Blake Griffin is the next LeBron James?

[Stress Fracture]

And what do they get in exchange when Sterling does that?

[Patr1ck]

A couple more high lottery picks after finishing with less than 20 wins.

We've all seen this before. Clippers get good pick/sign good player, and hype starts, but they still lose. Good pick/player becomes All Star. Clippers make playoffs, lose in first round. All Star gets injured. Clippers don't make playoffs. Clippers trade former All Star or All Star does not re-sign. Clippers finish last after firing coach or fire coach then finish last. Clippers get good pick......

[shadowgrin]

Someone should make a flowchart of what Pdub posted so non-Clipps fans readily know what to expect next.

[Andrew]

Hopefully for Griffin's sake, he can skip the injury part.

[shadowgrin]

Griffin already covered that part in advance. All he needs to do now is be an All-Star, carry the team to the playoffs, and be on his way out from the Clipps.

[Dan's Brain]

He's probably in with a shot to knock over the All-Star thing this year. The Clips still miss the playoffs. Draft Enes Kanter, and scrape out an 8th seed next year and get swept by the Thunder. This could all be done by the Summer of '13

[benji]

Under Sterling:
Name a Clippers player they drafted and who played for them who then left the team because they wouldn't resign him or traded him and was an All-Star afterwards.

There aren't any.

Name a Clippers All-Star they didn't resign or traded and was an All-Star afterwards.

There aren't any.

Sterling is a racist and cheap bastard but he hasn't let players of great caliber slip through his fingers. Indeed his bad decisions were Kaman and Davis, players still on the team. He bought on Maggette and Brand and the franchise went farther than it ever had.

The only case you can try to make a case for is Odom and he was a fuckup who needed Miami (and in some respects unfortunately the death of a child) to set his brain right, and that same year is when he paid in on Maggette and Brand. A deal that looked fantastic until about 2008.

Every impression I get is Sterling wants to turn a profit and show off his strapping negro possessions. His meddling in the team is more of an annoyance. Baylor fucked up for decades on drafting, Dunleavy fucked up for years, etc. I mean look at Baylor's picks in the 1990s: Bo Kimble, LeRon Ellis, Terry Dehere, Lamond Murray, Brent Barry, Lorenzen Wright, Maurice Taylor, MICHAEL OLOWOKANDI AT #1, Lamar Odom and Darius Miles. He finally did something right when he flipped Chandler into Brand. He then took Chris Wilcox, Chris Kaman, Shaun Livingston, Yaroslav Korolev (who was shot over a drunken poker match in Russia for all we know) and ended his tenure with Al Thornton. If he did anything smart the year he dealt away the Clippers 2006 pick (whenever that may have been) was their best year so it wasn't a great pick to start.

The real problem with Pdub's statement was the idea the Clippers have actually drafted an All-Star in the last two decades. (Kaman doesn't count it was a racist vote!) I think Danny Manning is the only one who fits the scenario and that blowing up of the entire franchise had so much to it.

[Patr1ck]

I was basically talking about the last twenty years which is how pong I have paid attention to them.
I never said there was an all star afterwards unless you were just setting up your statement about Sterling. I don't now of many all stars that moves to another team and were still all stars, excluding superstars. So yeah, Danny Manning and Elton Brand and Chris Kaman were the patterns I was talking about. I don't recall whether Manning slipped into the All Star game like Chris Kaman, though.

I think Sterling is looking for a quick fix for profits, because he knows that building a championship team can actually cost you money. on the other hand, when you finally get one, you expand your fanfare and revenue. Anyone remember all the rappers wearing Clipper jerseys when they were in the playoffs with Brand? Takes money to make money.

[imefimef]

Nah, he's more like Amare or Dwight. Cuz Amare is known for his dunks but has a nice game outside that, and Dwight cuz he mostly dunks but needs to work on that outside game. I don't really see any LBj comparison with him.

[Andrew]

Nah, he's more like Amare or Dwight. Cuz Amare is known for his dunks but has a nice game outside that, and Dwight cuz he mostly dunks but needs to work on that outside game. I don't really see any LBj comparison with him.

As I said:

Again, I think the comparison is more about dominance of the league and being a superstar player rather than playing style, since they definitely aren't similar players in that regard.

The comparison is not in their playing styles or their abilities, but rather their standing in and dominance over the league. At least that's the way I interpreted the original poster's question, since otherwise it is a case of apples and oranges. But in terms of Griffin being the proverbial Next Big Thing as LeBron was, becoming a dominant player and a marquee attraction, that's a valid question and comparison.

[diddy]

it's way too early to compare uncomparable players! we should wait 2-3 seasons and see if BG would keep that level of play! and, as been said before he can be compared to Stat, but not to James, Griffin hasn't even 1\10 of what LBJ has!

[Andrew]

Again, the comparison of their playing styles is not the question here as they are obviously different types of players. As far as their standing in the league, it may be a little premature at this point but Griffin is having a very impressive rookie campaign, dominating the highlights and posting numbers that wouldn't make an All-Star selection out of the question; not unlike LeBron in his first year in the league.

The question is whether Griffin can be a franchise player and one of the faces of the league at some point, not whether he's as big a star as LeBron right now or whether he plays like him.

[NovU]

It's funny how Andrew has to explain each time to a new post. Lolz!

I think people just love mentioning Amare's name no matter what comparison is about, since both excels at dunk. Simplistic...

[Bruce]

When I watch Blake Griffin highlights he reminds me of Moses Malone and sometimes Shawn Kemp. His style of leaping over potential offensive rebounders, is really a spectacle to watch. Even with impressive numbers for a rookie 20+ pts 12+ rb, I think he does not get the same media attention anywhere as close as LeBron has had. But in IMO though he should learn real post moves with his back to the basket if he wants to get farther in his career.

[NovU]

But in IMO though he should learn real post moves with his back to the basket if he wants to get farther in his career.

For now though, he seems to have added Tim Duncan's mid range bankshot to his game. I think it's a step in the right direction to imitate what great Duncan had done with success. My thoughts of concerns are rather on his defense. If he can improve his D vastly over the course of his career, I don't see why not he will be in the discussion among the greats.

[Patr1ck]

Andrew, they don't seem to give a fuck.

[imefimef]

Again, the comparison of their playing styles is not the question here as they are obviously different types of players. As far as their standing in the league, it may be a little premature at this point but Griffin is having a very impressive rookie campaign, dominating the highlights and posting numbers that wouldn't make an All-Star selection out of the question; not unlike LeBron in his first year in the league.

The question is whether Griffin can be a franchise player and one of the faces of the league at some point, not whether he's as big a star as LeBron right now or whether he plays like him.

Ohhhh, well i read the question as just their playing style because in some people's minds that's all LeBron can do. But yeah as far as a franchise player then yes absolutely. I mean all he has to do is be more consistent with his jumpshot(Like LeBron had to) and get better players which will result in wins (same with LeBron)

[Bruce]

But in IMO though he should learn real post moves with his back to the basket if he wants to get farther in his career.

For now though, he seems to have added Tim Duncan's mid range bankshot to his game. I think it's a step in the right direction to imitate what great Duncan had done with success. My thoughts of concerns are rather on his defense. If he can improve his D vastly over the course of his career, I don't see why not he will be in the discussion among the greats.

yeah that too, for a high leaping forward, his blk avg really sucks. And I don't see him bodying up on post D. So far he is having a steller rookie year, but definitely he still has more room to grow.

[Patr1ck]

I had a horrible nightmare: The Clippers traded Blake Griffin for Carmelo Anthony.

[imefimef]

I had a horrible nightmare: The Clippers traded Blake Griffin for Carmelo Anthony.

THat would be the HORRIBLEMOST decision ever made. Almost like skipping Carmelo for Darko Milicic.

[Axel The Great]

But in IMO though he should learn real post moves with his back to the basket if he wants to get farther in his career.

For now though, he seems to have added Tim Duncan's mid range bankshot to his game. I think it's a step in the right direction to imitate what great Duncan had done with success. My thoughts of concerns are rather on his defense. If he can improve his D vastly over the course of his career, I don't see why not he will be in the discussion among the greats.

He already puts up 20 a night, so if he was to add the post game to his arsenal, that'd be real scary.

I think Blake should also try improving his free throws, he's only at 60% for the season. Since he's such a good finisher around the rim, most players hack him in order to prevent the two points, sort of like the problem Dwight Howard has. He's averaging 8.4 FT attempts per game, so if he could shoot at least 70% from the line that would be respectable. And if he really does add back-to-basket moves, he'll definitely be a dangerous player in the NBA.

[Andrew]

Andrew, they don't seem to give a fuck.

Yeah, I might have to give up on that.