Post by LA Clippers on Aug 29, 2007 15:48:58 GMT -5
Fans said goodbye to the Los Angeles week at the staples center, and for some of the players it really was goodbye.
Clipps' General Manager Boomer Purser said he sees, "a lot of changes'' in the wake of the team's disappointing 0-4 playoff run.
he also said a complete overhaul wasn't necessary but agreed that next year's team picture may be missing a few familiar faces.
The Clippers need more scoring punch, more speed in transition, and perhaps a couple of aged vets, to show these youngsters how to play the game.
"Oden probably has another year to prove his worth, and if nothing he's gone,'' said owner Donald Sterling, who watched his team get eliminated by Sacramento with out an attempted fight.
Who isn't coming back? Nothing has been decided, but veterans Devin Harris and Jim James Jr. had down years statistically and may not return. Antonio Collins announced his aggravation with the team Friday night after just half the season on the team, and may not return as an unrestricted free agent.
For the Clippers, the transition game that put opponents on their heels earlier in the year was unrecognizable the second half, although it made a comeback against the Lakers. However, it could have just been a little same court rival.
"There was huge difference from last year to this year,'' admitted Purser.
Perhaps lulled into a false sense of security after a storybook draft two seasons ago, the Clipps had their worst playoff appearance in history.
"The on-floor product wasn't good,'' said Keenan. "We had a whole lot of under achievement from a number of players.''
Sterling said he remains committed to Purser, who serves as coach and general manager and makes all of the player personnel decisions.
"From what I saw, the coaches did their job,'' he said. "It was the players who weren't performing. Boomer will tell you that. Most of the guys will tell you that.
"As far as the team goes, I trust Boomer to do what he has to do.''
Sterling said it was a character-building year in the front office, too.
"It wasn't about laziness,'' he said. "But in terms of marketing, tickets sales and almost everything else we didn't hit the goals we wanted to hit, while the Lakers continue to set sports ticket sales records.
"It was easy for the Lakers because they are winning. This year, we had to step it up, and I don't think we did the best job we could. ... we didn't have that fire under our rear ends. ... I don't think the guys had that fire, either.''
Off-season decisions regarding players' futures won't be made easily.
"It is a tremendous group of guys in terms of character,'' agreed Purser. "The hard part is when you have to start parting ways.''
Dwade, the Clippers' leading scorer, didn't over-analyze the their lost season. "Our biggest struggle was just putting the ball in the net,'' he said of a team that had the fewest field goals per game in the Pacific Division.
The Clippers started the season 6-0, then lost 8 in a row, and struggled to stay .500 for the remainder of the season.
"It's been tough on all the guys,'' said Harris, who had a eighteen-point night with five assists and three steals to end their playoff run.
"I've never been on a team thats performed this bad in a season,'' Durant said. "It's been very frustrating for all of us. None of us saw this coming. At the end of last season, we thought we had a team that would be in the playoffs, but do a lot more. ... the hardest thing is knowing that we were all capable of performing much better.''
The Clippers won't do anything off-the-wall in the off-season, like trade the self proclaimed defense god Greg Oden for a big-time scorer, but there aren't many untouchables on the roster. It is likely the Clipps will try to retain talented young players Oden, Durant, Budinger and Hairston and bring back De Angelo Collins.
Purser said he won't shake up his "core group'' of players. "But to say we're just going to stick with the same thing. ... no, we can't do that,'' he said. "We need to make a few changes, and we need those core guys to be better next year. They understand that.''
The only thing that is certain, is the Clippers fans are losing interest from two years ago when they drafted Durant one and Oden two. They set a record season with attendance for their games, but a steadily losing sales.
With out a fan base there is no need for a team, and the Staples Center is crowded anyway housing to ABCA teams. So what will come? I wish the season could start tomorrow, to see what Coach Purser has in-store.
Clipps' General Manager Boomer Purser said he sees, "a lot of changes'' in the wake of the team's disappointing 0-4 playoff run.
he also said a complete overhaul wasn't necessary but agreed that next year's team picture may be missing a few familiar faces.
The Clippers need more scoring punch, more speed in transition, and perhaps a couple of aged vets, to show these youngsters how to play the game.
"Oden probably has another year to prove his worth, and if nothing he's gone,'' said owner Donald Sterling, who watched his team get eliminated by Sacramento with out an attempted fight.
Who isn't coming back? Nothing has been decided, but veterans Devin Harris and Jim James Jr. had down years statistically and may not return. Antonio Collins announced his aggravation with the team Friday night after just half the season on the team, and may not return as an unrestricted free agent.
For the Clippers, the transition game that put opponents on their heels earlier in the year was unrecognizable the second half, although it made a comeback against the Lakers. However, it could have just been a little same court rival.
"There was huge difference from last year to this year,'' admitted Purser.
Perhaps lulled into a false sense of security after a storybook draft two seasons ago, the Clipps had their worst playoff appearance in history.
"The on-floor product wasn't good,'' said Keenan. "We had a whole lot of under achievement from a number of players.''
Sterling said he remains committed to Purser, who serves as coach and general manager and makes all of the player personnel decisions.
"From what I saw, the coaches did their job,'' he said. "It was the players who weren't performing. Boomer will tell you that. Most of the guys will tell you that.
"As far as the team goes, I trust Boomer to do what he has to do.''
Sterling said it was a character-building year in the front office, too.
"It wasn't about laziness,'' he said. "But in terms of marketing, tickets sales and almost everything else we didn't hit the goals we wanted to hit, while the Lakers continue to set sports ticket sales records.
"It was easy for the Lakers because they are winning. This year, we had to step it up, and I don't think we did the best job we could. ... we didn't have that fire under our rear ends. ... I don't think the guys had that fire, either.''
Off-season decisions regarding players' futures won't be made easily.
"It is a tremendous group of guys in terms of character,'' agreed Purser. "The hard part is when you have to start parting ways.''
Dwade, the Clippers' leading scorer, didn't over-analyze the their lost season. "Our biggest struggle was just putting the ball in the net,'' he said of a team that had the fewest field goals per game in the Pacific Division.
The Clippers started the season 6-0, then lost 8 in a row, and struggled to stay .500 for the remainder of the season.
"It's been tough on all the guys,'' said Harris, who had a eighteen-point night with five assists and three steals to end their playoff run.
"I've never been on a team thats performed this bad in a season,'' Durant said. "It's been very frustrating for all of us. None of us saw this coming. At the end of last season, we thought we had a team that would be in the playoffs, but do a lot more. ... the hardest thing is knowing that we were all capable of performing much better.''
The Clippers won't do anything off-the-wall in the off-season, like trade the self proclaimed defense god Greg Oden for a big-time scorer, but there aren't many untouchables on the roster. It is likely the Clipps will try to retain talented young players Oden, Durant, Budinger and Hairston and bring back De Angelo Collins.
Purser said he won't shake up his "core group'' of players. "But to say we're just going to stick with the same thing. ... no, we can't do that,'' he said. "We need to make a few changes, and we need those core guys to be better next year. They understand that.''
The only thing that is certain, is the Clippers fans are losing interest from two years ago when they drafted Durant one and Oden two. They set a record season with attendance for their games, but a steadily losing sales.
With out a fan base there is no need for a team, and the Staples Center is crowded anyway housing to ABCA teams. So what will come? I wish the season could start tomorrow, to see what Coach Purser has in-store.
