The Los Angeles Clippers had yet another disappointing season. After beating the San Antonio Spurs in 7 games by 2 points, they lost a 3-1 lead to the Houston Rockets in the second round, which has Chris Paul 2nd round curse written all over it. Either way, the Clippers are now in off-season mode, and they are in trouble. One of their “Big-3” is a unrestricted free agent, DeAndre Jordan, and with the talent he has, the possibilities to where he ends up are endless. If DeAndre leaves the whole integrity of this Clippers team will be lost and they won’t be able to be nearly as good with only Blake Griffin and Chris Paul. Clippers owner Steve Ballmer knows how important DeAndre is to this team, and he believes that if Doc Rivers and staff can keep the “big-3” intact, they could very well win the NBA Championship.
According to Bill Plaschke of the Los Angeles Times:
“We believe we are very close. The key for us is not to blow things up.”
Start with the roster. Ballmer reiterated that the Clippers hope to re-sign potential free DeAndre Jordan — “We love D.J.” — and that with Chris Paul and Blake Griffin, they have a title-worthy threesome.
“You have arguably three of the best 20 to 25 guys in the NBA,” Ballmer said. “You should be able to win it with three of the best 20 to 25 guys in the NBA. I don’t think you’ll find another team with three of the best 20 to 25 guys in the NBA.”
Before I claim that Steve Ballmer is right about what he is saying. He has some fault in what he said. They aren’t the only team with 3 top-25 players in the NBA. Has he met the Cleveland Cavaliers? Golden State Warriors? The teams who made it to the NBA Finals. Despite that fault, Steve Ballmer is right in what he is saying. If DeAndre Jordan leaves during the off-season, the Clippers will be taking a huge step back, and in an incredibly hard Western Conference, it won’t help their title chances. An aging Chris Paul & an angry Clippers fan base is not a good sign for improvement. The Clippers and Doc Rivers have a lot of work to do. First thing is first, SIGN DEANDRE JORDAN.
