Linked is the roster for the All-Star Weekend: Rising Stars Challenge (previously known as the Rookie-Sophmore game). The link details the new system that will be in play as well as the roster (nine 2nd year players and nine rookies).

According to Si's Sam Amick, Kyrylo Fesenko, 7-1 280lb center, has signed with the Warriors.

There are still a few centers still out there that can be acquired via the Clippers' Eric Gordon trade exception. It seems like the Clippers want to maintain some flexibility with their 13 man roster as the season goes on. In addition to the trade exception, the Clippers still have their room exception to possibly sign one of the free agents from China in March if they hold onto it for that long.

Linked is an article from Yahoo! giving the Under Armour press release on the DeAndre Jordan signing.

Also, here was an interesting tidbit I found on Twitter:

"Under Armour has signed its 1st center to wear its basketball shoes: The Clippers' DeAndre Jordan."
- @darrenrovell

Caron Butler talks with NBA TV about the deal with the LA Clippers. NBA TV also analyzes the Clippers' deal.

This week in ESPN.com's NBA player ranking series, they got to Eric Gordon at number 39. In the linked article, 5 selected writers analyzed how well the players from 36-40 are ranked.

It seems like the consensus from the 5 analysts is that Gordon is on the rise and is already a good scorer and defender, but the other parts of his game (like rebounding and assisting) are lacking.

You can check out the link for the specific analysis from each of the 5 writers.

An easier start than 2010-2011? Finishing playing the Celtics much earlier next season? What do you think of this potential schedule?

Notables:
-20 National TV Games (7 NBA TV, 8 ESPN, 5 TNT) which is a franchise record (via Clippers Schedule release)
-3 Home Games to start the season
-Longest road trip is 8 games
-22 back-to-backs

"Los Angeles faces every team in the Western Conference a total of four times (two home and two away), with the exception of the Dallas Mavericks, Memphis Grizzlies, Denver Nuggets and the Minnesota Timberwolves who they will play three times each."
-Via http://www.nba.com/clippers/news/clippers-announce-2011-12-schedule.html
Disclaimer: An extended NBA lockout would require the NBA to make a new schedule.

All the Clippers first round rookies received votes. Check to see where they placed on the rosters.

At Clips Nation, we talked a lot about how Eric Gordon received little attention for his productivity in his rookie season. Do you see other rookies this season in a similar senario?

Edit: First round rookies as opposed to just rookies.

I liked how this piece on LA Clippers guard Eric Gordon framed the past, present, and future for Gordon. The piece also showcased Gordon's surges in late game situations as well as highlighting key weaknesses.

Here are two additional topics Clippers fans may debate about in the near future: Gordon with Team USA and the idea of Gordon possibly becoming a lead playmaker for the Clippers.

Remember Marqus Blakely? Blakely looked to have a good chance of getting a spot on the Clippers roster during the Summer. While Blakely seemed to play inspiring basketball during the Summer League, the Clippers appeared to not have enough space on their roster to keep him on the squad.

The one question I have about the article is: what are the implications of a 3 year non-guaranteed contract? Is this typical for non-drafted NBA players?

Here is a post from Ridiculous Upside on the signing and a few more details on Blakely's efforts in the D-League this year .

The FIBA tournament feels like it happened a year or so ago, but Gordon successfully making that team and winning the gold was a possible sign of something special for the Clippers this year. I still remember using those FIBA games to quench a thirst for basketball, and also watching as all the young team USA players pushed their way onto the international scene.

Looking at all the really special people honored at the LA Sports Awards, it is nice to see Gordon represent himself and the Clippers in a great way for the city.

If this source is true, It is too bad it could not work out better for Butler on the Clippers this year. It is also interesting that Butler wasn't traded to the Bulls before the trade deadline.

Still, I will always remember things like Butler's big three against the Celtics last year and some of the games where he just couldn't miss. Thank you for your contributions to the LA Clippers Rasual Butler.

This video left me with 2 thoughts:

Thought 1:

Inevitable: A powerful and well known word, yet it still can come as a surprise.

--

Thought 2:

While the Travis Outlaw/Steve Blake symmetry can easily be connected with this deal, I think the LeBron/Williams connection is also interesting.

As one of the "elders" on this Clippers team, will Williams have a significant impact on Griffin's development (personality and basketball-wise)? Having gone through the whole LeBron debacle, how does Williams approach Griffin? Will Griffin power up Williams like LeBron did? Is Williams a harbinger for a fate Clippers fans don't want to think about? (I think I am getting carried away with these questions...)

"One" more string of questions though:

A major point of contention in the Summer was how Davis would play with Gordon. How will Gordon play with Williams? Who will be the playmaker? What about Bledsoe?

I guess tuning in to the Clippers game on Friday will be a start to answering these questions.

The linked URL is actually an interview with Gordon talking about preparations before the Miami Heat game, but I was distracted the whole video trying to identify and later confirm to myself that Kaman was practicing in the video.

While the practice footage may not appear too interesting for Kaman, it is still nice to be able to see Kaman again (without a visible ankle brace too).

*Video via Clippers.com

This is a nice short video previewing Eric Gordon. Maybe this is just a teaser for another more in depth look. I am not too familiar with the "Coming Attractions" series though.

Check out the first 3 minutes of the video in the beginning of this NBA.com dunk ladder post. Most of the description of Griffin is between minutes 1-3.

Here are the Clippers on the All-Star Ballot:

-Baron Davis
-Eric Gordon
-Blake Griffin
-Chris Kaman

Another interesting thing to observe is who has been left off the ballot from other teams (like Paul Millsap and Jason Terry). Still, it is the LA All-Star Game, so LA is bound to have many of its teams' players on the ballot (LAC has 4 and LAL has 6 on the ballot).

Only 66 days left to vote.

Linked are the Hollinger Power Rankings.

The Clippers are 7th in strength of schedule (the difficulty of their opposition) which bumps up their rating. Also, the Clippers margin of defeat is not too bad. They have not been blown out much.

Another interesting note is that the Clippers are ranked better than some 0.500 teams (check out which teams). Still, the sample size is small so we need to wait till at least 21 games have been played or so to get a better feel of the team as it continues to develop.

If you check out the sports section online, in the link provided, there is a red and blue basketball, near the top of the page, piercing through the virtual newspaper (making it bleed ink).

Whether or not this is a Clippers reference, hopefully the team can start the season with force and make ink "bleed" from all around the World Wide Web.

Edit: The red and blue basketball seems to be on about every page of the LA Times website. One would think that the ball should correspond to game one of the World Series, but the Clippers were the first thought I had when I saw the red and blue.

There are some interesting statistics on that page too. Maybe one disclaimer is that this is average ticket price, so there isn't really information on which seats get the biggest increases in price.

If the Clippers become really competitive, will their ticket prices approach Lakers ticket prices?

We have already seen glimpses of this in the preseason. Hopefully it can become a major part of the Clippers offense. Check out the link from Si.com for more info on where the new Clippers pick-and-roll combo ranks with some of the other new combos.

The other day we were talking about Bobby Simmons. Today, we bring back another memorable Clippers 3 point specialist.

Check out the link for stats from Novak's impressive game.

Here is some information on the 3rd annual open scrimmage the Clippers have coming up. In addition to being a nice preview for the preseason, it is a nice event to hold for the Marines and their families.

(Information found on Clippers.com)

The 2010 FIBA World Championship bracket is now available. With all the upsets that have happened so far, the brackets are much different than what many had anticipated before the tournament.

Who are your picks to advance through the FIBA bracket?