This post isn't about wanting or lobbying to get rid of DeAndre or anything, but merely an intellectual exercise that I'm sure every GM has to do with their roster. We know that Golden State did some linsane things to try and get DJ this past summer - so, what would other NBA teams offer for him?

Feel free to agree or disagree, but keep in mind I'm not even taking into account what the Clippers are wanting/looking for...just, what other teams would probably be willing to give up.

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Here's a quick snapshot of the league thru Feb 2 (i.e. Clippers first 20 games).

Using the pythagorean wins method (which, if you don't what that is, check out this link W Pyth), you'll notice that using this method, the Clippers were predicted to win 11 games, but actually won 13. The prediction formula seems to "work" when comparing the other NBA teams versus their actual wins to date.

Some quick observations:

• Uh oh, Clippers project to be only the 10th best team in the West...behind the TWolves and Rockets! Yikes, getting blown out last night obviously hurt them in this exercise. Obviously, there's some margin for error here and just further illustrates how tight of a race it is out West.
• 76er's are projecting out to a 70 wins (assuming this was a full 82 season)!

Feel free to add any of your own observations/conclusions - I'll try to continues updating this periodically as we go thru the season.

Here's a quick snapshot of the league thru Jan 16 (i.e. Clippers first 10 games).

Using the pythagorean wins method (which, if you don't what that is, check out this link W Pyth), you'll notice that using this method, the Clippers were predicted to win 6 games, but actually won 7. The prediction formula seems to "work" when comparing the other NBA teams versus their actual wins to date.

Based off these early results, the Clippers should expect to win 41 games this shortened season which translates to 51 wins in a regular season, not too shabby. However, they would only be a 6th seed behind the Lakers. I'm pleased to say that the Clippers are now the 27th best rebounding team in the NBA, yes!

Interestingly, the TWolves would sneak into the 8th spot - wow, aren't we glad we traded that pick! Ricky Rubio is ballin.

Feel free to add any of your own observations/conclusions - I'll try to update this periodically as we go thru the season.

It's probably way too early to start thinking about 5-man units, but for some reason I've been staring at this roster, trying to imagine different combinations.

PG: Mo, Bledsoe, Warren

SG: EJ, Foye, Leslie

SF: Butler, Gomes, Aminu

PF: Griffin, Thompkins, Cook

C: DJ, Kaman

Lineup possibilities:

Starters: Mo, EJ, Butler, Griffin, DJ (or Kaman)

Powerball: EJ, Butler, Griffin, Kaman, DJ

Smallball: Mo, Foye, EJ, Aminu, Griffin

Spread the floor: Mo, Foye, EJ, Griffin, Cook (or Thompkins)

When Blake's out: Mo (or Foye), EJ, Butler, Kaman, DJ

Youth movement 2.0: Bledsoe, Leslie, Aminu, Thompkins, DJ

Dunk contest: EJ, Leslie, Aminu (or Bledsoe), Griffin, DJ

Am I missing any other interesting ones?

Taking a break from all the CP3 nonsense - a lingering question I keep having is what the plan should be regarding all-star Chris Kaman.

Assuming there are no big-time (CP3) trades that would necessitate Kaman as a cap piece from now until the trade deadline AND the Clippers resign DeAndre Jordan, do you let Kaman play out his contract and just walk or do you trade him for....something? I can't imagine any realistic scenario where the Clippers would want to resign him if they already have DJ locked up.

With that said, here are my dream trades (all probably very unlikely):

• Kaman for Igoudala - throw in a future pick or Aminu as a sweetener (not Minny)
• Kaman for Manu - can't see the Spurs possibly doing this, Manu on the Clippers would be sick. Imagine a closing lineup of Mo, EJ, Manu, Blake and DJ...
• Kaman for Splitter and Blair - if Manu is a pipe dream, I think the Spurs may be willing to give up some of their younger assets for a championship run with the Duncan and Kaman show.
• Kaman for Gallinari - Nuggets need someone to play center, right?
• Kaman for Rudy Gay - Memphis may not be able to afford to keep him if they want Gasol back, we could always flip a young talent like Rudy for something, right? As long as Kahn is in the league...I do this trade.
• Kaman for Kyle Lowry - Houston needs a center. Lowry is a beast. This is one big for small trade I do in a heartbeat.
• Kaman for Darko Milicic - what? yes, i do this trade too. DJ needs a backup and Darko fits the bill.
• Kaman for Gerald Wallace - Blazers need to resign Batum, why do they have Crash on their roster?

The Hornets are probably going to trade Chris Paul this week - the big question is whether it will include an extension or not. I've been caught up in the hysteria for sure - checking in here and twitter multiple times per minute! Do we include EJ or DJ, or both...yadda yadda. But what hasn't really been talked about too much is what Chris Paul wants.

Here's the running list of what I think he wants (feel free to add):

• Chris Paul wants to win a championship
• Chris Paul wants to play for the Knicks (his friends)
• Chris Paul would love to see Dwight sign with the Hornets
• Chris Paul would like to play with Tyson Chandler
• Chris Paul cares about his reputation and doesn't want to "screw" over New Orleans
• Chris Paul probably doesn't want to go to Boston (according to "sources")
• Chris Paul (and his agent) wants to maximize his salary earning potential

All this to say that this will all come down to what Chris Paul wants - he has all the leverage. It would actually be surprising if he agrees to sign an extension with ANY team not named the Knicks right now.

That leaves all of us to consider - would you roll the dice and trade for him anyway?

My head is buzzing with the idea of having CP3 throw lobs to Griffin and DJ in the near future...shoot even Bledsoe and him have some serious chemistry as evidenced here.

So what package(s) will get the Hornets to bite.  Obviously the Minny pick is a given in any trade involving Chris Paul, but what else?  My fear is that they'll want demand Eric Gordon Jr as well as salaries to match in say, Chris Kaman.  Is CN prepared to give up our beloved below-average guard?

I'm not sure to be honest.  How many shooting guards are going to be better than him over the next 10 yrs?  Not many...maybe not even one.

The way I see it - the Hornets will want some combination of:

1. Assets (Minny pick)
2. Shedding of big, long contracts (e.g. Okafor)
3. Taking on expiring contracts (e.g. Kaman, Foye)
4. Getting talent (e.g. EJ)

I'm fine with items 1 thru 3 on this list.  It's #4 that gets me thinking...
For example, I would do Minny pick, Kaman and Foye for CP3 and Okafor without batting an eye.  But are we prepared to offer EJ on top of that as well?  Vote below.

Let's play the free agent / amnesty predictions game!  Simply post whatever you think will happen during the week of Dec 9 and we'll see whose crystal ball is the clearest of them all at CN.

Let's just go ahead and start off with... DeAndre Jordan will resign with the Clippers.

Btw, I'm so incredibly relieved the NBA is coming back.  My fall back for sports has been a 1-2 sucker punch of anemic UCLA football/basketball.

Iggy, Lou Williams and M.Speights

for

Kaman, Mo and Minny pick

Trade Machine has Clippers at +9 wins and -14 for Sixers!  It's obvious that the Sixers need to do something if they want to be a legit contender...this trade probably ain't it though.  It's kind of a no-brainer to me from the Clippers side of things...I'm sure the Berri-ologists will agree here too.  Iggy's wins produced is a rock solid 12.7 this past season.  Lou is a versatile guard where you don't really lose anything by giving up Mo...they both expire the same season too.  Losing Kaman would be a little bittersweet, but he's a proven center that can score and play well with Brand.  Hopefully an asset that entices Philly?

Anyone here think this is a bad trade for the Clippers?

A whopping 3 win improvement from last season is not what most of us were expecting (hoping for).  From the pythagorean wins perspective, the season in review looks like this:

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January updated:

With last night's win against the Bucks, the Clippers went 9-5 for the month of January.  While the specific wins and losses were off, the Clippers matched the required theoretical pace as outlined in the original post here.

Yes, February is going to be brutal - especially if Eric Gordon can't play in many of them.  But just for giggles (and to track VDN's precious 41 win streak), here's the remaining schedule.

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I don't have the guts to make this kind of post. There's just too much evidence of how wrong I was in the end. But Citizen banady went out on a limb and looked at the thing that we've all been thinking, and his effort deserves some visibility.  Steve

I've been debating on whether this type of post is worth doing - but, curiosity got the better of me.  As it currently stands, if the Clippers play 0.500 ball rest of the way, they will finish the season at 35 wins.  This would be a decent achievement considering the horrendous start.  But what about 41 wins?

Below is basically what needs to happen.  41 wins is probably good enough to make the playoffs...but as you'll see below, it looks like it'll be ridiculously hard to pull off!  What do you think? See the break down after the jump, and then vote below.

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Through 4 games now, the Clippers are the worst scoring team in the league at 87.5 ppg.  It should definitely hopefully get better - here's a breakdown of Eric Gordon, Chris Kaman and Blake Griffin's scoring averages and some analysis as to what we might expect as the season goes on.

Below is a table that uses last year averages (for EJ and Kaman) to help project what scoring averages should (hopefully) normalize to as the season continues on.

via i55.tinypic.com

First up, Eric Gordon has been great at driving to the hoop and finishing - managing to score a respectable 18.3 ppg on 46.7% shooting.  Not bad considering that he's doing this while only shooting 14.3% from downtown!  But what if he started making those at around 37% (i.e. what he averaged last year)?  His scoring improves to 22 ppg on 54.4% shooting.  Is this realistic?  I'll let you decide...

Next up is Chris Kaman.  Assuming he can get back to his shooting %'s from last year, he should average 17.4 ppg - down from 18.5 ppg due to less free throw attempts so far.  Sounds about right?

Lastly, Mr. Blake Griffin has been atrocious from the free throw line (56.7%!) and had a few miserable games, but I project that he should finish no worse than 50% from the field...I am pleased that he's managed to attempt 14 shots per game so far despite not having many go-to moves.  The real question in my mind is whether he will really average 7.5 free throw attempts per game?  Maybe - he attempted 6, 5, 12 and 7 free throws.  Assuming his FT% doesn't improve at all, he should still get to around 18.3 ppg - tasty!

Ok, if all three of these projections happen: Clippers will improve +10 ppg.  My question to you all is what is most likely to happen this season?

Me? I'd give up anything But Griffin and Gordon. If they were left with those 2 plus a 26 year old Carmello - the franchise would be set for years to come. They've developed enough depth over the summer to be very competitive right away, I think. It is going to be Interesting.

I see no reason DJ could not be effective in a line-up that included Anthony, Griffin, Gordon and Baron with Foye, Gomes, Smith, Bledsoe, Cook, Butler, Warren, et al off the bench. They are in the market for another Big and that spot will get addressed b4 camp opens. I hate to get this excited about a would-be trade that will face fierce competition, but these are the Dog Days of August - so what the heck?

Believe me, the owner does not want to lose either of his young stars.

Anthony has been on the radar since June. I kept telling everyone that the club was still working on getting better rather than done for the summer. This has been a large part of that work but nothing could happen until the player decided his future was Not in Denver. I'm told he wants a 3 year extension from his new team and certainly, the Clippers are more than happy to accomodate. The competition for him will be furious. Fasten your seatbelts and stay tuned.

Source: Facebook