Now that the Anthony to NYK trade is pretty much done, Denver has a lot of new talent on their hands, including Danilo Gallinari and Wilson Chandler to name a few.   But it is well known that Denver wants to rebuild and would like to trade these players for picks.  We should get in on this now!  Our first-round pick for either Gallinari or Chandler!  It would immediately upgrade the 3-spot and we wouldn't have to give up any of our players.  This seems to be a rare opportunity that quality low-cost SFs are available for a pick!

One of our weak spots is the small forward position.   I think we could get some immediate help by trading away Ryan Gomes (or Rasual Butler) and a 1st round pick for Wilson Chandler.  NYK would do it because they need a high draft pick to trade for Carmelo, and Chandler would be redundant for them.  We should do it because:

1. Chandler is a great versatile defender who can play multiple positions.

2. He is only 23 and would fit well with the U23s.

3. He can score and rebound as well (17ppg, 6rbg -- for comparison, Iguodala is averaging 14ppg, 6.5rpg).

The Clippers should get into discussions now with NYK before they find another draft pick from another team.

There is a rumor that Ricky Rubio doesn't want to go to Memphis and that Memphis is considering trading the #2 pick.  The Clippers should do all that is in their power to make a trade for that #2.  It would be unprecedented to have the top two picks.  I would be willing to trade everybody else to have this roster:

PG: Rubio

SG: Gordon

SF: Thornton

PF: Griffin

C:  Anybody

Throw in a future 1st round pick and even Minnesota's 1st round pick if necessary.  The team above would be spectacular. 

The trade deadline is quickly approaching.

The way things are going, I think the Clippers would be better off finding replacements for Baron Davis and Chris Kaman.

In fact, I think we should go after Tyson Chandler.  Here's how:

http://games.espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=akg7ym

We would give up Baron, Kaman, and Novak but we would get Chandler and Earl Watson in return.  This is a complicated trade, but there is a significant motivation for each team to make this trade.  New Orleans needs to shed salary.  OKC needs a center.  Detroit is in a slump and might be receptive to shaking things up by getting Baron Davis.  If needed, we could sweeten the deal for Detroit by giving up our first round pick.

I hope Dunleavy reads this blog.

Instead of looking at the restricted free agents, we could probably get a decent PF in a trade.  We would probably have to give up DeAndre Jordan to secure such a player.  Two possible trades come to mind:

1.  Thomas+Jordan+2nd round pick for Antonio McDyess

2.  Jordan+1st round pick for Marcus Camby

Suppose we make trade #1.  Since Thomas and McDyess make the same money, their contracts cancel out and we still have a lot of money to sign another star player, like Josh Smith or Andre Iguodala, or two role players like Josh Childress+Sasha Vujacic.  Imagine one of these lineups:

Davis, Mobley, Iguodala, McDyess, Kaman  (with Knight, Gordon, Thornton, Powell on the bench!)

Davis, Mobley, Smith, McDyess, Kaman (with Knight, Gordon, Thornton, Powell on the bench!)

Suppose we make trade #2.  We would absorb Camby's contract, which means that we cannot sign another big RFA (perhaps we can still sign Quinton Ross though).  And suppose we make another deal with NYK to send over Jamal Crawford for Mobley+1st round pick. 

Davis, Crawford, Thornton, Camby, Kaman (with Knight, Gordon, Ross, Thomas, Powell on the bench). 

Any of these lineups sounds good to me.

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Update:  We got Camby for only a 2nd rounder!  An absolute steal!!!!!!

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3491156

Now it's time to round out the bench.

According to this article, Corey Maggette was willing to take less money to stay with the Clippers and play alongside of Davis and Brand.

"We all thought we were going to be on the same team,'' Maggette said. "We were trying to do what Boston did.''

That is, a makeover dramatic enough to lift the Clips from postseason observers to postseason power players. Brand, Davis and Maggette would become the Western Conference version of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen.

``I've known EB since I was in ninth grade. I've known Baron since I was in eighth grade,'' Maggette said. ``We almost had the opportunity to stay together."

Maggette's fantasy fell apart when Brand went east, to Philadelphia, leaving the Clippers without an All-Star power forward. This told Maggette that "this new Celtics thing that we were going to do is not going to happen.''

It is mind-boggling to think of how good the Clippers lineup could have been.

For all his shortcomings, Corey is a player that will definitely be missed.  I'm glad he was able to get a decent contract.

I will give some free advice on how to assemble a championship-caliber team.  You never know, Mike Dunleavy might be a secret fan of this blog site.

Point Guard:

We have just signed the best point guard in the league in Baron Davis.  When healthy, nobody is better than Davis.  Davis can shoot.  Davis can run the offense.  Davis can dunk.  Davis can post up.  All the other great point guards lack one or more of these qualities.  So we automatically have an advantage over the rest of the league by just having Davis. 

One suggestion I have for this position is to trade Tim Thomas + 1st round draft pick (and maybe a second round pick too) for Leandro Barbosa.  The Suns are shopping Barbosa right now and I think he can be a major spark plug off the bench and play either the point or SG.

We should also consider signing Mike Taylor and Livingston to minimum contracts.

Shooting Guard:

If one analyzes all the championship teams, one realizes that they all have a dominant All Star at either the 2 or the 3.  Think Kobe Bryant or Paul Pierce or Manu Ginobli or Michael Jordan or Dwayne Wade.  The Clippers lack a dominant SG/SF.  One perennial All Star that might be available is Vince Carter, due to the fact that the Nets are restructuring and are about to relocate.  So I suggest trading Mobley and Knight and Powell and a draft pick for Vince Carter.  He may not be the player he used to be, but he can still make big plays. 

Of course, our sharpshooter Eric Gordon would be a perfect backup to Carter.

Small Forward:

While the PG and SG positions are now stacked with All Stars, the SF position  belongs to Al Thornton, who will act as a role player and a 4th option for this team. 

We also need a capable glue guy at the SF position who can play defense.  Eduardo Najera would be a good choice.  We should spend the MLE on him.  As a bonus, he can play the power forward position as well, and he has improved his perimeter shooting.  Marcus Williams should also be given a minimum contract.

Power Forward:

This position is currently our biggest hole, and in order to stay competitive against Duncan, Stoudamire, Boozer, and others, we need to fill this position with a defensive presence.    Emeka Okafor fits the bill perfectly.  He defends and he rebounds well.  He can play center too when Kaman gets tired (Najera can slide over to PF in his place).  We should give Okafor a 13 million per year offer immediately.  He wants out of Charlotte.   

As a backup, we can sign Paul Davis to a minimum contract.

Center:

Kaman is one of the top centers in the league.  And if we get Okafor, we'll be set down low.  We could also sign Fazekas and Jordan to minimum contracts. 

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Conclusion:

Take a look at our championship-caliber roster.  It has all the necessary components of a great team (dominant PG, dominant SG/SF, spark-plug guy, sharpshooter, glue guy, athletic wing, lockdown defender, shotblockers, dominant big men, etc.):

Baron Davis  /  Leandro Barbosa  /  Mike Taylor

Vince Carter  /  Eric Gordon  /  Shaun Livingston

Al Thornton  /  Eduardo Najera  /  Marcus Williams

Emeka Okafor  /  Paul Davis

Chris Kaman  /  Nick Fazekas  /  DeAndre Jordan

Another beautiful thing about this team is the number of "interchangeable parts" (if I may borrow a term from Avery Johnson) due to the versatility of Barbosa (PG/SG), Carter (SG/SF), Najera (SF, PF), Okafor (PF, C), and Livingston (PG/SG/SF).  With such a roster, we can play any style: small ball, half court, all-defense, perimeter shooting, etc.

If I were Dunleavy, this would be the team that I would construct.  It is a perfect mix of being a win-now team while also developing the superb young talents of Thornton, Gordon, and possibly Jordan.