Clear sailing?

For once, Clippers have some certainty heading into season

John Hollinger, SI.com

Clippers at a Glance Head coach: Mike Dunleavy 2002-03: 27-55 2002-03 Stats Key Additions C Chris Kaman (draft) SG Eddie House (Heat) Key Losses SF Lamar Odom (Heat) PG Andre Miller (Nuggets) C Michael Olowokandi (T'wolves) SG Eric Piatkowksi (Rockets) C Sean Rooks (Hornets) Projected Lineup Starters Reserves PG  M. Jaric K. Dooling SG  Q. Richardson E. House SF  C. Maggette T. Fowlkes* PF  E. Brand C. Wilcox C  C. Kaman W. Zhizhi * - unsigned

The L.A. Clippers might be coming off a 27-55 disaster, but they enter 2003-04 feeling oddly rejuvenated. For once, there's a nucleus that will be around for longer than a month or two. They entered last season with seemingly everyone heading into free agency, and it didn't help matters that the roster was savaged by injuries.

But in the offseason, the Clips shockingly coughed up the cash to sign both Elton Brand and Corey Maggette to long-term deals, providing two young stars to serve as building blocks for what is still one of the league's most youthful rosters. Even more flabbergasting was that they decided to hire a real head coach instead of just picking whoever would work for the least money. Mike Dunleavy, he of the 1999 Coach of the Year award in Portland, will get a chance to shape and teach a roster that has talent, but still is figuring out how to put it together.

He also will also get a chance to upgrade a defensive effort that last year bordered on apathy. The Clippers have some players with individual defensive talent, especially Maggette and point guard Marko Jaric. However, they had all kinds of trouble with the team concept a year ago, perhaps because everyone was playing for his own stats.

The Clips still experienced some heavy free-agent losses in the offseason, as big man Michael Olowokandi and sharpshooter Eric Piatkowski left for Minnesota and Houston, respectively, and they opted not to match offer sheets to Andre Miller (Denver) and Lamar Odom (Miami). First-round draft choice Chris Kaman and some other recent lottery picks -- Keyon Dooling, Chris Wilcox and Melvin Ely -- will be asked to fill in the pieces, but the holes outnumber the pegs right now.

Post scoring. A year ago, the Clippers had too many post players. Seemingly everyone wanted the rock on the block, and it created poor offensive spacing. With guys like Olowokandi and Miller out of the way, things are a little more balanced this year, but the post still will be the heartbeat of the Clipper offense. The focal point will be Brand, a bruising force on the left block who needs to deliver on his maximum contract by initiating more offense than he has in previous seasons and developing a stronger left hand.

But there are plenty of other weapons. Kaman likely will start at center, and his strong suit is a well-honed post game that features exquisite footwork. Richardson is also a very strong post player who murders weaker guards when he takes them down to the low right block. The key will be creating the spacing that allows a guard like Richardson to post up, which is why long-bombing center Wang Zhizhi could provide a nice complement. Wilcox and Maggette also can do damage down low if the opportunity arises.

When he coached Portland, Dunleavy ran most of the offense through post-ups and was especially fond of posting up his shooting guards, so in many ways he is the perfect coach for this offense.

Backcourt depth. The Clippers have enough frontcourt players that they can survive an injury to anyone except Brand and sustain very little damage. The same cannot be said for their perimeter players. The starting backcourt of Jaric and Quentin Richardson is solid, although perhaps a bit slow-footed, but God forbid one of them gets hurt.

Backing up Jaric is Dooling, who himself is an injury risk thanks to frequent ankle sprains. He also has been staggeringly ineffective since a promising rookie season three years ago. Meanwhile, subbing in for Richardson will be Eddie House, who is about four inches too short for the position and lived up to his name with all his bricks for Miami last season (38.7 percent shooting).

Maggette can move down to off guard if need be, but that opens up another quandary since he is currently backed up by air. Tremaine Fowlkes, an unsigned free agent from last season, is likely to be brought back as his caddie, but with the Clippers nothing ever is certain until the ink is dry. Like the others, Fowlkes would be in over his head if pressed into a larger role.

Has anything really changed? The Clippers splurged for a real coach and agreed to a couple of big contracts, but that doesn't mean there aren't a cornucopia of storm clouds on the horizon. For starters, despite shelling out to keep Brand and Maggette, the Clippers are still miles from the salary cap, which could be an indication that their frugal ways are still intact. Supposedly, they were keeping the money to match an offer to Odom (before Miami overpaid by so much that they reconsidered), but who knows how serious they were? Donald Sterling has spent many years solidifying his reputation for parsimony, and it would be foolish to let him off the hook after just one summer.

It goes beyond the contracts, too. From the arrangements for the players to the staffing of the team's front office, the Clippers still project a second-rate, fly-by-night operation. Dunleavy, Brand and Maggette are a step in the right direction, but the worry lurks that Sterling will fold his arms and declare his work done for the next five years while he counts his money.

Close, but no cigar. Only eight teams in the West are going to make the playoffs, and the Clippers shouldn't expect to be one of them. Realistically, they would have to beat out Portland or Phoenix for the honor, and they don't quite have the depth or experience that those two clubs offer. But the Clippers will be respectable, which is a moral victory for this franchise. Plus, with two building blocks in Brand and Maggette, and Dunleavy bestowing legitimacy on the regime, they should have better years ahead.

John Hollinger covers basketball for SI.com and is the author of Pro Basketball Prospectus. Click here to send him a question or comment.