Starting Five |
Player
Rating |
C |
Chris Kaman |
5 |
PF |
Elton Brand |
8 |
SF |
Corey Maggette |
7 |
SG |
Quentin Richardson |
6 |
PG |
Marko Jaric |
4 |
| |
|
30 |
* Player Rating on a 1 to 10 Scale. 10
denotes best at position in the NBA with no weaknesses, 5 would be average
player who holds his own etc.
Reserves |
Position
Rating |
C |
Melvin Ely |
4 |
PF |
Chris Wilcox |
4 |
SF |
Bobby Simmons |
4 |
SG |
Eddie House / Keyon Dooling |
4 |
PG |
Shaun Livingston / Lionel Chalmers |
5 |
| |
|
21 |
* Ratings based on ability of bench to
fill in a position. More than one backup at a position would influence
the rating as would one player's ability to play multiple positions.
Needs:
This team looks like its going to lose Q-Rich and if they don't replace
him with Kobe, they will be even worse this year than last. On the bright
side, Kaman wasn't too bad last year and should be better this year.
If Livingston can contribute right away (20 mins off the bench) they
could be a little entertaining while not making the playoffs.
Shooting Guard
Could be Kobe, could be Q-Rich, could be neither. I'm leaning
towards neither. In true Sterling fashion, they may grab the cheapest
candidate available -- probably Stephen Jackson at $3-$4 million per
year for 3 years.
Backup Center
Someone who can help Kaman develop while providing minutes
off the bench would be ideal. A smarter team may have made a run at
Vlade. They won't address this position till SG is taken care of. That
may rule them out of the chase for Dampier & Blount.
Prediction: With Kobe is the only way
they go to the playoffs. With Q-Rich they should manage 36 wins. Anything
less and the only thing Clippers fans can look forward to is the next
draft...