Clippers 1983 Presser

[JNR]

You know, these used to have flair. Usually we'd start with a projector whirring and a presentation on the last season. The highs, the lows, the celebrations. But now we just have an ugly man standing at a podium. Why? Well, because there hasn't been much to celebrate, has there?

Anyway, I'll let him take it from here.

The JNR: A third season in San Diego. A third 30 win season. Another year of talent not living up to expectations. And this year we made the mistake of betting on ourselves in the form of trading away our draft capital for the 1983 season. It yielded Walter Davis, and unfortunately we weren't a good fit for each other. His scoring was nice, but he and Theus never seemed to click. And so when the season was getting away from us, we rejected a sunk cost fallacy and sent him away to Washington for Rod Higgins.

The season ended and we gave the 8th pick to Milwaukee, and I started to think about the hard decisions. About letting James Edwards and Greg Ballard walk in free agency. About maybe seeing if anyone was interested in Reggie Theus. About stepping aside to let a GM with more passion and talent take over.

But then the offseason happened.

We had a good bit of money available, and we decided to throw it around. We brought back James, brought back Greg, and we were able to bring Mike Mitchell into the mix. He's a rangy wing, fitting in with most of our other talent. And then we went through training camp, and maybe Reggie Theus heard the doubters. Maybe he heard the rumors. And he decided to put the work in.

He led the team through a perfect preseason. And while I know the preseason isn't an indicator of future success, I really liked what I saw out of the lineup. So much so that I'm rolling with it to start the season.

So our starting lineup will be

C: James Edwards
PF: Mike Mitchell
SF: Rod Higgins
SG: Rolando Blackman
PG: Reggie Theus

With Greg Ballard, Jerome Whitehead, and Brian Taylor providing valuable bench minutes. We're not sure where the season will take us, but we think our range and versatility will help in offense, which has long been a struggle for this squad.

Any questions?

[RPF]

Scoot in the afternoon, Net Nation: Can you please tell us what Reggie said about those in the media who claim he is "the most overrated player in the NPBSL. Full stop."?

[Eazy P]

Man your team looks great, how excited are you about this upcoming season?

[WigNosy]

Steve Duin, Portland Trailblazers beat writer for the Oregonian...

Your team had a very aggressive Free Agent period. How do you feel that this past Free Agency has tipped the balance of power in the Pacific Division in particular and in the league as a whole?

[greepleairport]

Mike Mitchell never got playing time at the 4 in Golden State, and if the preseason is any indicator, that's an absolute travesty. However, Moses Malone or some other monster on the Warriors was always going to play that position. How does he feel about going head to head with Moses in the first sim?

[JNR]

Scoot in the afternoon, Net Nation: Can you please tell us what Reggie said about those in the media who claim he is "the most overrated player in the NPBSL. Full stop."?

The JNR: He found the article funny, and from what I heard he printed out a copy and reads it every morning before practice. He's excited to show what he's capable of.

[JNR]

Man your team looks great, how excited are you about this upcoming season?

The JNR: We're tempering expectations because we haven't had a lot of success yet with this core group. But we're hoping to make the playoffs this year.

[JNR]

Steve Duin, Portland Trailblazers beat writer for the Oregonian...

Your team had a very aggressive Free Agent period. How do you feel that this past Free Agency has tipped the balance of power in the Pacific Division in particular and in the league as a whole?

The JNR: That's a good question. Obviously taking Mitchell from Golden State is a shift, but I also think retaining James Edwards goes a long way. He's been coveted over the years, so keeping him here and not having him go elsewhere probably prevents a power shift.

[JNR]

Mike Mitchell never got playing time at the 4 in Golden State, and if the preseason is any indicator, that's an absolute travesty. However, Moses Malone or some other monster on the Warriors was always going to play that position. How does he feel about going head to head with Moses in the first sim?

The JNR: He isn't that excited about battling against the big boys on the block. But he also knows that it gives us the best chance of winning, and he's been pretty used to that in Golden State. So we're excited to see how he does.