasons for optimism in the future.

by Nathan Eagan at the Sports Fan Blog Network

Clippers show promise in exhibition games, but the veteran urges restraint even as he remains cautiously optimistic about the team’s chances this season.

The incumbent Chris Kaman, veteran of those flickers, urged caution after back-to-back exhibition wins and a fresh air of hope in Clippers’ training camp.

It took one word to get that thought across: Fresno.

“Don’t read into it so much,” Kaman said Tuesday after practice. “It’s basketball. See how it goes. It happened last year. We beat the Lakers in the preseason up in Fresno.”

In fact, it was Oct. 9 of last year when the Clippers crushed the Lakers in Fresno, 107-80, in their exhibition opener. And you know the injury-marred rest of the story.


Click here to read the full article – By Lisa Dillman of Los Angeles Times

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