Trade Talks put to rest for now- Daily News Article

Clippers don't expect changes for now By Ramona Shelburne, Staff Writer Updated: 11/18/2008 10:56:43 PM PST PLAYA VISTA - The buzzards aren't quite yet circling, but they might be making flight plans. That's what happens when a team opens the season 1-9, as the Clippers have. Every loss brings a handful of new phone calls from front offices around the NBA, wondering if they might be of any assistance in shaking things up. The Clippers generally tend to answer those phone calls and listen, but don't expect any major moves right away for two very important reasons. First, the club still feels like its current roster can win. "I think guys are honestly really committed to turning this thing around," Clippers forward Marcus Camby said after practice Tuesday. "We still feel like we have a chance to make the playoffs. It may seem bleak because of where we're at right now, but we still have 70-plus games to go." And second, because by league rules, nearly a quarter the roster can't be traded until Dec. 15 because they were acquired in the offseason via trade. Three players are rookies, and the club has no intention of letting any of them go. So essentially, half the roster is off-limits until Dec. 15, which is 23 games into the season, approximately the amount of time club officials have always felt was necessary to fairly evaluate how all the pieces on this roster are fitting together. "First of all, whether we're 1-9 or 9-1, you're always exploring options that could make your team better," Clippers coach and general manager Mike Dunleavy said. "You're always in work mode. You're always talking to people. "It's awful, horrible where we are. But it comes down to, there's 70-plus games left in the season. ... the real question I'm looking for is: Who are the guys that are mentally....

yeah i still say this team needs 10 or 15 more games to really get an understanding of how good we are going to be. at that point, there should be some discussion about if what we are doing is good or not. hopefully the trade talk can die down for the time being so it isnt a daily distraction

Wouldn't it be sad if this team dominates on the road. I have a feeling this team would have a better vibe on the road.

If we somehow manage to string some wins. By that I mean go on a 5 game winning streak and get back closer to .500 I think a trade will not happen.

Well, I hope this puts to rest all the trade threads...at least till Dec 15th.

Wow, I guess Kaman is a hot commodity amongst the GM's in the league.

Kaman is a decent big with a decent contract. Alot of GM's wouldnt mind having him on a team. The issue is if Kaman is primary scorer you got a problem.

LOL..As seen last year Elton.Thank somebody he is not the first option anymore..

Completely agree!!!!!! I am not sold that he is a primary scorer and shouldn't be treated that way. With Baron & Thornton on this team, he should be our third option. I think when people here realize that, they might cut him some slack.

I will say this:

Aside from from baron's game, Kaman's is the most complete player. They might not be the greatest numbers but you can almost bet he comes close to his averages on just about every night.

Yeah. We won 24 games last year with Kaman as our primary option. I agree Baron and Chris are the most complete players for their respective positions on this team. I also agree Baron and Thornton should be our primary offensive weapons. If we dont have the opportunity to run at that moment, get into your half court set and go into Kaman.

With that said I still would rather have Kaman than Bogut or Zach Randolph. Stat wise Kaman is the same player and at a bargain price. Hopefully, all these trade talks die down if the Clips can muster up a winning streak.

Also, if I may add. I think part of the reason why we are struggling this year is because Thornton has not been able to mirror the production of corey maggette. We all thought he would come in and replace Coreys numbers. This has not been the case.

Yup, as soon as Thornton takes control of whatever has him in this Jekyll & Hyde routine, I wanna see him as our go to guy. I think Kaman wouldn't be bothered by this.

Here's the thing:

Is it just me or does it seem like Baron & Thornton are not clicking? They have a few fastbreak highlights but other than that, they look like they stay away from each other on offense.

I've noticed that too. Thornton tends to iso way too much and tries to break his man off the dribble. I guess I was expecting way too much from a second year player to become a 20 pt a game scorer. Thornton will get there eventually.

Yeah Thornton doesn't seem to make the most out of having BD as his PG nor does BD really seem to find Al as much as I would of thought.

It might be Al's fault though. He's a ghost out there a times. You forget he's even in the game so I suppose that's his fault. Though I do feel we run too many 1-on-1 matches so we keep feeding the ball to the hot hand and/or most greedy player on the court.

Al needs to become more selfish, but in a constructive way. He needs to be more assertive and get the ball in his hands more. Too many times do we seem him faze in and out of games.

Well, at least I ain't imagining it. I thought I was reading into things too much. Glad to know others notice that too.

We all know Al can ball. The guy's athleticism is off the charts. Maybe he's deffering to the vets? This can be the reason for the inconsistency?

No joe you were not imagining it.It seems more of him not moving as much when Baron is in the game, unless its a break.Or he is in iso when he does have the ball.I thought they would be playing more of a two man game when there on the floor at the same time..

it's cuz they run a ton of isolation play for thorton. thorton is not a slasher. he can drive but he doesnt cut and drive too much like maggette

He should be coming off screens.The only time we should put him in iso is when there is a 4 guarding him.No other times really.He should be moving, Baron can find him.Even give him a pass that will make the shot easier or help him go to the line..

its not just you.

I disagree. Al has been doing way better in the last 3 games looking for his teammates and not forcing shots- he was "selfish" before in terms of not passing the ball and attempting contested shots. I would hate to see him regress. He did great tonight.

I was for trading KAMAN for Zach but after some comments by Zach about the Celtic's talking trash on the court cause they know there protected, then tucking their tails between there A$$ when there off the courts. He threw me off as still having that trailblazer thug mentality, and that's not what we need especially with dunleavy's complicated offense we need inteligent players....

As far as Thorton not putting up Magz #'s that's not fair in reality he's only 5 points behind. Those 5 points should have easily been surpassed by R. Davis who's still struggling to score points....

Yeah he did play great last night, but he's been a little inconsistent thus far. I don't mean to make it sound like I want him to have the ball all the time and only look for his shot and never think to pass. I just feel like he should be giving off that "teams best player" vibe.... if that makes sense. You don't really notice him. I'd like him to stand out a bit more. Besides he hardly gets assists as it is. He's barley hovering over 1 assist per game. He should be getting some more boards though.

I'm not trying to put him down and I know it's still early to be expecting greatness from him (if he can hit that level) but this team really needs him to raise all his stats a bit more. Baron also needs to step it up. He's not at the level we're accustomed to seeing him at.

Just my thoughts guys.

If Kaman had the aggression around the basket as DeAndre, I wouldn't even think of trading him.

Can't wait 'til Dec. 15 when we can finally trade Ricky for a package deal with Thomas.