Elgin Baylor, will you do my homework for me?

You know the old saying, if you want something done, ask a busy person to do it for you.

Well, if you want something done right about now, I'd be asking Elgin Baylor to help out. His Clipper ship has been steaming through the Pacific, tacking where necessary and heading dead astern (we like that word here ... asternwarning) for a dose of respectability or at least the appearance that Head Office has tried.

Baylor has gone through his rough patch of years as VP of Basketball Operations in Los Angeles' other team. He's been labelled as everything from stupid, to gutless to lazy in the Clippers' continued mediocrity through the 90s. They have only made the playoffs twice since 1993 and have failed to make much noise, always being seen as the 'also-ran' to the cross-town Lakers.

"May you live in interesting times" supposedly is the Chinese proverb. Well, this off-season for the Clippers has certainly been that. It all started out with doom and gloom as it looked like the Clippers were going to lose their key free agents (Elton Brand and Corey Maggette) and see nothing in return. Then suddenly there was a blast of fresh air with the apparent double-signing of Baron Davis and Brand. The see-saw went back down as it became clear that Brand was not returning. Then the fat kid got back on the other end of the see-saw as the Nuggets make a charitable, tax-deductible donation of Marcus Camby to the Clips.

Now, let's see if you can keep up with this as we recap the moves that have been made in Clipperville since mid-last season, February 2008. Just after the trading deadline, they signed Nevada rookie Nick Fazekas to a 10-day contract. They also set Sam Cassell free to join his buddy KG in Boston for the title run.

In March, they signed Fazekas to another 10-dayer and picked up the now-smushed-Smush Parker. They then decided to sign Fazekas for the rest of the season and picked up Marcus Williams, dropping his namesake Aaron.

Then to the off-season where things really get fun... the Clips extended qualifying offers to Fazekas and Williams, pretty much because they had only about 5 other players on their roster (including Baylor, who decided he'd make a comeback as he's clearly more successful on the court than upstairs, much like MJ, Larry and Isiah).

Farewells were given to Smush, the unfortunate Shaun Livingston, Disaster Dan Dickau, Boniface Ndong and James Singleton. Nothing too surprising here. But this is just when it all starts to get interesting.

Solid shooting guard draftee Eric Gordon was signed, in a situation which gives him a great mentor in Cutino Mobley. And his backcourt partner was announced as Fear The Beard's own Baron Davis. Then the controversy came when Golden State tried to counter by throwing cash at Elton Brand, which he refused, duping them both to sign with the Philadelphia Sixers.

All the while, Corey Maggette was in negotiations in the background and Golden State picked up their consolation prize on the way out the door by signing the slashing small forward to a 5 year, $50m deal.

Next up to the table were draftees Mike Taylor and dominating big man DeAndre Jordan, who projects as a solid interior player. As the ink was drying on that, Baylor was finishing cleaning Rex Chapman's three cars (inside and out) as the VP of Basketball Operations in Denver gifted Camby to the Clips, giving them a solid defensive presence to play alongside bratwurst eating Chris Kaman.

Laura Bush got jealous and signed her own deal to play backup point to B-Diddy (see left) as her husband picked up his tickets to see China v the Redeem Team in Beijing from Ticketmaster.

At this point the Clippers realised they weren't in as desperate a situation as first thought and threw Marcus Williams and Nick Fazekas back onto the NBA/D-League merry-go-round.

Not content to let Golden State's Chris Mullin rest, they signed atheltic restricted free agent Kelenna Azubuike to an offer sheet. The Warriors were having none of it and matched.

Baylor was pretty happy with how the Camby trade panned out, so brimming with confidence he decided to try his luck again. This time he traded as-pure-a-point-as-they-come Brevin Knight to the Utah Jazz for Jason Hart. A move that makes the Clips younger and slightly more versatile in the backcourt.

Get buckets? Things were getting a little quiet there for 5 days or so and with the focus not on the Clippers, they decided to sign "community service leader" Ricky Davis, who is still only 28 amazingly enough. And he has gotten rid of the braids, in an image shift. "I was thinking about doing it last year. It means something to cut the braids off. I got a new look."

Next on the chopping block was Josh Powell, who was replaced by been-around-the-world big man Brian Skinner, a quality big to have off the bench. The PF/C, who has played for seven teams, was originally drafted by the Clippers back in '98.

In another "let's swap 2nd-round draft picks in the future if you want to at the time" deal, pure shooting forward Steve Novak was acquired from the Houston Rockets two days ago. But Novak was too skinny to fill an entire roster spot, so the Clippers followed that by signing another Miami Heat castaway in Jason Williams... look out for some White Chocoalte in Los Angeles, ladies and gentlemen.

Phew.

Is it all over? Who knows. Only Elgin knows.

Certainly, no one can accuse Mr Baylor of being lazy or Donald Sterling of being stingy in their moves this Summer. The fans of LA know that they've got staff working to bring them a better basketball team. The wild west is a tough place to play, so playoff are far from certain, but the Clippers will challenge for that final spot, no doubt.

DEPTH CHART

PG ¦ Baron Davis ¦ Jason Williams ¦ Jason Hart

SG ¦ Cutino Mobley ¦ Eric Gordon ¦ Mike Taylor

SF ¦ Al Thornton ¦ Tim Thomas ¦ Steve Novak

PF ¦ Marcus Camby ¦ Brian Skinner

C ¦ Chris Kaman ¦ DeAndre Jordan

Head Coach ¦ Mike Dunleavy

More clarity on the free agent front

The silly season of NBA free agency is upon us. However finally it appears that we are getting a bit more clarity on who is going where -- some of which are big surprises.

THE BIG GUNS

Elton Brand : perhaps the biggest attainable prize of this free agent period, he initially opted for free agency with the Clippers, citing a need to see the team improve in order to return. So the Clips went and put out a big offer to his buddy, Baron Davis. This looked like the move the Clippers were meant to make in order to improve the team and make it relevant in Los Angeles again -- the type of move that Brand (and his agent David Falk) had been asking for. Wrong.

First the Golden State Warriors made the tit-for-tat move of offering a big contract to Brand of their own. You take our player, we take yours. But then, the team with the most cap space to play with, steps onto the scene. The Philadelphia 76ers have attempted to lure the first significant free agent to Philly in recent memory, with a 5-year $82m deal, which according to reports he will accept. "Show me the money..."

Baron Davis : as mentioned above, the big story that kicked off the free agency period was the B-Diddy to LA story. It sounded perfect, Baron and Elton could bring some razzle-dazzle to Clipperville and they could talk about producing movies together. But then Brand went and ruined it all. I was sure as recent as yesterday that this speculation was wrong and that they would indeed play together in LA, but it seems like B-Diddy has entered the sinking ship that is the Clippers, all alone (well, along with these guys). According to reports, Brand going to Philly will not affect Baron's decision to sign with the Clippers.

Corey Maggette : the latest chain-reaction in the game of 'Who Has Got Cap Space Left?' is Maggette agreeing to a 5-year $50m deal with the Golden State Warriors. After flirting with mid-level exceptions from the Celtics and other contenders, it seems Maggette also decided that the money was more important than winning. Well, at least he has his priorities straight I guess. I don't think he would have fitted in with a team like the Celtics anyway -- he needs the ball to be effective. Running and gunning in the Bay Area should suit him much better.

Gilbert Arenas : many people viewed this guy as the most selfish of all of the above, but he did perhaps the most amicable and sensible thing in leaving money on the table (about $16m in fact) to re-sign with his Washington Wizards for $111m over 6 years, after key piece Antawn Jamison also returned. Apparently both parties are sorting out key details of the contract, however he has agreed in principle. The Warriors also reportedly threw money at him in an attempt to get him to return to where he started his career, but that failed.

THE OTHERS

James Jones : the Miami Heat are the most likely candidate to secure the Portland free agent swingman's services, after offering him a deal that will bring him back to where he went to College. Jones fitted perfectly into the Portland offense and locker room in his one year stay, however with the continued emergence of Brandon Roy, Martell Webster and Travis Outlaw and the arrival of Rudy Fernandez and Nicholas Batum, there was no room for the steady shooter. He should fit well with the Heat.

Carlos Delfino : the Detroit Pistons are looking at bringing him back, after looking at Jones as well.

James Posey : one of the most hottly discussed free agents after the Finals and his team's victorious raisinig of the championship trophy, Posey is still looking around. Considered by many teams as a bargain-valued defensive stopper and three-point shooter in the mould of Bruce Bowen, many including the Celtics, seem to be offering him less than he would like to secure (both in dollars and years). The Cleveland Cavs, Nawlins Hornets and the Celtics are among many trying to sign the two-time champion. Paul Pierce has tried sweet talking him into returning. Wherever he goes, he will be a valuable piece -- it will be interesting.

LA Clippers : Last one out turn out the lights!

If this Clipper boat is sinking, there certainly doesn't look like there will be many passengers left aboard when it does.

Elton Brand today opted out of the final year of his contract, which would have paid him $16.4m. He says that he would like to stay with the Clippers, but of course that all depends on what he gets offered and where. Needless to say, he will be highly sought after, regardless of the injury which he has been recovering from. He might not get the same money, but he might get a long term deal with a contender. The perennial "other team" in LA does not appear to be that -- a contender.

Corey Maggette has already opted out of his $8.4m for next season. That leaves a very light crew to man this Clipper through the Pacific waters.

Horrific knee injury victim, Shaun Livingston, will not be offered a qualifying offer by the team. "We are optimistic about Shaun's ultimate return, but under the circumstances, we think it would be best to continue to monitor his progress while determining how best to move forward on his long-term status," Clippers President Andy Roeser said.

Sam Cassell already pushed his way out of the organisation mid-season and found himself with old buddy Kevin Garnett hoisting a championship trophy.

What does this leave the team with?

PG Brevin Knight (signed through 2008-09 for £2m)
SG Cuttino Mobley (signed through 2009-10 for over £9m a year)
SF Al Thornton (on his rookie contract which should see him around through 2011-12)
PF Tim Thomas (£6m a year for the next 2 seasons)
C Chris Kaman (secured through 2011-12 gradually escalating from £9m to £12m per year)

On the bench, rookies Eric Gordon (SG) and DeAndre Jordan (C) come in. They will form a very thin supporting cast, which currently only includes not-so-super soph forwards Nick Fazekas and Marcus Williams with guaranteed contracts. The team is expected to let go of guards "Disaster" Dan Dickau and Smush Parker. Big man Josh Powell may manage to hang around as well, after showing flashes of promise.

The team will certainly make a run at re-signing both Brand and Maggette, however both will be highly persued. Brand's agent, David Falk, has already hinted at Philly being a possible destination (they have plenty of cap room to make it happen) and Maggette has been linked to the Magic in some rumours.

There is certainly a lot of young talent still lurking around this organisation with two very promising rookies, along with Thornton and the long-term anchoring of Kaman. However, there appear to be a lot more lean years ahead for long-suffering Clippers fans.