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Newest Clippers Keep Team Afloat

By MARC J. SPEARS

AOL

posted: 41 DAYS 7 HOURS AGO

comments: 0

filed under: NBA

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Sports Commentary

Say what you want about Jack Nicholson, Spike Lee and Ashley Judd. But there isn't a more loyal and passionate fan in all of sports than Darrell Bailey, a.k.a. "Clipper Darrell".

"Clipper Darrell" has a Clipper car that's painted red, white and blue on the exterior. The Clipper Car has the Clippers' logo and it has signatures from the likes of Sam Cassell, Elton Brand, Elgin Baylor and more on the hood. Bailey has a Clipper emblem on his driveway in front of a Clipper guesthouse that is filled with red and white furniture, red and white painted walls, and assorted Clippers paraphernalia, including a Clippers refrigerator. His cell phone ring tone is actually him screaming, "Let's go Clippers, let's go!" And despite being involved with many more extremely lean years than good ones, Bailey is at every Clippers home game screaming at the top of his lungs to motivate his beloved team and distract their opponents.

NBA Moves

James Posey to Hornets
Skinny: The question isn't whether Posey can help the Hornets. His defense and shooting will be assets from day one. The question is if New Orleans overpaid (4 years, $25 million) for his services.

Jim Rogash, Getty Images

Marcus Camby to Clippers
Skinny: L.A. got Camby for next to nothing (exchange of second-round picks), and he'll give them plenty of interior defense and rebounding. The Nuggets, meanwhile, now have a huge hole in the middle.

Rocky Widner, NBAE/Getty Images

Elton Brand to 76ers
Skinny: Brand, who blindsided the Clippers by signing with Philly, gives the up-and-coming Sixers the interior presence they badly need. Brand has career averages of 20.3 points and 10.2 rebounds.

Tom Mihalek, AP

Baron Davis to Clippers
Skinny: The Clips have needed a point guard for a long time, and got a more than capable solution in Davis. B-Diddy is a two-time All-Star with career averages of 17.1 points and 7.2 assists.

Andrew D. Bernstein, NBAE/Getty Images

Corey Maggette to Warriors
Skinny: The Warriors made up for Davis' departure by grabbing Maggette from the Clips. Maggette averaged 22.1 points and 5.6 rebounds in 70 games last season.

Gregory Urquiaga, Contra Costa Times/AP

Jermaine O'Neal to Raptors
Skinny: Toronto acquired O'Neal through a trade with Indiana. Despite averaging just 13.6 points and 6.7 rebounds last season, O'Neal should thrive next to Chris Bosh.

Adrian Wyld, The Canadian Press/AP

Richard Jefferson to Bucks
Skinny: New coach Scott Skiles (left) and the Bucks grabbed Jefferson via trade with New Jersey. Jefferson averaged a career-best 22.6 points last season while playing all 82 games for the Nets.

Gary Dineen, NBAE/Getty Images

T.J. Ford to Pacers
Skinny: Despite having Jamaal Tinsley, the consensus has been that point guard is a problem for Indy. The speedy Ford, acquired in the Jermaine O'Neal trade, might just be the answer for the Pacers.

Claus Andersen, Getty Images

Yi Jianlian to Nets
Skinny: New Jersey got younger and taller by giving up Richard Jefferson to get the talented Yi. The Nets also got Bobby Simmons (left) from the Bucks as part of the trade.

Jennifer Pottheiser, NBAE/Getty Images

Mickael Pietrus to Magic
Skinny: Long plauged by inconsistency at shooting guard, Orlando might have found their answer in Pietrus. The former Warrior can defend, score, and can also rebound very well from the two spot.

Fernando Medina, NBAE/Getty Images

So with the news of the acquisition of center Marcus Camby last Tuesday following the recent addition of guard Baron Davis, Bailey's booming voice is being heard loud and clear throughout Los Angeles once again.

"It's beautiful. I love it. I sent out a blast email to all my friends, 'We're back.' We're back, baby. We're back in the playoffs, baby," said Bailey, in a phone interview from Los Angeles.

Believe it or not, after failing to make the playoffs, the Clippers have been grabbing headlines during the offseason by drafting Eric Gordon, acquiring (surprisingly) Davis and Camby, and overcoming the bitter loss of Brand. And with the Camby move, it appears that the Clippers have finally righted their often-sinking ship.

"They got Baron, (Chris) Kaman, (Cuttino) Mobley," Camby said. "They got the rookie Eric Gordon, Al Thornton. There is a lot of talent and pieces there."

The Clippers have only been to the playoffs once since 1998. Los Angeles has only had a winning record once since 1994. And despite making a respectable run in the postseason in 2006, the Clippers digressed since then, despite having an opportunity to gain major population in Los Angeles.

An Achilles injury sidelined Brand the majority of last season while a knee injury sidelined point guard Shaun Livingston for the entire season. The Clippers won only four games in March and April. And other than the great play by Thornton during his rookie year, there wasn't much for Clipper Darrell to cheer about.

"This was not at all what we expected," said then-Clippers forward Corey Maggette, at the end of the season. "A lot of injuries hurt this team."

With the spotlight shining brightly on the Lakers as they advanced to the NBA Finals, the Clippers assumed their usual jayvee team position as the offseason approached.

The Clippers made their first solid move of the offseason by drafting Gordon from Indiana with the ninth overall pick. And as free agency approached, the Clippers took the spotlight by surprisingly getting Warriors free agent guard Baron Davis to agree to come back home with a five-year, $65 million deal.

The two-time NBA All-Star averaged 21.8 points, 7.6 assists, 4.7 rebounds and 2.3 steals while playing in all 82 games for the Warriors last season. Davis was just one of four players in the league last season to average 20-plus points and seven-plus assists, with the others being Allen Iverson, LeBron James and Chris Paul.

"On the court it's going to be fun, fun, fun," said Davis, a Los Angeles native and ex-UCLA star, after signing with the Clippers. "We're going to do some winning. We want a championship here, and I know that's why they brought me. This is the start of a new generation."

It's definitely a new generation for the Clippers as they will be without Brand and Maggette.

With Maggette gone to the Warriors, Brand was expected to re-sign with the Clippers to give them an All-Star duo of Brand and Davis. But after a "he said ... he said" battle between Brand, his agent David Falk, and Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy, Brand was suddenly on his way to Philadelphia. And instantly, the Clippers were back in the headlines for the wrong reasons.

The Clippers, however, more than made the best of their new life without Brand by shockingly acquiring Camby from the Nuggets last Tuesday for basically nothing. Seriously. The only thing the Nuggets earned from the Clippers in the salary slicing trade was the option to exchange second round picks with the Clippers in 2010.

"I love this acquisition for the current make-up of our team," Dunleavy said. "We are getting a consummate pro who is maybe the best team defender in the league, and who has 60 playoff games under his belt."

While Camby is far from the scorer that Brand is, the Clippers are getting the 2007 NBA Defensive Player of the Year and one of the best shot-blockers and rebounders in league history. The 6-foot-11, 235-pounder played in a career-high 79 games last season for the Nuggets, averaging a career-high 13.1 rebounds and 9.1 points per game.

"This is a very good addition for us, especially since we're getting a player who can really help us without having to give up a player in return." Clippers Vice President of Basketball Operations Elgin Baylor said. "Marcus can play multiple positions and is one of the better rebounders and shot-blockers in the league. With him playing alongside Kaman I think we will have a pair of excellent interior defenders, and that will make us a formidable team."

With Davis, Camby, Kaman, Thornton, Gordon and Mobley, the Clippers are now a playoff caliber team that will fill up the highlight reels. For the time being, the Clippers are the talk of the town, not the Lakers. But with that being said, once Kobe Bryant starts playing for USA in the Beijing Olympics, the Clippers will go back to their role as second fiddle.

The difference now, however, is when the Lakers and Clippers do match up in the Staples Center, the rejuvenated Clippers have a legitimate shot of winning now, which basically means they have a legitimate shot of beating anyone. Time and time again, the Clippers are beat down for making mistakes and laughable moves. So it's only fair that the Clippers are now applauded for creatively figuring out a way for righting their battered ship through tough waters.

And where does all of this leave Clipper Darrell?

"I'm happy now," he said.

Marc J. Spears writes a weekly NBA column for AOL Sports and writes about the NBA and the NBA champion Boston Celtics for The Boston Globe.

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