Veteran play-by-play man Ralph Lawler and analyst Mike Smith (above, left and right) were suspended for tonight’s Clippers telecast on Fox Sports Prime Ticket for comments made during Wednesday’s telecast, according to sources with knowledge of the decision but not authorized to speak publicly.

Fox issued this statement at 5:03 p.m. today: “We regret the remarks made by Clippers announcers Michael Smith and Ralph Lawler during Wednesday’s telecast. While we believe that Michael and Ralph did not intend their exchange to be offensive, the comments were inappropriate. We extend our apologies to Hamed Haddadi of the Memphis Grizzlies and to anyone who was offended. We have addressed the situation with Michael and Ralph and have taken appropriate action.”

Wednesday’s comments came near the end of a dreary Clippers loss, 106-91, in Memphis as rookie Haddadi, a 7-foot-2 center and the first Iranian player in the NBA, came into the game.

In a 40-second exchange Lawler and Smith began talking about Haddadi. A Clippers fan who watched Wednesday’s telecast complained about the verbal exchange and said he received an apology today from Fox Sports.

Personally, I think the suspension is a little extreme. Most Americans, whether right or wrong, pronounce it “Eye-Ran” so I find it hard to believe that Lawler and Smith were being malicious when referencing the Grizzlies’ 7′2″ center. In all reality, this was simply an honest mistake that did not require a suspension, and a simple apology letter would have been adequate.

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Taylor, who was scheduled to make $736,420 this year, was traded from Portland to Los Angeles last season for a 2009 second round draft pick, which was used by the Blazers to select Dante Cunningham.

In all likelihood, Taylor found himself off the Clippers’ roster due to a poor showing in this summer’s Las Vegas summer league, where, according to ClipperBlog.com, “he struggled with inconsistency and maintaining the proper tempo.” While I have no doubts that Taylor struggled in Vegas, the question to ask is whether Mike Dunleavy made a wise move in cutting a young player, who despite a poor performance still has tremendous upside. 

Last season, Taylor had one of the highest individual scoring games for a rookie, as he went off for 35 points against the Knicks in Madison Square Garden. Over the final two months of the season, he steadily improved as the backup for all-star guard Baron Davis, averaging just over eight points per game and nearly three assists. Additionally, his hard work and effort made him a fan favorite, as he routinely came out hustling while making a few highlight reel dunks in the process. 

With his expected salary to be less than a million, it made perfect sense for the Clippers to retain Taylor even after a rather shaky effort in Vegas. If he improved, it would be a great bonus, and if he continued to struggled, it wouldn’t cost LA a whole lot of money.

To make the move even more puzzling, the Clippers have just three true guards on the roster in Baron Davis, Eric Gordon, and Sebastian Telfair. Keeping Davis’s recent injury troubles in mind, it is certainly essential that they have a third string point guard on the roster. If Davis goes down midseason, Telfair will be starting, but as of right now, they do not have anyone who would back him up. Taylor would seem to fit that role perfectly, but for whatever reason, he won’t get that chance.

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Yesterday, the Clippers traded Quentin Richardson to Minnesota for the Mad Dog, former Lottery Pick Sebastian Telfair, and an undersized but effective power forward in Craig Smith.

“We are really excited to add these three players to our team,” Clippers General Manager and Head Coach Mike Dunleavy said in the team’s official press release. “This move really gives some much needed depth.”

While Madsen may not get too many Clipper fans to renew their season ticket packages, it is clear that the Clippers did get the best player in the 4 player trade, Inglewood native Craig Smith. Last season, Smith averaged 10.1 points per game and had a PER of 16.4 in addition to his career shooting percentage of approximately 60%. His addition the frontcourt, along with Madsen, makes the Clippers a much deeper team. But it also makes their 7′0″ center Chris Kaman expendable.

The Clippers also receive an intriguing point guard prospect in Telfair, who has bounced around the league despite being a former NBA Lottery pick. With Baron Davis’s history of injury troubles and Mike Taylor’s shaky summer league performance, Telfair gives LA an instant upgrade at point guard and some much needed depth. 

This deal doesn’t make the Clippers instant contenders in the Western Conference, but it does give them a chance to be more competitive when the season starts in November.

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So far this offseason, in the midst of the draft and free agency, the Clippers have seemingly made all the right moves by selecting Oklahoma power forward Blake Griffin with the number one overall pick and by trading malcontent Zach Randolph to the Memphis Grizzlies.

While it may not seem like much in drafting Blake Griffin with the top pick, it’s an important step for the Clippers simply because they didn’t
“screw anything up.” They didn’t try to get too cute, taking a gamble on a guy like Ricky Rubio or trading down for multiple picks. Instead, they simply selected the consensus top player in the entire draft. By that alone, they deserve some credit.

But what makes the front office look real savvy is Wednesday’s trade of Zach Randolph to Memphis for Quentin Richardson. While the acquisition of Richardson is hardly anything to get excited about, it’s the departure of Randoplh that allows the Clippers to build a better foundation for the future.

Randolph, a power forward known for his scoring abilities, plays the same position as newcomer Blake Griffin, and if he had still been on the roster at the start of the upcoming season, he would likely be blocking Griffin from getting on the floor. Therefore, moving Randolph clears the way for Griffin to earn more minutes and play alongside Marcus Camby, Chris Kaman, and second year prospect DeAndre Jordan.

But the trade wasn’t entirely about clearing minutes for Griffin. It also allows the Clippers to get rid of a malcontent in Randolph. Randolph’s selfishness, disinterest in playing defense, and poor off the court character were no secret to anyone inside NBA circles. Yet, GM/coach Mike Dunleavy took gamble on Randolph, a solid frontcourt scorer, after the Clippers lost Elton Brand to Philadelphia.

While Randolph can score, he possessed several problems for the Clips not only basketball-wise – he never played defense and was well-known as a lazy player – but also in terms of his salary. After the completion of the 2008-2009 season, Randolph was stilled owed $33.5 million over the next two seasons and it made it fairly difficult for LA to seriously pursue any of the top-flight free agents.

Now, in the summer of of 2010, they will have significant cap room, as the contracts for Marcus Camby, Ricky Davis, and Quentin Richardson, will all come off the books, creating well over $20 million in additional salary cap space. Even the frugal Donald Sterling might be tempted to spend some serious cash on some of the NBA’s top free agents next summer – LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Michael Redd, Amare Stoudamire, Yao Ming, and many others.

Generally, the NBA’s salary cap structure is unforgiving of teams who make poor decisions, taking on big contracts like the Clippers did with Zach Randolph last season. But for once, the Clippers looked real smart by finding a willing sucker for Zach Randolph just a week after Blake Griffin arrived in Los Angeles. For now, it actually seems as if the Clippers are headed in the right direction.

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The NFL and NBA drafts may soon see a relocation to Los Angeles, according to Chief Executive Officer of the Anschutz Entertainment Group Tim Leiweke.

Leiweke, who spoke with Bloomberg, has confirmed that the city will be pushing forward with attempts to bring football back to LA, including shooting for a Super Bowl.

Should the drafts move to Los Angeles, the Staples Center would likely be the venue. Owned by AEG, it’s the location of both the LA Lakers and the Clippers.

Finally, AEG will be making an additional push to acquire the NHL All-Star game, according to Bloomberg.

The NFL draft has been a staple of league business since 1937. It has been traditionally hosted in the Madison Square Garden, though has also taken place in the Javits Convention Center.

Last season, it took place in the Radio City Music Hall, and has not left New York City since 1965. It was around 1980 that television coverage of the event took off, and the event gained a cult-like following of NFL fans.

I absolutely love this idea. It would give another city, such as Los Angeles, the opportunity to host the draft, instead of New York City. Also, LA has a very diverse fan base. There are New York transplants, Chicago transplants, Philadelphia transplants, etc. All of them have maintained roots with their respective teams. So if the drafts were held hear, it would give more fans of the different teams a chance to see the event. What are your thoughts?

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There’s only one way. Porous defense.

The Los Angeles Clippers have only won 18 games this entire season. But they almost won their 19^th against the leading team in the Western Conference.

With their starters on the bench with ice packs on their knees, the Lakers watched their second 19-point lead dwindle down to five points on a 14-0 run. At that point, the wraps and the ice packs came off, and the starters had to go back in the game.

But their knees weren’t the only things that were cold. Before they knew it, the Clippers had extended the run to 20-2 and the starting five found themselves in a dog fight.

Even the usually reliable Kobe Bryant missed three crucial free throws.

The Lakers started off fast building a 13-point lead, 30-17 at the end of the first quarter. They extended that lead to 19 points midway through the second quarter as the bench actually looked solid at both ends of the court.

However, no sooner had that lead stretched to 19 that the Bench Mob let up on defense, and the Clippers chopped nine points off the lead by halftime.

The Lakers began the second half up 54-44, but the this time the starters gave up six quick points before picking up the intensity. All in all, however, it was a very strange quarter that saw both teams squander away scoring opportunites.

The Lakers barely outlasted the Clippers 14-12 in the quarter for a 12-point third quarter lead, 68-56.

Again the Lakers extended their lead to 19 points in the third quarter. But it was all Clippers after that as they went on a 20-2 run that began against the Lakers bench and ended with all five Laker starters in the game.

The Lakers finally managed to pull the game out, 88-85

Part of the problem was missed free throws. The Lakers only shot 17-for-29 from the line. The rest of the problem was team defense. The smaller Clippers killed the Lakers on the boards, 48-38, and especially on the offensive boards, 16-9.

Their effort against a team that they should have dominated is very disappointing this late in the season. Instead of playing their best basketball going into the playoffs, the are playing their worst. Contrast the Lakers near loss to the Clippers with the Cavaliers dominant win against a the San Antonio Spurs, a playoff team, 101-81.

Lamar Odom and Kobe Bryant led the Lakers with 18 points each. Odom also had ten rebounds for his 16^th double-double of the season. Pau Gasol added 14 points with 9 rebounds.

Rookie Eric Gordon had a game-high 24 points with 8 rebounds and 4 assists. Zach Randolph had a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Baron Davis had 11 points but missed a three-pointer at the buzzer that would have sent the game into overtime.

What is particularly disturbing is the chalant attitude of Jordan Farmar and Luke Walton. Neither felt very disappointed in the way the bench gave up the huge lead in the final period.

Farmar feels that a win is a win, and that’s all that matters. Walton felt that Phil Jackson didn’t need to put in the starters. He actually believes the second unit could have held the lead.

Is he delusional? About the only thing the second unit can hold is their breath, waiting for Andrew Bynum to return. After tonight’s dismal performance, all of Los Angeles is holding its collective breath waiting for their Savior, Andrew Bynum, to resurrect the championship hopes of the Lakers.

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Though he refused to cite a figure, sources close to the team estimate the franchise could lose up to $25 million this season, making it seem more likely that the Maloofs would be receptive to offers from officials in other markets – with more profitable arenas – who are interested in acquiring an NBA franchise. One league executive identified representatives from Anaheim and San Jose as particularly aggressive suitors.

This is rather surprising to learn because I never considered the possibility of Southern California acquiring a third NBA team. If the Kings did move to Orange County than they would most likely play in the Honda Center, which already hosts a few Globetrotters games, the Wooden Classic and the CIF basketball finals. While this move still seems unlikely, it brings an interesting question; could SoCal handle three basketball teams? At least in baseball each of the three teams plays in a separate county, the Dodgers in Los Angeles, the Angels in Orange, and the Padres in San Diego. It would seem hard for Los Angeles and Anaheim to handle three NBA teams. Are they even enough fans? Heck, at least the Los Angeles Kings of Anaheim has a nice ring to it.

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I wish I could change things about SoCal sports with $819 billion.

1. Give Manny Ramirez a long term deal to become a member of the LA Angeles. I know about the baggage that he brings but it would be too hard to pass up arguably the greatest clutch hitter of this generation.

2. Actually build a new football stadium in Los Angeles so the Rams could return to their rightful location in the City of Angels. Throwing money at Ed Roski’s plan might be the best way to make that happen.

3. Move the Clippers to Orange County. No offense to Clippers Nation but I think it would be far more beneficial if they played their home games at the Honda Center as opposed to Staples Center. In Anaheim, they would simply split the facility with the Ducks and wouldn’t have to share with ten other teams. They’d also be far more capable of attracting an OC fan base much like the Angels have done with the Orange County and Inland Empire baseball fans.

4. Build an LA sports hall of fame near Staples Center and LA Live. There is a lot of construction downtown so why not build something to honor the great Los Angeles athletes and coaches as well.

5. Build an on campus football stadium for UCLA. It’s time for the Bruins to realize that the Rose Bowl is owned by USC and they should have a 40,000 seat stadium so maybe they could sell out for once.

6. Raise a Sasha Vujacic statue, made out of pure gold, outside of Staples Center. Why? Because he’s “The Machine” and the greatest Laker of all-time next to the Mad Dog, Mark Madsen.

7. Give Al Davis $15 billion just to retire. I don’t even like the Raiders but watching Alzheimer Al run the show in Oakland is an embarrassment to the National Football League and Raider Nation.

8. Move the Big A at Angel Stadium to left center field. It’s darn near impossible to see it when it’s tucked away in the parking lot behind the stadium. That way maybe the fans could actually see it. 

9. If the MLS didn’t have a salary cap, than I’d spend billions to turn the Galaxy into the greatest soccer team in the globe by signing guys like Ronaldinho and Wayne Ronney. How could you turn down a $5 billion deal.

10. Give Phil Jackson enough money to coach the Lakers for life.

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There are plenty of reasons for the Lakers to celebrate.

And well, Southern California has basketball. Not just the NBA but NCAA hoops and prep sports as well. In fact, we’re pretty good at all three. The Lakers have won fourteen NBA championships, UCLA has won twelve titles respectively, and the nation’s top prep team, Mater Dei, is from Orange County.

That makes these winter months a year pretty exciting time of year for Southern California sports fans. Staples Center is generally packed for both Laker and Clipper games. College arenas from UCLA’s legendary Pauley Pavilion to Pepperdine’s Firestone Fieldhouse in Malibu provide a festive college atmosphere that rivals any other crazy college town. And those high school gymnasiums are filled to capacity as well every Friday night.

The level of excitement among SoCal hoops fans is so high due to the success that their teams are enjoying so far this seaspn.

The Lakers are once again the NBA’s premier franchise, as they currently hold the best record in the association. The UCLA basketball team is once again among the nation’s best as evident by the Bruins’ 15-4 mark. Even USC has fielded an exciting hoops team that is just two games out of first place in the highly competitive Pac-10 conference. Three teams from Southern California (Mater Dei, Westchester, and Dominguez), rank 1, 10, and 13, respectively in SI.com’s prep hoops rankings. Well, the Clippers are once again at the bottom of the Western Conference. I guess you can’t be perfect after all.

So with hoops hysteria sweeping the southland from Los Angeles to San Diego, expect a hoops oriented column in the first ever edition of “Kaufy Break.”

The Highs and Lows of the Week

Los Angeles Lakers

Highlights of the week: In the much anticipated, Kobe versus LeBron showdown on Martin Luther Kings Jr. Day, number twenty-four bested “The King” in the Lakers’ 105-88 victory. Bryant recorded his first triple-double since 2005, while LeBron struggled to get his shot going as evident by his low shooting percentage (36%). A few days later, the Lakers flexed their muscles in blowout victories over the Clippers and Wizards in front of sellout crowds at Staples Center.

Lowlights of the week: In Monday’s game against Cleveland, Kobe dislocated his right finger early in the game. Fortunately X-rays were negative, and he is not expected to miss any action. It ranks as a lowlight simply because Laker fans tend to hold their collective breaths whenever the black mamba is in any sort of pain.

Los Angeles Clippers

Highlights of the week: On Friday, the Clippers finnaly entered the double digit win category with a narrow three point victory over the cellar-dwelling Oklahoma City Thunder. But the most exciting aspect in LA’s victory was the play of rookie guard Eric Gordon, who scored a career high 41 points in 43 ½ minutes.

Lowlights of the week: On Wednesday, the Clippers faced the Lakers in the battle for Los Angeles but were once again dominated by their hallway rivals. They had an incredibly tough time stopping big man Andrew Bynum, who became the first Laker since Shaq to score 40 or more points and grab 15 or more rebounds. 

Los Angeles Kings

Highlights of the week: The Kings enter the all-star break riding a modest two game winning streak after impressive road victories at Minnesota and Colorado. Two of the team’s brightest young stars, Defenseman Drew Doughty and forward Dustin Brown, are also participating in the All-Star festivities this weekend in Montreal. Doughty recorded one goal and an assistance in the rookies’ 9-5 win over the sophomores, and Brown will suit up for today’s all-star game.

Lowlights of the week: To be honest, there aren’t really any, except the fact that the all-star break has arrived. The Kings are finally starting to play some solid hockey and are making a serious push for the playoffs. Therefore, this probably isn’t the best time for a break.

Anaheim Ducks

Highlights of the week: The Ducks sent three players (Ryan Getzlaf, Jean-Sebastien Giguere and Scott Niedermayer) to the NHL All-Star Game. It’s a particularily exciting event for Gugure who will be starting his first All-Star game in his hometown.

Lowlights of the week: The Ducks headed to New York to face the Rangers and Islanders but came away empty handed. Their loss 2-4 loss to the Rangers, the second ranked team in the Atlantic Divison, wasn’t anything to look down upon, but the loss to Islanders was particularly frustrating. New York’s other team holds a dismal record of 13-29-5 and are last place in the Eastern Conference. No playoff team should lose to them.

UCLA Bruins

Highlights of the week: The Bruins looked good in their 61-59 victory at Washington State, which moved them into a tie with Washington for first place in the conference. But…

Lowlights of the week: UCLA fell to the Washington Huskies by eleven points and then dropped into a three way tie for second place in the Pac-10.

USC Trojans

Highlights of the week: Despite being largely outplayed for the first 35 minutes of the game, USC earned a hard fought victory over Washington State by a score of 46-44 on Saturday. The victory put the Trojans over the .500 mark in the conference and just one game out of second place in the Pac-10.

Lowlights of the week: Thursday’s road loss to Washington in men’s hoops was arguably the team’s most frustrating defeat of the season. In the 78-73 defeat, the Trojans shot just seventeen free throws compared to Washington’s 40. I guess Tim Donaghy is now doing college games.

Quote of the Week I

“I hope they [the officials] are talking about retiring.”
–USC basketball announcer Rory Markas, after another bad call during USC’s loss to Washington on Thursday.

Quotes of the Week II

“I knew it was there, and I won’t hide from it. But I’m not going to go out on a soapbox about it. You just adjust. And I made the adjustment without having to cheat the game or myself.”
–Dodgers second baseman Jeff Kent, when asked about the steroid era at his retirement press conference.

While most people were never big fans of Kent because of his smug attitude, I think that he deserves a lot of credit for “playing the game the right way” (i.e: not using steroids, HGH, corked bats, pine tat, etc.). He certainly deserves a spot in Cooperstown.

Quote of the Week III

“One more year after this one with the Lakers. Dr. Buss has insinuated that he would like me to coach longer, but I said, ‘Let’s just do one year at a time right now.’ So that’s what we’re doing.”
–Lakers coach Phil Jackson when asked about his future with the team during an interview with Laker great Magic Johnson.

Right now, the question is not whether Phil should retire; he has earned the right to do so on his own terms, but who his replacement will be. If the Lakers want to continue running the triangle offense than expect Dr. Buss to peg Kurt Rambis, Brian Shaw, or Jim Cleamons, as the successor to the Zen Master. However, if they decide to go in a different direction, than I expect ex-Laker and current Hornets coach Byron Scott to take over the reigns. Scott has previously mentioned the becoming the Lakers head coach would be his dream job, and he certainly has to credentials to live it out.

Stat of the Week

89-26: The Lakers record against the Clippers since the Clippers moved to Los Angeles from San Diego in 1984.

Player of the Week

Andrew Bynum reminded all Laker fans this week why Dr. Buss was so eager to sign the seven foot center to a contract extension this past offseason. On Wednesday night, Bynum torched the Clippers for a career-high 42 points, on just 24 field goal attempts, and followed up that performance with a solid 23-point effort (on just 12 field goal attempts) in a blowout win against the Washington Wizards the following night. If the points weren’t enough, Bynum tossed in 29 rebounds and four blocked shots in the two games, just for good measure.

Dud of the Week

Darren Collison is highly regarded as one of the nation’s top point guards, but his performances this weekend against the Washington schools will do nothing to defend that claim. Collison shot a combined 36% percent from the field, well below his season average of 52%. In the loss to Washington, he had a tough time stopping 5’8” freshman point guard Isaiah Thomas, who scored 24 points, the second highest scoring output of his career.

Ten Random Thoughts

1. I don’t think that coaches, managers, or players, should be writing “tell all” books. That means you Joe Torre. Leave the A-Rod stories in the clubhouse.
2. Why is the NHL All-Star Game on Versus. Nobody in America has that station.
3. It’s time for Arte Moreno to open up his wallet and give Manny a nice fat contract to join the Angels.
4. Substitute Frank McCourt for Arte Moreno and Dodgers for Angels.
5. I’ll admit it. I was wrong about Eric Gordon. He’s got game.
6. A.J. Smith is one of the best general managers in the National Football League but he can be a jerk sometimes.
7. I think Mark Sanchez made the right decision to enter the draft. ESPN’s Mel Kiper, the premier draft guru, has him going number three to the Chiefs. Last year, Atlanta’s Matt Ryan earned $34.75 in guaranteed money after being drafted third overall. Not a bad gig.
8. Who would have thought that the Ducks are just six points ahead of the Kings in the Pacific Division standings?
9. Despite their losing two out of their last three games, I have this weird feeling that UCLA is going to make another run to the Final Four.
10. LaDainian Tomlinson should not and will not be traded.

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It doesn’t matter whether they are big or small. It seems like guards and forwards alike are all picking on the young Laker center.

The other night, little Nate Robinson of the Knicks snuck around behind the giant Bynum for an easy layup. On Friday night, the Magic’s Dwight Howard pushed Bynum around like shopping cart at a Wal-Mart clearance sale.

And what did Bynum do about it? He climbed all over Howard’s back like a kid asking for a piggyback ride and then grinned from ear-to-ear when the referee blew the whistle.

But then why shouldn’t he grin? Or, for that matter, laugh out loud? He’s 21 years-old and has $54.7 million in the bank, thanks to the poor business management of general manager, Mitch Kupchak.

The Lakers could have opted to let Bynum become a free agent at the end of the year. Then, if his play and longevity throughout the season proved invaluable, they could have matched any offer that Bynum’s agent, David Lee, had on the table.

But David Lee must have appeared more like Bruce Lee to make Kupchak reach into Jerry Buss’ pocket and pull out $54.7 million over 4 years.

At the time, it just didn’t make any sense to me to pay out all this money to a kid who only played in 35 games last season before suffering a season-ending knee injury.

It seemed especially disconcerting when everyone expects Kobe Bryant to opt out of his contract at the end of the year, and the Lakers will need to back up the truck in Bryant’s driveway to keep the NBA’s MVP.

Perhaps the Lakers would have needed to pay Bynum a few million dollars more, but at least they would have known if he had been worth it.

Apparently, at this point in the season, he is not.

Appearing in 35 games last season, Bynum averaged 13.1 points, 10.2 rebounds, and 2.1 blocks. This year his average after 26 games has fallen to 12.3 points, 10.2 rebounds and 1.9 blocks.

That may seem like a small drop off, but the NBA doesn’t keep statistics on the most important statistic of all for a big man – intimidation. Namely, points allowed in the paint.

If they did, there wouldn’t be a drop off but a cave in.

Teams are driving at will to the basket on the Lakers, who were supposed to have dominating backcourt equal to, if not better than, the Boston Celtics.

Instead, it is the Lakers backcourt that is being dominated even the games they are winning. And Andrew Bynum is the main part of the reason.

This time last year, Bynum was beginning to assert his dominance from December to the mid-January when he was injured.

However, this year, it is just the opposite. His play has been deteriorating game-by-game. The other night against the Heat, he only had 4 points, 6 rebounds, no blocks, 2 turnovers and 4 personal fouls.

Then against Dwight Howard and the Magic, Bynum had 3 points, 2 turnovers, 0 blocks, and – get this – only 1 rebound and 5 personal fouls.

And, if ever the Lakers needed Bynum to earn his keep, it is right now. Jordan Farmar tore the miniscus in his knee and could be out up to 8 weeks depending on the outcome of further tests and examinations.

So, without Farmar, 35 year-old Derek Fisher had to play over 41 minutes and Kobe Bryant over 42 minutes against Orlando and accounted for 68 fo the team’s 103 points.

Most of those points came in the first three quarters. By the fourth quarter, both Bryant and Fisher were dead tired. Meanwhile, Bynum’s walking around with a smirk on his face and 5 personal fouls.

It could very well be that Bynum has a serious case of Kamanitis. That is a disease characterized by extreme lethargy and lack of exertion brought about by a deep-rooted sense of unbelievable security.

The Clippers Chris Kaman exhibited the disease two years ago following a very productive season that landed him a 5-year, $52.5 million contract.

Since the Clippers and the Lakers share the Staples Center, it is very possible that Bynum somehow contracted the disease from Kaman.

Unfortunately, like the flu and the common cold virus, there is no known cure for the disease. Once a player has “contracted” it, the team just has to wait until the disease works its way through the players system, and a sense of personal pride finally kicks in.

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Though there has been very little change of personnel since last season, there has been a huge change in mindset. The Lakers newly found aggressiveness is evident at both ends of the court. Not only do they have their offensive guns firing with both barrels, but they are playing a tenacious, energetic defense with a sense of purpose.

One significant difference from last season to this season is all of their key players are healthy.

Andrew Bynum, Trevor Ariza, and Chris Mihm, all of whom sat out major portions of last season, have recovered and rejuvenated the Lakers lineup.

This has allowed head coach Phil Jackson to manipulate his 9-man rotation in a way that gives Lakers opponents a variety of looks. By starting a 3-point shooter like Vlad Radmanovic and having Lamar Odom come off the bench, Jackson has spread out the court for his big men and opened up the passing lanes while keeping two big men in the game at all times.

Although they have only played two games, the difference between last year’s team and this one is like night and day.

On Tuesday night the Lakers got off to a fast start, playing a suffocating defense and holding the Portland Trailblazers to just 19 percent shooting at one point during the first half. The defense, which had been a sore point last year, did an early about-face and held the Blazers to 76 points while putting up 96 points.

Then last night, they completely embarrassed their Staples Center co-tenants, the Los Angeles Clippers, 117-79, nearly doubling Tuesday’s winning margin.

The score was only half the story. The Lakers put on an offensive display of unselfish basketball, looking for the open man, anticipating cuts and passing flawlessly.

At times it seemed like they had eyes in the back of their heads. Not just the guards but the entire team. Especially the big men – Bynum, Pau Gasol, Lamar Odom and Luke Walton – passing off to one another or kicking it outside

Against the Clippers, no less than 7 players were in double figures, and the Lakers bench shot an outstanding 64%. They out-rebounded the Clippers 51-32.

To give you some idea of how unselfish and distributive this Laker’s team is, of the seven players in double figures, Kobe Bryant was the high scorer with a mere 16 points.

When was the last time the high scorer for the Lakers had only 16 points and the Lakers won by nearly 40 points? Coming off the bench Lamar Odom, Jordan Farmar and Trevor Ariza combined for 32 points and 10 assists.

The biggest change has been on defense. In both games, the Lakers defense was positively dominating. Their defensive rotations combined with their aggressive play has resulted in an increase in steals, blocks and turnovers.

Phil Jackson has to be pleased with his team’s performance. But he realizes the season is young and stiffer competition lies ahead, starting with the Houston Rockets next week.

Meanwhile, this Saturday, the Lakers have a game against their opening round opponents from the playoffs last Spring, the Denver Nuggets. To say the least, it will be interesting to see how the Lakers new aggressive style of play on defense will do against the likes of Alan Iverson and Carmello Anthony.

Nevertheless, the Lakers are off to a great start in what should prove to be a fantastic season of NBA Basketball.

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Their latest transaction involves a point guard exchange that will send Brevin Knight to Utah for Jason Hart, who played for the Clippers back in 2007. This deal will hardly send waves across the NBA or even Los Angeles, but it’s nonetheless a sneaky good move for the Clips.

For those who don’t remember, Hart was acquired by the Clippers in March of 2007 and had his best season of his career as a member of the Clippers. While the Clippers were unable to make the playoffs in the highly competitive Western Conference, they were extremely close in large part due to the play of Hart.

The Clippers clearly got the better end of this deal, as Hart flourished under the close watch of head coach Mike Dunleavy. As the backup for Deron Williams, Hart was unable to get a lot of playing time in Utah, but he should be quite capable of spelling Baron Davis this season. Hart also has better size than Knight, is a good defender and plays very hard. All in all, he’s a solid player, who should be a servicible backup to Davis in 08.

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Mark Bartelstein, the agent for Rony Turiaf,  says that he expects the Lakers not to match the $17-million contract the Golden State Warriors offered for the Lakers backup center.  Barring any unforseen circumstances, Turiaf will officially become a Warrior today.

The main reason is that the Lakers are already $4 million over the salary cap and the Warriors front-loaded Turiaf’s contract, which makes it even harder for the Lakers to match.  The Warriors will give Turiaf $4.5 million this season and $4.2 million in each of the next two seasons.

Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Clippers offered Warriors guard Kelenna Azubuike a three-year contract worth $9 million. 

The Warriors have the opportunity to match the offer, but will more than likely pass, since they have a glut of players at the guard spot. With Monta Ellis, Corey Maggette, Stephen Jackson and last year’s first round pick, Marco Belinelli, all ahead of Azubuike in the rotation, it doesn’t make much sense for the Warriors to match the offer, especially after shelling out $17 million for Turiaf.

The two contracts would cost the Warriors $26 million for two backup players. The Clippers, on the other hand, would be able to reunite Azubuike with former Warriors teammate Baron Davis, adding considerable strength to their bench.

The 24-year-old Azbuike, a blossoming shooting guard from England, averaged 8.5 points over 80 games last year with the Warriors. The Clippers used their $3 million in salary cap space left over from the deal—or should I say “steal”—negotiated with the Nuggets for outstanding defender Marcus Camby.

As a side note, Camby says that he was shocked by the deal and feels disrespected by the Denver Nuggets. The Nuggets virtually gave Camby away to the Clippers in order to free up salary cap space.

In a related story, the Lakers now have an interest in Miami’s Shawn Marion, something which I had hoped from the start of the off-season.  But the Warriors are also thinking about Marion and his $17.2 million contract now in its final year. 

A deal involving Lamar Odom and perhaps the unsigned Sasha Vujacic would be far better than a trade with Sacramento for Ron Artest and having to eat Kenny Thomas’ $20-million contract in return.

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The Summer Games in Las Vegas could step up trade talks

The Summer League season began for the Lakers the same way their NBA Playoff season ended – with a blowout. And they were on the wrong end.

This time it was the Summer squad for the Eastern Conference’s Number 2 team, the Detroit Pistons that blew away their counterparts from Los Angeles, 84-73, last night in Las Vegas.

The Pistons led from the outset going up 20-15 at the end of the first quarter and 42-32 at halftime.

The Lakers held the Pistons to just five points in the first five minutes of the third quarter and cut the Pistons lead to 59-56 by the end of the period. But then the Pistons reversed the trend and held the Lakers squad to five points in the first five minutes of the final stanza to pick up the win.

Even though it was only a Summer League game, the contest brought up the possibility of some roster changes and trades for the upcoming NBA season.

With the emergence of the Number 15 player in the 2007 NBA draft, Rodney Stuckey, there is a clear possibility that Chauncey Billups may be traded away. Stucky, who grew in confidence with his playoff experience this past season, picked up where he left off, leading all scorers with 21 points, 4 assists and 5 rebounds in 29 minutes.

Another one of last years picks, UCLA’s Arron Afflalo scored 15 points in 30 minutes of action. So with Stuckey emerging as the new point guard and Afflalo, a reserve guard ready for more playing time, a trade may definitely be in the offing.

On the Lakers side, their leading scorer for the night was Coby Karl, the son of Denver Nuggets head coach, George Karl, who attended the game. Karl had 14 points, going 2-for-4 on 3-point shots, 28 minutes.

The 6-5 guard from Boise State, who saw very limited action this past season with the Lakers, averaged 17.5 PPG in 17 games with the L.A. Defenders of the D-League with a very decent .450 FGP and a .411 3PP. Karl’s continued development could make restricted free agent, Sasha Vujacic, expendable.

The Lakers could opt not to match any offers for Vujacic or package him as part of a sign-and-trade deal.

The other Los Angeles team, the Clippers got some good news last night after bemoaning the loss of star player, Elton Brand, to the Philadelphia Sixers. The Clippers Summer League squad crushed their Dallas counterparts, 86-69.

But the really good news was that their first round pick and Number 7 overall, Indiana’s Eric Gordon, was the leading scorer with 23 points and 7 rebounds and shooting 3-for-6 from beyond the arc.

The Clippers, who had been in trade talks with the New York Knicks to replace Brand with Zach Randolph, will most likely let Donnie Walsh know that Eric Gordon is untouchable. If Walsh wants to dump Randolph’s $48 million contract, he will have to come up with other names.

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And then later, Cush’s dad signed a contract with Jerry’s arch-enemy Bob Sugar the night before the NFL draft. And Cush said that he was suffering from Cush-lash because he had been seeing his own picture everywhere he went. Right now Clipper fans are suffering from Cush-lash.

In the he-said-they-said battle of what really happened the week before Elton Brand signed with the 76ers, we may never know what really happened, but we can’t stop hearing about it. When Brand signed, he was a little vague about what had happened but it seemed to be that he had wanted to stay a Clipper, but that he didn’t hear from them, and that there had been no verbal deal made.

Clipper head coach Mike Dunleavy was adamant Thursday that the Clippers had gone out of their way to contact Brand, that they offered more money than Philly, that they were willing to offer one more year to the deal, they did not offer a take-it-or-leave-it deal, that they had upheld their end of the handshake deal they’d made and went out and gotten Baron Davis, and most importantly he was adamant that there had been a handshake deal…and Brand and his agent wouldn’t return their calls. He went so far as to show that he had text messages on his phone from Brand confirming how excited his was for next year and said that other players had similar texts.

How can these sides, which had been so close and friendly only days earlier, be so far apart on what happened? The common thought right now is that just like Cush would probably never have turned his back on Jerry if not for his dad’s interference, Brand would likely not have turned his back on the Clipper without his agent’s interference.

The problem with this theory is that Brand wound up signing the cheapest deal offered to him. Sure agents want to get their names out there and Brand’s agent did that by making this story blow up as big as it did. But they also want to get their names out there showing athletes that they will make a lot of money if they sign with him. And since the agent gets a percentage of the deal, they will go for the biggest deal possible. Why would the agent have hurt his own rep and taken a smaller cut?

I am ok with a guy deciding to go to a team closer to his home to raise his family. I am ok with a guy going to a team on which he feels he has a better chance to win, despite that his new team is worse than the one he left. Those are the two big reasons that Brand supposedly left. The problem I have is that Brand never gave those reasons, reporters suggested them.

Baron Davis was charming and laughing and said a few times in his Clipper press conference that he never thought of backing out on the Clippers because he had given his word. He even looked directly into the camera and said it with a wink. Davis got where he wanted and made the money he wanted, so he can’t be too upset, but at the same time, he got screwed by his friend just like the rest of us did.

Sports is business and Elton Brand did not owe anybody anything. He can move his family any place in the world that he wants. People change their minds. But for him to say that there was no verbal deal and that it isn’t his fault is insulting to Davis, to the Clippers and to the fans. He’s always been a good buy and now it is backfiring because he doesn’t have the a-hole in him to just come out and say, “I did tell them I was going to come back, but I decided that I didn’t want to be there anymore and changed my mind.”

Davis spoke his mind and explained his story. Dunleavy emotionally spoke his mind and explained the Clippers’ story. Brand hasn’t said a word besides almost blaming the Clippers for not bowing down far enough in reverence to him. They let their leading scorer go without a goodbye and signed the one free agent Brand had said he wanted, then offered him a more lucrative and longer deal than the team he went to did. How much more respect could they have shown?

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It was huge news in Los Angeles. It wasn’t the Lakers signing Ron Artest, but it was huge news. Both major sports talk stations did seemingly 24-hours of Baron Davis-talk. How good would the Clippers be? Clearly they’d be a playoff team, but what seed? 7? 6? 5? Might they even host a playoff series? One station even went so far as to recreate Ozzie Osbourne’s “Mama, I’m Coming Home,” inserting Baron Davis returning to L.A. as the theme – “Baron is coming hoooo-oooo-oooome…” They called it “Baron Davis Day” on ESPN radio.

We only had to wait till July 9 before teams could officially announce any deals and then it would be all sunshine and happiness until next June.

Then the next day the Warriors offered Elton Brand a max-contract. No. That couldn’t happen right? Why leave LA (a dismal franchise with a suddenly bright immediate future) for Golden State (a dismal franchise)? Could the money be that worth it? Doesn’t he love it here and have movie-industry aspirations? No, Elton was staying.

But little by little, as the week has worn on, more teams have come out and made huge offers to Brand. Could you turn down $100 million dollars? I mean are the Clippers really title contenders? It is not like Brand-Davis-Thornton are Garnett-Allen-Pierce, right? ESPN’s Marc Stein wrote Monday night, “the Philadelphia 76ers are again ‘actively involved’ in the Brand hunt — and now are a very serious threat to tempt him away from L.A.” I can already see the headlines with “Elton” and “Philadelphia Freedom” references galore.

As I write this, there are about 8 hours until July 9th and I am not quite as confident about that 4-seed as I was last week…to say nothing of the fact that even with Davis and Brand, we Clipper fans will be relying on the near miraculous recoveries of about half of the team, bolstered by the signing of a guy who makes Grant Hill look like Cal Ripken Jr., on a franchise that has seen devastating injuries to perhaps its two greatest new additions, Danny Manning and Ron Harper.

Laker fans are mad because the team came up 39 points short of Game 7 of the NBA Finals. The Clippers were about 39 games short of Game 7 of the NBA finals! So the good news is that whatever happens tomorrow, rooting for the Clippers is nice because it doesn’t hurt all that much when they lose and if they finish a season .500 it feels like they won the Finals, Super Bowl, and World Series!

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It’s believed that Maggette, without an offer from a team with cap room, favors San Antonio if he has to sign a contract starting at the midlevel. But he has also drawn similar interest from a variety of enticing contenders — Boston, Cleveland, Detroit, Orlando, New Orleans and Utah are the known suitors — and the Lakers would be a dangerous suitor if they wanted to get involved given Maggette’s close relationship with Kobe Bryant. The Lakers, though, would have to abandon any interest in resigning Sasha Vujacic and Ronny Turiaf to sign Maggette, and the team still favors retaining those two key reserves

Since Kobe Bryant and Maggette share the same agent in Rob Pelinka, it’s likely that Maggette would go the Lakers, provided that there would be equal moneyon the table. However, if the Lakers were to sign Maggette, it is very likely that they would be unable to sign both key reserves Sasha Vujacic and Ronny Turiaf . So, it basically comes down to Maggette or Sasha Vujacic and Ronny Turiaf.

While Sasha and Ronny are two of my favorite players, if Maggette is available than there is no doubt that the Lakers should sign him immediately. While Sasha is a terrific shooter,  the rest of his offensive game is atypical for any other NBA player. He isn’t particularly quick and he can’t create his own shot. Maggette is just as good a shooter as Sasha, and he also has the ability to score on his own, which would alleviate some of the pressure from Kobe. 

If the Lakers were to sign Maggette, than I see no reason as to why they couldn’t keep Ronny as well. While it’d be too expensive to keep Sasha, who may demand close to $5 million a season, Ronny may still be affordable, as he is expected to earn somewhere from $3 million to $4 million per year deal. The Lakers should make signing Maggette their first priority and then figure out what to do with Sasha and Ronny.

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The Olympic Games, which are played every two years, embody this American spirit as numerous athletes choose to spend countless weeks, months, and years, training for the games in the hope of representing the United States of America.

However, Chris Kaman, who was born and raised in the state of Michigan, apparently isn’t too concerned about patriotism and the American spirit, as the Clippers’ center has decided to play for the German national team in the upcoming Beijing Games this August. Kaman is able to compete for Germany since his great-grandparents were German immigrants and he recently achieved German citizenship as well. While most Clipper fans are more concerned with the chance that he’ll get hurt, Kaman’s decision to play for another country is quite troubling to say the least, especially since the announcement comes just a day before American’s birthday, the Fourth of July.

Unlike other NBA stars such as Steve Nash (Canadian) and Yao Ming (Chinese), Kaman is a truly an American at heart, who has never lived in Germany and only recently became a German citizen. Kaman grew up in Grand Rapids, Michigan, attended Central Michigan University, and has been playing for the Clippers. So, outside of his great-grandparents’ connection to Germany and his German heritage, Kaman really has not affiliation with any other country besides the United States.

If Kaman isn’t really all that German, than why the heck will he be playing with Dirk Nowtizki and company in August? While I obviously don’t know Kaman’s thought process in making this decision, I’d be willing to wager that selfishness is playing a big role in it. Those in defense of Kaman have argued that it’s a great opportunity for him to go play in the Olympics. But it’s important to remember that the whole point of the Olympic Games is for the athletes to represent their own country in international competition.

Kaman, by all means is an American born and bred, and playing for Germany puts his own self-interests (playing in the Olympics) before his country’s. Certainly, nobody should stop Kaman from playing for Germany, but the point of the Olympics is to represent one’s country, which in Kaman’s case is the United States of America.

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• It’s been absolutely amazing to watch the development of Russell Westbrook. He couldn’t even dunk before his senior year in high school and was relatively unknown before this past college basketball season. It’s safe to say that he made a huge leap in going from a major question mark to the fourth overall pick in the draft. He deserves some major props. 
• What was Minnesota thinking? They traded away a potential franchise player in O.J. Mayo (note: I said potential) for a bunch of average players, Mike Miller, Brian Cardinal, and Jason Collins, and the fifth overall pick Kevin Love. I think Love will make a decent NBA professional, but he is not a guy you can build a franchise around. He is more a role player who could average eight points and six rebounds for a playoff contender. I really don’t see him as a cornerstone of a franchise in the way I see Mayo as.
• If I was a Clippers fan, which I am thankfully not, than I wouldn’t be too excited with the recent pick of Eric Gordon. At 6′2″ or 6′3″, depending on who you ask, he’s not really big enough to start at the two, but he’s not a natural point guard or ballhandler either. There are many of these so-called “experts” out there who are calling him a Gilbert Arenas or a Ben Gordon type of player, but he actually reminds me of the Draft Bust Juan Dixon from Maryland. Much like Gordon, Dixon was an undersized shooting guard at 6′3″ who excelled in college, but he couldn’t cut it in the pros because he lacked a definite position. Same can be said for Gordon. I’m not saying that he’ll be a total bust, but I really don’t seem being another Agent Zero.
• Davon Jefferson is one of the dumbest people on the entire planet! He declared for the draft after just one season at USC, but he wasn’t even drafted on Thursday night. I can understand leaving early for the pros if you’re going to be a definite first round pick, where you will have a guaranteed contract, but Jefferson had always been projected as a second round pick at the very best. I have no idea what his thought process was.
• Both the Lakers and Clippers got pretty good value for their second round picks. Contrary to what Justin says, DeAndre Jordan, the seven footer from Texas A&M, is still a pretty good selection for a second round pick. A month ago, many mock drafts, including mine, had Jordan going somewhere in the lottery. Whether he has lottery game is debatable but he is certainly a great value for the second round. In the second round, the Lakers 6′4″ guard Joe Crawford from the University of Kentucky. Last year he averaged 17.9 points per game and scored thirty-five against Marquette in the NCAA Tournament so there is little question that he can put the ball in the hole. At this point, he may not even make the roster but his resume doesn’t make him your typical 58th pick.

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“One executive who spoke to the Heat said Miami would consider dealing Shawn Marion for a top player but also would be content allowing his contract to expire next summer and in 2009, sign Carlos Boozer, who would love to play here, or Elton Brand, if he doesn’t opt out now.”

During the NBA Pre-Draft workouts over these past few weeks, it has become clear to many general managers, scouts, and coaches, that the Miami Heat are not looking to draft Kansas State forward Michael Beasley, and if the Bulls take Memphis guard Derrick Rose with the number one overall pick than the Heat might select O.J. Mayo of USC at number two. The problem with this scenario is that Mayo is currently not projected as the second pick in this year’s draft. In fact several mock drafts have him going from anywhere from  to Minnesota at number three or to the Clippers at number seven.

Therefore, if Brand is truly sincere about signing with another team than the Clippers could actually work a sign and trade with the Heat for the second overall pick and Shawn Marion, who is currently on the trading block right now. Drafting either Beasley at number two would give the Clippers a franchise player for years to come and another quality forward in Marion.

This is something that the Clippers must seriously contemplate right now, and it’s certainly not a time for management to be asleep at the wheel like usual.

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Like last year, the top two picks will be one-and-done freshmen. Michael Beasley of Kansas State had one of the most productive freshman seasons in history, leading the nation in rebounding and third in scoring. Beasley is every bit as talented as the great Kevin Durant in addition to having a stronger, NBA-ready body.

Memphis’s Derrick Rose is a sensational point guard with an exceptionally high basketball IQ. Rose is a near-perfect point guard prospect with improvements needed just in the shooting department. In terms of leadership, Rose is beyond his years nearly pulling a Carmelo Anthony in leading Memphis to the NCAA Championship Game.

After these guys, critics are claiming that the talent level takes an immediate plunge downward. However, the draft is still loaded with some potential stars and hidden gems. USC’s O.J. Mayo has been hailed as the great one since the 7th Grade and proved that he is NBA ready by averaging 20 points per game in Pac Ten play. Indiana’s Eric Gordon was projected to be a top three pick before suffering an injury in the middle of the season. It also didn’t help that his coach decided to leave midst another recruiting scandal. Brook Lopez of Stanford also projects as a dominant NBA shot blocker and could make a huge impact on any team next season.

With an influx of ultra-talented college and international stars, the Los Angeles Clippers have an opportunity to draft a big-time player, who could help make them a playoff team next season. However, the Clippers have had trouble handling the draft over the past few seasons, with Michael Olawakandi, Melvin Ely, and Yaroslav Korolev being infamous examples of that. So, in order to help the Clippers with the draft process, we here at SoCal Sports Hub will be assessing the various prospects who could be available to Los Angeles at number seven or if the Clippers chose to trade up.

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As for the local teams, I have the Clippers taking the O.J. Mayo, who will surely help the team’s weak backcourt. Look for them to also target, Indiana’s Eric Gordon, Arizona’s Jerryd Bayless, and UCLA’s Kevin Love. As a result of the Pau Gasol trade, the Lakers do not have a first round pick, but they do have a late second round pick. Yes, I’d still take Pau.

1. Chicago: PF Michael Beasley, Kansas State
Many people are projecting that the Bulls are going to select the Chicago native Derrick Rose, but Beasley is by far the most talented player in the draft. The Bulls need a franchise player with supreme talent, and Beasley has the greater upside and potential than does the point guard Rose.

2. Miami: PG Derrick Rose, Memphis
It seems pretty clear that Pat Riley is going to take either Beasley or Rose. With the Bulls selecting Beasley, Rose becomes the obvious pick at number two. While Beasley may be the better fit, Rose is still a supreme talent in addition to his strong character and leadership qualities. With a lineup of Rose, Dwyane Wade, and Shawn Marion, the Heat may be back in contention sooner than expected.

3. Minnesota: C Brook Lopez, Stanford
Selecting with a true center in Lopez will enable the Timberwolves to shift Al Jefferson to his natural position of power forward and allow him to face smaller defenders. Look for the Wolves to try and trade down to get Lopez a few picks later, but they will risk losing him to Memphis, which is also looking to add some size to its frontcourt as well.

4. Seattle: PG Jerryd Bayless, Arizona
Bayless is an explosive Gilbert Arenas-type who is more of a scorer than a traditional point guard like John Stockton. Some may view him as a tweener, but his height, 6′3″ makes him more suited to the point guard spot. Putting Bayless with last year’s top pic should make for a formidable tandem for the Seattle Oklahoma City Sonics.  

5. Memphis: SG Eric Gordon, Indiana
He is one of the most complete player in the draft and is an explosive scorer that could compliment small forward Rudy Gay. His three point shooting ability should open up the floor for Gay and second year point guard Mike Conley Jr.

6. New York: SF Danilo Gallinari, Armani Jeans Milan (Italy)
With Mike D’Antoni at the helm, look for the Knicks to try and trade this pick and try to end the rebuilding project sooner. However, Gallinari is a solid player in his own right and is a better prospect than 2006 number one overall pick Andrea Bargnani of Italy. Gallinari has been a 19-year-old leader of a Euroleague team, and he has the athleticism, versatility and personality to succeed in New York.

7. LA Clippers: SG O.J. Mayo, USC
Never mind the amateur-rule controversies involving Mayo because he will be able to get paid as much as he wants once he’s in the pros. His outside shooting skills and combo-guard abilities should help open up space for big men Elton Brand and Chris Kaman. If Shaun Livingston returns in good shape from knee surgery, the Clippers will be a formidable backcourt tandem for years to come.

8. Milwaukee: F/C Kevin Love, UCLA
The Bucks have a pretty soft frontline with Andrew Bogut, Charlie Villanueva, and Yi Jianlian. Love will give Milwaukee some needed strength and toughness and help facilitate the offense with his playmaking and high basketball IQ. There is no sure All-Star pick here, so picking Love will give the tough minded Scott Skiles

9. Charlotte: C DeAndre Jordan, Texas A&M
Jordan is certainly a project big man but has some huge athletic upside. If his skills develop, he could complement power forward and franchise player Emeka Okafor for years to come. 

10. New Jersey: PF Darrell Arthur, Kansas
Arthur enters the league with a feel for scoring in the paint as well as an emerging face-up game, and he can run the floor. He’s raw but worth the investment as the Nets enter their transition from the Jason Kidd era.

11. Indiana: PG D.J. Augustin, Texas
The Pacers need to replace point guard Jamaal Tinsley, and Augustin is one of the best point guards in the draft. He’s stock dropped a bit after a poor tournament performance against Derrick Rose. Despite that, he’ll be able to help the Pacers next season.

12. Sacramento: PF Anthony Randolph, LSU
The Kings have some pretty good wing players in Kevin Martin and Ron Artest so a bigman would certainly help out the perimeter players and second year center Spencer Haves.

13. Portland: SG Russell Westbrook, UCLA
With talent at all five positions, look for the Blazers to simply add the best available player and Westbrook certainly fits that bill.

14. Golden State: SF Chase Budinger, Arizona
Don Nelson likes guys who can run the floor and make shots and Budinger proved that he can do both while play at Arizona.

The Rest

15. Phoenix: SG Nicolas Batum, France
16. Philadelphia: PF Marreese Speights, Florida
17. Toronto: SF Joe Alexander, West Virginia
18. Washington: C Roy Hibbert, Georgetown
19. Cleveland: C JaVale McGee, Nevada
20. Denver: PF Donte Greene, Syracuse
21. New Jersey: PG Mario Chalmers, Kansas
22. Orlando: SG Chris Douglas-Roberts, Memphis
23. Utah: SF Brandon Rush, Kansas
24. Seattle: SG Courtney Lee, Western Kentucky
25. Houston: PG Ty Lawson, North Carolina
26. San Antonio: C Robin Lopez, Stanford
27. New Orleans: C Kosta Koufos, Ohio State
28. Memphis: SF Wayne Ellington, North Carolina
29. Detroit: SF Davon Jefferson, USC
30. Boston: PF Joey Dorsey, Memphis

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At last Saturday’s draft John David Booty was picked in the fifth round, a far cry from Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart’s first round selections. Why has Booty been so underrated and criticized during his time at USC?
–Kevin B., Santa Monica, Calif.

Any quarterback who followed Heisman Trophy winners Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart would be criticized unless they won a pair national championships and had a case full of hardware before they hung their cleats up. So obviously, Booty received more criticism during his time at USC than he deserved, simply because of who his predecessors were.

When you talk to on any given Pete Carroll about the football program’s goals he will immediately respond by saying, “Own the Rose Bowl.” On multiple occasions Carroll has stated that it is USC’s annual to beat UCLA (who play in the Rose Bowl) and to win the Pac Ten conference, which guarantees a trip to Pasadena. So looking back at Booty’s two season at quarterback, it is pretty clear that he accomplished the program’s goal to own the Rose Bowl with a victory over UCLA, two Pac Ten titles, two victories in the Grandaddy of them All, and a Rose Bowl MVP trophy. In addition to accomplishing the team goals, Booty posted some solid stats as well with 5,708 passing yards and 52 touchdowns in just two seasons at quarterback for USC. Just about any college quarterback would love to have posted these kind of numbers.

While Booty certainly had a successful tenure as the team’s starting quarterback he did not have as strong as a supporting cast as Leinart did. Booty’s backfield was comprised of Chauncy Washington and C.J. Gable, not Heisman winner Reggie Bush and second round draft pick LenDale White.

After following two Heisman winners, anything less than a national championship and a Heisman Trophy in Heritage Hall would have deemed Booty a failure.

It’s pretty obvious that the Clippers had a rough 2008 season. Can they be the least be competitive next year?
–Matt K., Burbank, Calif.

Provided that they make a few minor tweaks this offseason and get healthy, it’s entirely possible that the Clippers could make the playoffs in 2009. The first priority must be to re-sign Elton Brand, who is eligible to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, should he opt out of the last year of his deal. Brand won’t find more money elsewhere, but he will find teams with a better likelihood of winning. Provided they do resign Brand and add a quality point guard via the draft or free agency, the Clippers would have a pretty good starting five next season with Brand, Chris Kaman, Al Thornton, Corey Maggette, and a player like O.J. Mayo at point guard. Such a lineup would be more than capable of making a serious playoff run in the West, provided that the team does not suffer any major injuries.

What impact has Torii Hunter made on the Angels so far?
–Phelan, Minneapolis, Minn.

Torii Hunter was the big bat that was signed to protect Vladimir Guerrero, but after the first month of the season it may be reasonable to assume the Vladdy is actually protecting the former Minnesota Twin. As of May 2nd, Hunter has posted better numbers that Vlad with a .294 batting average, 4 home runs, 16 RBIs, and 16 Runs. His clutch hitting has fit right in with the Angels offensive philosophy of timely hitting and N.L. style of baseball. During an April 7th game against the Cleveland Indians, the Angels were trailing 4-2 during the ninth inning with the bases loaded. The confident Hunter walked up to the plate with ease and drilled a home run to deep left field, giving the Halos a 6-4 victory. His timely hitting has been witnessed on numerous occasions this season.

While he has certainly posted solid numbers at the dish, Hunter’s biggest impact has arguably been made in the outfield. During the ninth inning of an April 19th game against the Seattle Mariners, Angels closer Francisco Rodriguez threw a fastball that was crushed by Richie Sexson but Hunter was able to climb up on the outfield wall and rob Sexson of the potential game winnings home run. While the hitting was expected of Hunter, his acrobatic, game saving catches have truly made him worth $18 million per year.

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The Good: Certainly the 2007-2008 season was not a lost cause as Clipper fans witnessed improved play from several players.

Center Chris Kaman proved that he is not another Michael Olowokandi nd in fact a potential NBA All-Star center. During the first half of the season, there were few centers more productive than Kaman, who averaged 16.4 points, 13.6 rebounds and 3.0 blocks. In fact, I even nominated him as my Most Improved Player back in February. After the All-Star break, Kaman suffered an ankle and his performance subsequently decline. But overall, the center from Central Michigan still rebounded nicely from a horrific 2006-07 season.

However, Chris Kaman was not the only Clipper to surprise the LA fans, as rookie Al Thornton quickly became one the best rookies in all of the NBA. After experiencing some growing pains early on, Thornton came on strong toward the second half of the season, averaging 16.0 points.

The Bad: Once Elton Brand ruptured his Achilles tendon during a workout last August, the Clippers’ season was over before it even started. With Brand, a double-double machine, out for 74 games of the team’s 82 games, the Clippers had a porous front-line of Tim Thomas, Josh Powell, Nick Fazekas, Paul Davis, and Thornton. Not even the legendary Red Aurbach or the ring master Phil Jackson would be able to lead that team to the playoffs. Without Brand, it was another horrifically assembled Donald Sterling team that had no where near the talent to even say the word: playoffs.

The Ugly: While the team’s performance on the court was bad enough, the mid-season war of words between coach Mike Dunleavy and owner Donald Sterling was embarrassing to all seventeen Clipper fans. Sterling, who is one of the most frugal owners in all of sports, told the Los Angeles Times in January that was upset at his team’s poor performance and was contemplating changes among his top management (Dunleavy and Elgin Baylor, longtime director of basketball operations). The frustrated Dunleavy responded by inviting Sterling to indeed fire him and saying that it would be a huge mistake. Eventually, Dunleavy told the media that the two had made up but if anything is certain it is that there are so very unhappy people in Clipper land. The season was bad enough but the Soap Opera between the penny-pinching owner and the befuddled coach revealed the aloofness that is rampant in the Clippers’ wing of Staples Center.

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