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Clippers at a Glance Coach: Alvin Gentry Last Year: 39-43 (Stats) Key Additions: C Melvin Ely, G Marko Jaric, G Andre Miller, G Bryant Stith, F Chris Wilcox Key Losses: F Harold Jamison, F Darius Miles Projected Starters PG Andre Miller SG Quentin Richardson SF Lamar Odom PF Elton Brand C Michael Olowokandi Key Subs PG Marko Jaric SF Corey Maggette PF Chris Wilcox C Melvin Ely

By John Hollinger, CNNSI.com

These are not your father's Clippers.

Over the past four years, general manager Elgin Baylor has assembled a gargantuan horde of young talent that few teams in the history of the game could match. Elton Brand, Quentin Richardson, Lamar Odom, Keyon Dooling, Marko Jaric, Corey Maggette, Chris Wilcox and Melvin Ely are all promising, talented players -- and all 23 or younger.

The Clips may have taken the final step toward building a contender by trading yet another skilled youngster, Darius Miles, to the Clippers for Andre Miller.

Of course, it may be temporary. The Clippers' reputation as the misers of the NBA precedes them. Brand, Miller, Maggette and Odom are all up for contract extensions, and none has seen the payola yet. Next year Richardson and Dooling will be in the same boat.

The Clippers may not be able to keep all of them regardless of their budget, but the bigger worry among Clips fans is that they won't keep any of them because the team is so cheap.

Elton Brand, F -- Brand is unusual, because while most of the Clippers are interesting because of what they could become, he is a great player already. Last year he was a monster on the glass, pulling down 11.6 boards a game, and his 18.2 points per game would have been higher if a hand injury hadn't prevented him from shooting late in the season. He still shot 53 percent from the floor, and while nobody seems to consider him a shot-blocker, he swatted more than two a game.

Brand's strength makes it impossible to bull him out of the post, and his right-hand hook shot is money. The only quibbles are that he should use his left hand more and work on his jump shot. With the Clippers' other weapons, Brand doesn't need to give them more than 20 points a night, but he needs to step up in the post when the Clippers need a basket late in games.

Donald Sterling, owner -- Here is the ultimate test of whether the Clippers will ever achieve their potential. Sterling has four players eligible for an extension right now, and hasn't shown any of them the money yet. If he does as expected and is too chinsy to pay for quality, then the Clippers will have a nice two-year run before everybody leaves town and gets a big payday somewhere else. If he is willing to pay to keep his best players, however, this team will be awesome.

To be fair, his moves so far haven't seemed completely imprudent. It makes sense that he wants to see Odom lay off the ganja for a year before he signs him to a big extension. He made a generous offer to the overrated Michael Olowokandi, their free-agent center, and it's not his fault the Kandi Man's agent is making hilarious demands for the maximum. And Maggette, though a useful player, probably isn't somebody he should drop fat coin on, especially if it means losing Brand, Miller or Richardson.

However, his inaction regarding Brand and Miller is disturbing. Maybe he's just taking his time and will get it done before the season, or maybe he really is too cheap to pay for a winner. Over the next 12 months, he'll get to prove that it's the latter and not the former.

Are they good enough to win now?

Everybody knows this team has talent. The real question is whether the talent is ready to win this year -- because it might not be together much longer than that.

The Clippers are one of the few teams that, if everything breaks right, could break into the Kings-Lakers duopoly atop the league. Yes, I mean this year. There's that much talent here. If you're a Clipper fan and have resigned yourself to the fact that Donald Sterling will ruin this team within 18 months, the burning question isn't whether this team can win big eventually -- it's whether it has the horses to make a deep playoff run this year.

The answer could be yes. The starting five of Miller, Richardson, Odom, Brand, and (presuming he re-signs) Olowokandi doesn't take a backseat to anyone, including the Kings and Lakers. A bench of Jaric, Piatkowski, Dooling, Maggette, Wilcox and Ely isn't chopped liver, either. Despite all that talent, it seems more likely that it will take at least another year. The Clips' defensive intensity hasn't been anywhere near championship caliber under Alvin Gentry, and of course their total lack of playoff experience will be an issue in the insanely competitive Western Conference.

Watch out

Fast Facts • The Clippers' 510 steals last year were the league's fewest, but their 540 blocked shots were topped only by Detroit. • Michael Olowokandi was just sixth on the Clippers in scoring last year, but led the team in turnovers.

Whatever happens after this year, the short term looks bright. Miller massively upgrades the point guard spot, and the return of Odom should do the same at small forward. Moreover, the bench is far more solid this season. In particular, the addition of Wilcox and Ely should provide the frontcourt depth that was so lacking last season.

The Clips haven't had a winning season since the Danny Manning days, but there's no reason they can't win at least 50 games this year.