The Clippers haven't made a ton of headlines this summer (other than, ya know, selling for $2 billion), but a series of small moves have seemingly increased their 2015 titles hopes. Additions like Spencer Hawes, Jordan Farmar and Ekpe Udoh give the Clips some depth they lacked sorely a year ago, but their biggest bargain may have been their latest pickup.
L.A. has reportedly agreed to terms with Australian forward Joe Ingles, who impressed many at last month's FIBA World Cup, on a one-year, non-guaranteed deal. While his Australian side only lasted five games in the tourney, Ingles did enough to draw interest from several NBA teams. He averaged 11.4 points on blistering 67 percent shooting from three-point range, and also ran the majority of Australia's offense himself.
Considering he's a 6'8" forward, that last bit is what piqued the interest of NBA clubs the most. As we saw last season, the Clippers' offense struggled quite a bit when Chris Paul wasn't on the floor, and we know that you can never have enough players to initiate the offense. The addition of Farmar should help, but a guy of Ingles' size that is able to do things off-the-dribble provides the Clippers a potential matchup advantage that didn't exist last season. He looked exceptionally comfortable as the decision-maker in pick-and-roll situations, which makes him a nice fit with L.A.'s offensive scheme.
You can never have enough shooting, and Ingles shot the three-ball at a very solid 41 percent clip last season for Maccabi Tel Aviv of the Israeli league. He's made a remarkable leap in that department since turning pro with Barcelona back in 2010, when he shot a dreadful 23 percent from deep.
The 26-year-old is not the most fluid athlete which leads to him struggling at times to defend quicker wings. His size helps him offensively against smaller players, since he can use his strength to his advantage, but he's susceptible to being beaten off-the-dribble on the other end. This won't be a major issue whenever DeAndre Jordan is on the floor to protect the rim, but the Clippers don't really have anyone on the bench that is capable of blocking shots, which could be an issue.
It's no guarantee that Ingles will make the team out of training camp, but given his skills, I'd imagine Doc Rivers should have no problem finding a spot for him.
Musings and Observations about your Los Angeles Clippers
Thursday, September 18, 2014
Wednesday, September 3, 2014
Clippers sign Udoh, Douglas-Roberts
The L.A. Clippers made the trade last week with the Milwaukee Bucks for the straightforward purpose of cutting salary, and that's just what they did. Then on Wednesday, they used the recently-freed salary space to make a couple of minimum signings. The Clippers have brought in veteran forward Ekpe Udoh and guard Chris Douglas-Roberts on one-year deals.
Udoh was drafted sixth overall back in 2010 by the Golden State Warriors, but has disappointed since coming to the NBA out of Baylor. The lanky 6'10" forward has battled injuries throughout and has never developed much of a useful offensive game, but he does have a presence defensively. The Clippers were in need of additional front court depth, and they've added it here.
Douglas-Roberts enjoyed a decorated career at Memphis before being taken in the second-round of the '08 draft by the Nets. Since then, he's made several stops throughout the league and the D-League, and played last season with the Charlotte Bobcats where he averaged nearly seven points a game on 38% shooting from three-point range.
Neither of these are major impact signings, of course, but the addition of Udoh at least gives the Clippers a better big man rotation than the one they had a year ago. With Udoh, Blake Griffin, DeAndre Jordan, Spencer Hawes, Hedo Turkoglu and Glen Davis all on-board, Doc Rivers now has enough options to where he shouldn't need to play Griffin and Jordan outrageous minutes.
L.A. has numerous wing players, so there's a good chance CDR doesn't even make the final squad out of camp. But you can never have enough shooters, and that's one thing that Douglas-Roberts can bring, if needed.
Udoh was drafted sixth overall back in 2010 by the Golden State Warriors, but has disappointed since coming to the NBA out of Baylor. The lanky 6'10" forward has battled injuries throughout and has never developed much of a useful offensive game, but he does have a presence defensively. The Clippers were in need of additional front court depth, and they've added it here.
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| Photo Credit - nikk_la/Flickr |
Neither of these are major impact signings, of course, but the addition of Udoh at least gives the Clippers a better big man rotation than the one they had a year ago. With Udoh, Blake Griffin, DeAndre Jordan, Spencer Hawes, Hedo Turkoglu and Glen Davis all on-board, Doc Rivers now has enough options to where he shouldn't need to play Griffin and Jordan outrageous minutes.
L.A. has numerous wing players, so there's a good chance CDR doesn't even make the final squad out of camp. But you can never have enough shooters, and that's one thing that Douglas-Roberts can bring, if needed.
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