Clippers Have the Talent and, at Long Last, Hope

They are a civic disgrace. A joke. A bunch of losers. Rodney Dangerfield probably gets more respect. Aretha Franklin certainly does. Name the starting five and win two season tickets. Name two starters and win four season tickets.

The owner is a buffoon.

The general manager a hack.

The coach a retread....

OK, OK, enough already.

The Clippers have heard it all by now, and they’re tired of it. Fed up. They want it known they believe they will win more games than they lose this season. They want it known they believe they will make the playoffs.

They might be right on both counts.

No question, they are exciting.

No question, they are competitive.

Above all else, they are cautiously hopeful, itself a dramatic change from past seasons filled with losses and grim resignation.

“I think there should be high expectations,” Coach Alvin Gentry said. “But you’ve got to be a little careful. To think we’ll go from 15 wins to 31 wins to 50 wins [in three seasons] is a little unrealistic because of the makeup of the West.”

The Minnesota Timberwolves won 47 games last season and barely shouldered their way into the playoffs as the eighth and final team to qualify from the Western Conference. The Houston Rockets won 45 and went on vacation.

So, the Clippers won’t say that nothing less than a playoff berth will do this season. Winning 45 games, a 14-victory improvement over last season’s 31-51 record, but failing to get one of the top eight spots wouldn’t necessarily mean failure.

Improvement is the ultimate goal.

“If we make the playoffs, it will be because we hustled our butts off,” Gentry said.

If the Clippers make the playoffs, it will be the first time since 1996-97. If they win more than they lose, it will be the first time since they were 45-37 in 1991-92.

Since 1991-92, the Clippers have had records of 41-41, 27-55, 17-65, 29-53, 36-46, 17-65, 9-41 (shortened season because of a labor dispute), 15-67 and 31-51.

The seeds of the Clippers’ rejuvenation were sown not last season, but before a miserable 1999-2000 season, when Elgin Baylor, the franchise’s general manager, drafted Lamar Odom from Rhode Island. It continued with the selections of Darius Miles and Quentin Richardson in the 2000 draft.

Baylor acquired Keyon Dooling, Corey Maggette and Derek Strong in a trade with the Orlando Magic in June 2000. Baylor had already signed free agent Jeff McInnis earlier that year.

And then this past June, Baylor dealt top pick Tyson Chandler and Brian Skinner to the Chicago Bulls to get Elton Brand. And get this, Brand was truly excited to be leaving Chicago to join the Clippers.

Today, it’s not a squad capable of winning the NBA championship.

Tomorrow? That is another story.

Suddenly, there is optimism in Clipperdom. There also is a keen sense of patience, a notion that better days could be just ahead for owner Donald Sterling’s favorite plaything.

“We’re still going through a process,” Odom said. “You don’t know how to win in the NBA after only 10 games or whatever. You win after years and years of playing together.”

So, for now, consider the Clippers a team taking its first tentative steps toward respectability. Status as a league power is some distance from their current standing. It’s going to take several seasons of steady progress before the Clippers fall into that category. It’s going to take more than standout play on the court to get there, however.

Sterling has been criticized countless times for failing to spend enough money to put a competitive team together and keep it together.

Indeed, bashing Sterling has become a Southern California sports fan’s favorite pastime. In the minds of many, Sterling’s failure to re-sign Danny Manning, dealing him to Atlanta for an ancient Dominique Wilkins on Feb. 24, 1994, stands out as the worst example of his mismanagement.

There have been indications recently that this might be a team worth keeping together, however. Andy Roeser, the team’s executive vice president, made it clear the franchise will attempt to re-sign standouts like Odom and Brand in the future.

In fact, it may be difficult to keep the squad intact, but in Odom and Brand, the franchise finally has players with star quality and the Clippers desperately want to keep them together.

In the final analysis, Manning, while a fine NBA player, certainly won’t compare to Odom or Brand.

Plus, there is the obvious difference in revenue generated after the Clippers’ move two years ago from the 1960s-era squalor of the Sports Arena to the 21st-century splendor of Staples Center. Luxury boxes filled to overflowing with happy customers mean more money for the Clippers.

How much more is uncertain because the team won’t discuss its finances. But it’s a safe bet the club is doing better at Staples than it did in the Sports Arena.

In addition, season-ticket sales have soared to more than 12,000 for the season. Most seasons in the Sports Arena, the Clippers didn’t average 12,000 fans per game. Last season, the team averaged 14,621 and had 11 sellouts at Staples Center, both franchise records.

Whether Sterling spends that money on fat new contracts for Odom, Brand and others remains to be seen, although Roeser said he believes it will happen. Doing so would mean the Clippers will continue to build, rather than retreat, which was what happened after their modest success in the early 1990s.

“We’ll do everything we can to keep our core group together,” Roeser said. “The truth is we have never been blessed with a superstar--ever. The fact is we may have at least one now [Odom and perhaps Brand]. You don’t let superstars get away. We are going to keep these players.”

Will that, at long last, put an end to the jokes?

A winning 2001-02 and a commitment to the future in the form of new deals for top players like Odom and Brand could cast the Clippers in a whole new light in L.A., one that includes praise instead of ridicule.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Roster

CENTERS

No.: 34

Player: Michael Olowokandi

Yr.: 4

Ht.: 7-0

Wt.: 270

Comment: Must improve his play and avoid foul trouble

*

No.: 45

Player: Sean Rooks

Yr.: 10

Ht.: 6-10

Wt.: 260

Comment: Sturdy, valuable, experienced veteran backup

FORWARDS

No.: 42

Player: Elton Brand

Yr.: 3

Ht.: 6-8

Wt.: 265

Comment: A power forward in every sense of the term.

*

No.: 23

Player: Obinna Ekezie

Yr.: 3

Ht.: 6-9

Wt.: 270

Comment: Was longshot to make the club.

*

No.: 55

Player: Harold Jamison

Yr.: 2

Ht.: 6-9

Wt.: 269

Comment: Starts season on injured list.

*

No.: 21

Player: Darius Miles

Yr.: 2

Ht.: 6-9

Wt.: 210

Comment: Sometimes makes you forget he’s only 20.

*

No.: 7

Player: Lamar Odom

Yr.: 3

Ht.: 6-10

Wt.: 221

Comment: Could he be the league’s most versatile player?

GUARDS

No.: 11

Player: Earl Boykins

Yr.: 4

Ht.: 5-5

Wt.: 133

Comment: Short but sweet, a playmaker in every sense.

*

No.: 1

Player: Keyon Dooling

Yr.: 2

Ht.: 6-3

Wt.: 196

Comment: Emerging as a steady backup point guard.

*

No.: 50

Player: Corey Maggette

Yr.: 3

Ht.: 6-6

Wt.: 228

Comment: Battling hard for more playing time.

*

No.: 5

Player: Jeff McInnis

Yr.: 5

Ht.: 6-4

Wt.: 179

Comment: Excels in his role as level-headed point guard.

*

No.: 52

Player: Eric Piatkowski

Yr.: 8

Ht.: 6-6

Wt.: 215

Comment: Streaky shooter fighting to keep starting spot.

*

No.: 3

Player: Quentin Richardson

Yr.: 2

Ht.: 6-6

Wt.: 236

Comment: If he improves outside jumper, look out.