The Clippers Future: Neil Olshey’s Way

Two seasons ago, Mike Dunleavy Sr. stepped down as head coach and later was fired as general manager.  Clipper fans said this was good.

Last season, the Clippers hired Neil Olshey, a former soap opera star, as their new GM.  Clipper fans said this must be Hollywood.

Mike Dunleavy then went on to arbitration with Donald Sterling and won $13.5 million.  Clipper fans said this must be the Clippers.

It’s hard to say which Mike Dunleavy was worse at, coaching or managing.  His stringent offensive control never allowed Baron Davis to ever get the Clippers into a flowing offense.  His playbook was the size of a physicians reference book, only more confusing and much more useless.  The trade of Marcus Camby to the Blazers for Steve Blake and Travis Outlaw still stands as absurd.  Why rent those two players for 37 games and miss out on a chance to re-sign Marcus Camby?  To get a better look at them?  Neither were offered contracts by the Clippers the following season.  Dunleavy was fired as GM less than one month following this trade.

The Clippers have moved forward since then and have given the reins to the smooth talking, say the right thing at the right time, Neil Olshey.  The jury is still out on his performance thus far.  He struck out on signing Lebron James last season.  But let’s face it, so did many other good teams.  And a DVD on local places to eat in L.A. probably didn’t win the King over when convincing him to play for the red, white, and blue.  But Olshey has said the right things about developing the young talent on this team.  He has talked about playing “the right way,” and “building the right culture.”

Olshey got some slack for trading away Baron Davis and first overall pick Kyrie Irving for Mo Williams and Jamario Moon.  But I think it stands as the correct trade for now.  The Clippers will miss out on Kyrie Irving, but they were able to unload the albatross of a contract Baron never lived up to.  The Clippers will get the financial security to re-sign emerging center Deandre Jordan and will get to spread the floor with Mo Williams.  And lets face it, they don’t need to get any younger with their core players Blake Griffin and Eric Gordon 21 and 22 respectively.

Olshey has one main area to address for the Clippers, and that is the gaping hole at the small forward position.  Last season, the Clippers acquired Ryan Gomes via free agency giving him a three year-$12 million deal (talk about a step down from Lebron James).  After some flashes of success in Minnesota, Ryan Gomes was downright terrible in a Clipper uniform.  Vinny Del Negro went with him as a starter for defensive purposes, but he had career lows in field goal percentage (41 percent), free throw percentage (71 percent), rebounds per game (3.3), and points per game (7.2.)  He also does not have a polished go-to move that most NBA small forwards have, except for a stand still jump shot that surprises even him when it goes in.

Clipper fans wanted to see more of Al Farooq “The Chief” Aminu last season.  But the kid was flat out unconfident and never really gave Vinny a good reason to play him more.  He had a brief stint of hot shooting from beyond the three point line, but finished the season shooting 31.5%.  Aminu never figured out what to do when a defender closed out on him at the three point line.  He always found himself pump faking, driving to the basket, and drawing an offensive foul.  It was like the orange leather of the ball in his hands was the start of a fixed action pattern for him to commit a charge.  Aminu is at least a couple years away from being even a formidable back-up for the Clippers.

What then do the Clippers have going for them?  Oh yeah, they have this power forward that was a slam dunk champ, an all-star selection, unanimous rookie of the year, and the only player in the NBA to average more than 3 assists per game with a double-double in points and rebounds.

Neil Olshey might have his work cut out for him as far as attracting a top tier small forward.  But all he has to do is smile and say the right thing, “So, are you interested in playing with Blake Griffin?”