#SLOE: People's Basketball Sim League

Good Morning and Welcome to the LA Clippers season opening presser.

We were happy with our successes last season and we are excited about the prospects of this upcoming season. We obviously wish we could have gone deeper in the playoffs last season, but we are very proud of the team's accomplishments. It was the highest win total in my career and tied for the deepest we've gone in the playoffs. But as our fans can attest, we want more.

Our offseason started with the draft, with the 25th pick we knew we would be drafting a project, not necessarily someone who could make an immediate impact. We drafted Beno Udrih, PG from Yugoslavia. Beno fits the mold of our team in that he can shoot from the outside; we are working on improving his passing before he will see a lot of minutes. Our next move was signing center, Jamaal Magloire in RFA. We signed Jamaal to a max contract, and we know there were a lot of rumblings that we overpaid. However, we are very excited to have Jamaal this season and we only expect him to get better. Then came free agency, oh, free agency. For the second straight season, we struck out in free agency. We felt like we could get a quality point guard at a reasonable contract in free agency, but it didn't go our way. However, we were able to snag veteran Dee Brown late to try to fill that opening at PG.

Speaking of, our starting lineup will like follows: Brown at PG, Ricky Davis at SG, Rasual Butler at SF, Donyell Marshall at PF, and Magloire at C. We will employ a 4 out, 1 in strategy on offense as we did last year. We will spread the floor to take advantage of our outside shooting, plus our big man in the middle will control the boards. Defensively, we will mix it up, trying different schemes to try to find the one that best fits our squad but also keeps the opponent on their heels.

Expectations are high, we expect to compete for the Pacific Division Championship, first and foremost. With our biggest competition to be the defending champs and our cross town rivals; it should be a really fun season. I can't wait to see how it plays out. At this time we will open up the floor to questions...

GWR: Is it safe to say that, after years of yielding to Nick Van Exel, this is Ricky Davis's team?

Nick Melon; Charlotte Observer: Do you think a short term fix of Dee Brown and an inexperienced Beno will be enough to hold down the legacy left behind by Nick Van Exel?

Nathan Sliver, sevenfortyseven.com: Personally, I think your team can be considered the favorite in the West. Also, I thought your Magloire deal was a great move. Talk me though your thoughts there. Why did you think the big man was worth the big money and why was he a good fit for your team?

JNR wrote:GWR: Is it safe to say that, after years of yielding to Nick Van Exel, this is Ricky Davis's team?

Yes, this team will go as far as Ricky will take them. Although Ricky is in his 7th year, I believe he is just getting into his prime. He has made gradual improvements every season, but I think he has made great strides in his maturity and mental game. He definitely is our team leader.

NickMalone77 wrote:Nick Melon; Charlotte Observer: Do you think a short term fix of Dee Brown and an inexperienced Beno will be enough to hold down the legacy left behind by Nick Van Exel?

Absolutely not. I don't expect Dee or Beno to fill the shoes of Nick. I expect them to hustle and execute the game plan; be good team players, thats it.

Random Hollywood reporter: With the Pacific division taking a step back, it looks like it's the Clipper and Kings for the pacific crown. How do you feel about your chances in winning the division?

Dr. Rocker, The Cleveland Rocker: You made reference to free agency woes, but neither your sticky cap situation both this season and next nor your bench. How did you plan to come out of free agency, and how can you get better next season if this one doesn't work out, because if you are in the playoffs, it may not come from the draft?

kucoach7 wrote:Nathan Sliver, sevenfortyseven.com: Personally, I think your team can be considered the favorite in the West. Also, I thought your Magloire deal was a great move. Talk me though your thoughts there. Why did you think the big man was worth the big money and why was he a good fit for your team?

Jamaal is a big man who can rebound and defend the post. That is exactly what this team needed; what we were missing last season. Frankly, we havent been a good rebounding team in a number of years here. The weak part of Jamaal's game right now is his offense. But we have offense, with Davis, Marshall, and Butler we have guys that can score. This team needed somebody to step in and clean the boards and slow teams that try to score on us down low. Another piece that a lot of folks missed is Jamaal had yet to have any paid trainings. With time and some paid trainings I can see him developing into an offensive threat and thus becoming and all-around big man that everybody in the league fears.

Your team is as strong as it was last season, if not more, but your PG position looks like the weakest spot. As a team that had a truly great PG for years and knows the importance of having one, should we expect a big trade from the Clippers before the trade deadline to get one?

Random Reporter: You said that Brown's your starting PG, but he was just recently brought in. How confident are you that he'll be able to "execute the gameplan?" Was he signed solely for his veteran presence?

Inner_GI wrote:Random Hollywood reporter: With the Pacific division taking a step back, it looks like it's the Clipper and Kings for the pacific crown. How do you feel about your chances in winning the division?

I'm confident, but I also don't think it will be easy. Many things can happen during the course of an NBA season that no one can predict. I like our chances, but who knows.

42PhD wrote:Dr. Rocker, The Cleveland Rocker: You made reference to free agency woes, but neither your sticky cap situation both this season and next nor your bench. How did you plan to come out of free agency, and how can you get better next season if this one doesn't work out, because if you are in the playoffs, it may not come from the draft?

I do know that with the core of players we have signed on for next season, we will have a good group. I can't speak as to what the cap will be next season or what our plan of attack will be in free agency. But, I'm not worried about that now; we are focused on this season.

NOLa. wrote:Your team is as strong as it was last season, if not more, but your PG position looks like the weakest spot. As a team that had a truly great PG for years and knows the importance of having one, should we expect a big trade from the Clippers before the trade deadline to get one?

It's hard to say right now. I do realize the grave importance that a point guard is to a team and I do agree that it is our weakest spot heading into the new season. I will take the wait and see approach for now. If it really shows to be a glaringly weakness early in the season, then yes we will be looking to bring in a PG.

Xist2Inspire wrote:Random Reporter: You said that Brown's your starting PG, but he was just recently brought in. How confident are you that he'll be able to "execute the gameplan?" Was he signed solely for his veteran presence?

I am confident that he can execute the gameplan. He has been around this league for a long time and he obviously knows what he is doing on the court. At this stage in his career he will surely match against more athletic, physically gifted players, but I think he can hold his own. After we struck with some of the more talented players available in free agency, I felt we needed to look for a veteran to fill the position.

Sports Guy Bill Simmons here, what kind of role with Donyell Marshall play on this team? He's heading into this 10th year and is that dreaded age of 31, he struggled to shoot the 3 ball in the preseason is that something you are worried about?