Hey guys, some times we like to share ideas and trade questions with bloggers who follow other teams. It's fun. It's a nice way to get some cool information from the people who know there teams best. This one only happened because one of the greatest bloggers ever, Steve from Clips Nation, reached out and started the process which went something like this:
He asked me questions. I answered. I asked him questions. He answered.
So, here's my answers to his questions about the Suns which he shared with Clippers fans at Clips Nation. You can read those here if you are so inclined.
More importantly, you can read Steve's answers to my questions after the jump. So jump...then read. That's how we do things around here.
Can you describe the feeling of sticking with the Clippers through all the bad years only to have things change so fast this year?
Honestly? I'm more or less holding my breath. Everyone who knows that I'm a Clipper fan says "You must be happy" and I smile and nod and say that I'm happy. But the season's only half over. I'm enjoying the wins -- wins are always more fun than losses -- but I'm not going into a touchdown dance here. The west is deep, and who knows what's going to happen, and people sometimes get injured -- I mean, let's face it, I've been a Clippers fan for over 20 years, I've pretty much seen it all.
As recently as 2006, the Clippers were clearly better than the Lakers and more importantly the Clippers had the brighter future. Then Brand tore his Achilles, someone in Memphis decided that Kwame Brown was a good trade for Pau Gasol, and well, things went back to how they always were. So right now, I'm cautiously optimistic and very nervous. Ask me how I feel when the playoffs start.
Having said that, it's great fun having players like Blake Griffin and Chris Paul to root for. There's no downside there.
With Billups out, is the two guard the biggest hole on the roster and will it prevent the Clips from going all the way?
Yes and yes. Except that two guard is probably not the only thing that's going to keep the Clippers from going all the way. Have you seen Miami and Oklahoma City? Those are reasons 1 and 1(a) that the Clippers aren't going all the way. Two guard issues is a bit further down the list.
Randy Foye is actually an adequate replacement for Billups in the lineup. There's a drop off to Foye to be sure, but it's not as steep as you might think. And while the Clippers will miss Billups' on court leadership, they still have Chris Paul, so it's not as if the team is rudderless out there. Billups will rejoin the team soon and should continue to be a locker room presence down the stretch and into the playoffs so that's good.
Having said that, the Clippers are clearly trying to upgrade on the wing. They've been mentioned as a possible destination for Ray Allen (though I'm not sure the Celtics are going to accept a package of Eric Bledsoe and expiring contracts, which is pretty much all LA has to offer).
They may not be able to land a big name before the trade deadline, but that's the spot (really, a wing that can play both the two and some three would be ideal) where they'll be focusing their attention.
WTH were the Clippers doing when they "fired" Clipper Darrell?
Well, if you really want to know my feelings on the subject, I wrote about a thousand words on it Thursday. The Clippers clearly didn't handle the situation well, but is it really surprising that a team would ask an individual to stop misusing their name and logo and stop misrepresenting his relationship with the team?
Seems like the Clippers asked Darrell to clear some of his appearances and other activities with them, some feelings got hurt, and suddenly #FreeClipperDarrell was trending on twitter.
It's really a non-story in the end -- but it does give everyone a chance to talk about what a scumbag Donald Sterling is, which is always fun.
By the way, what's happening with Robert Sarver's wife's handbag?
Touché, Steve, Touché.
