#SLOE: People's Basketball Sim League

The sun rises on another new SLOE day, giving way to hope and optimism for (almost) everyone in the league.  Here in Los Angeles, that sun looks a bit brighter than in most places.  As per usual though, before I can go over every reason why there are reasons to be excited for Clippers fans coming into this season, let’s do a quick glance back at what has been happening. 

 

Last off-season we looked to make smaller splash moves, bringing in Kenneth Heard and Chadwick Dangerfield in trades and signing Corey Kispert in free agency.  We had thought that the addition of a solid big man, a legit Point, and a 6th man of the year candidate would equal success and a solid, if not spectacular, playoff run.  Unfortunately, we were wrong about that, and we ended up missing the playoffs in the first season of our new re-alignment.  The harsh reality is that could have very much been our third straight missed playoffs if not for sneaking in once due to being in a conference that was incredibly weak at the bottom. 

 

Still, we saw some things growing within these last few subpar teams.  Dong Bone was beginning to come alive as top scoring option, Karlo Pearson’s defense and energy were becoming infectious, Raiquan Gray was showing signs of confidence and aggression on both ends and while not quite ready to contribute, Safi Fino-A-Laself has been our hardest worker and most eager to learn.  Kispert had flashes as well, though sharing more touches here than he did in Toronto capped him.

 

Heard and Dangerfield were fine players, and Heard represented us well in the All-Star game and All-League 3rd Team, however what became painfully obvious was that we needed more juice.  An Alpha was what we had to have to put Bone, Pearson, Gray and Kispert around. 

 

We went and got two. 

 

First we worked with a few teams to bring Danny Campbell across the hall and into a Clippers uniform.  We have coveted and admired DC for years now and are excited to have him.  He’s a force on both ends of the court and is an MVP caliber player who will play perfectly next to Raiquan Gray in the front court. It cost us Hassan Hodges, but it was a no-brainer situation. 

 

Then we went from an MVP caliber player to the actual reigning MVP, Lu Dort.  Tony Parris is going to do great things for Orlando in the future, but Dort is going to be doing great things for us now.  There aren’t many players in the league like him and he is going to get every opportunity to flourish in this system. 

 

We got some bang for our MLE buck in free agency, bringing in Deni Avdija to run the Point behind Dort as well as Big man Carle Gabauer to fortify the front court.  Both players are enforcer types, offering little in the way of offense but will absolutely offer toughness on defense.  Kispert can give the fire power off the bench they lack!

 

The players that were already here all made positive jumps in training camp, making this the best chance to go after a championship since losing in 7 games to Chicago, and this collection of players MIGHT even be better than that team, but there is a lot of work to do before I figure that out.  There are some great teams out there, both in conference and on the other side of the league, so nothing is going to come easily. 

 

C: Raiquan Gray

PF: Danny Campbell

SF: Dong Bone

SG: Karlo Pearson

PG: Lu Dort

6: Corey Kispert

7: Deni Avdija

8: Carle Gabauer

 

 

Might try adding some low-level end of bench guys in free agency or this waiver period too but none should have a major impact on the games barring injury or foul trouble, so this will be the primary lineups. 

 

With all that blabbered on about, hit me with any questions that you’ve got!

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What are the season expectations for the Clippers this year?

ballsohard wrote:What are the season expectations for the Clippers this year?

It's a championship run or it's a failure. Getting to face other great teams means a title is not guaranteed, but if we're not at least in a good position to be in the conversation, we're underachieving.

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Anything short of a solid championship run would be a failure this year, right? Its not impossible given talent across the league, but you are early favorites. Do you still think there are any additions that could be made to solidify a title as best as you possibly can?

Also it's been how many seasons since the Clippers ran at a 'ship? What did you learn from the last run and during the rebuild that got you to this powerhouse team?

greepleairport wrote:Anything short of a solid championship run would be a failure this year, right? Its not impossible given talent across the league, but you are early favorites. Do you still think there are any additions that could be made to solidify a title as best as you possibly can?

Also it's been how many seasons since the Clippers ran at a 'ship? What did you learn from the last run and during the rebuild that got you to this powerhouse team?

I dont see any particularly glaring holes at the moment which need fixing, but I'm always looking at the league to see what deals could be out there. If there were one thing that I'd say could be done to help my championship aspirations, it'd probably be to add more size. Dort is great but small and both Gray and Campbell will give up size/strength to possible matchups in key games.

As for what I learned from the last build with Loredo and JJ to now is : 1) Hope your Finals opponent doesn't have Delmar Lopez and 2) To add some flexibility to my scoring. The last group was almost entirely made up of shooters but lacked muscle down low. Now I still have shooters, but with DC and Gray (and Dort's inside scoring) we should be able to bang if needed as well.

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Chet Youbetcha, Dimmadome News: you have a lot of purple players, is there any thought to combining assets to trade for one complimentary player?


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Sham Smith, Bulls.com: What do you think has kept Luguentz Dort, former MVP, from having won a championship on other teams, and which supporting player do you think will be able to work with Lu in a way that none of his former teammates has?

Do you think the Clippers win 70+ games this season?

AngryBanana wrote:Chet Youbetcha, Dimmadome News: you have a lot of purple players, is there any thought to combining assets to trade for one complimentary player?


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If an opportunity came about to bring in someone who can play Center with legit size and skill, I think I'd definitely have to take a hard look at making that move at the expense of a couple of guys. That being said, I'm not sure I see any opportunities out there which that would make any sense for. Things change in this league quickly though so, we'll see.

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garbageman wrote:Sham Smith, Bulls.com: What do you think has kept Luguentz Dort, former MVP, from having won a championship on other teams, and which supporting player do you think will be able to work with Lu in a way that none of his former teammates has?

It does seem to be a shame that Dort hasn't found himself holding up a championship yet. I think the reasons during his days in Portland are simple. He had the unfortunate responsibility to be playing for an organization without real leadership for awhile. When they got some, it was with inexperience who didn't put the proper time in and hadn't figured out ways to build around Dort, though he did luck into Sneed who blew up eventually. I definitely thought he'd get one in Orlando, especially last season but that team ran into a Bucks team that could exploit physical matchups that the Magic weren't equipped for. In the regular season the Magic were a fantastic defensive team, but it had a few small cracks (Center position, Manley's inability to play defense, no one on the bench being particularly strong) that got worked over by Zaire Wade and crew.

The player that I think will blend seamlessly with Dort is his new SG, Karlo Pearson. Dort is a high Usage player and while he does look to score, his assist numbers show he will find his teammates when they're open. Pearson is not a player that needs the ball to thrive but will absolutely rip it from 3 when he's left open playing with all the scorers my roster has. Perhaps most importantly, his defensive abilities rival or surpass Dort's, and that should offer Dort something no other backcourt mate of has.

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K-100 wrote:Do you think the Clippers win 70+ games this season?

I've never won 70 games since I've been a GM so I'll assume that I will not again. There are also a number of good teams to deal with in my own division. Even some of the teams who aren't great, like have the talent to steal a win here and there.

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Random Reporter: While this team definitely has championship aspirations, one of the top stars on the team is only 23. What role and contributions are you expecting from Pearson this season?

Xist2Inspire wrote:Random Reporter: While this team definitely has championship aspirations, one of the top stars on the team is only 23. What role and contributions are you expecting from Pearson this season?

Karlo Pearson is the ultimate 3 & D player. He's not a player that, currently, can go out and drop 30+ on a team on any given night. Thankfully, he's also not the kind of kid that complains about his touches. He has good size, athleticism, a killer 3 ball and his defense is on the cusp of being ELITE. He fits in perfectly between two scorers on the wings in Dort and Bone, and since he doesn't have to exert too much energy on offense, pairing with Dort's defense on the perimeter, Pearson is going to make every opposing backcourt work hard for their points. So, play like his hair is on fire on defense and take the many wide open 3's he's bound to get in an offense with Dort, Campbell, Bone and Gray.

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