fishmike wrote:I like the idea of Lance, but after saying see ya to JR comes off a bit hypocritical.

In a way, I'm glad Stephenson is now out of temptations way- when I get desperate and down on the Knicks, I start thinking adding him tot he team would be a good idea!

TripleThreat wrote:IMHO, this is a very good trade for the Clippers.

Hawes just didn't fit in as a rotational big man on that team. They get out from under his contract.

Matt Barnes is pretty much burned out at this point. He's a fringe rotation guy on a very good team, but not at the usage level that the Clippers pushed him at this season.

The Clips desperately needed youth, athleticism and defense on the wing, and now they got it.

Chris Paul, Austin Rivers, Lance Stephenson. That might be just enough perimeter defense, even with Paul losing a step, to compensate for the lack of real D from JJ Redick and Jamal Crawford.

Chris Paul's practical window is very very short now, this is a good Push Now move that doesn't cripple them for the long term future.

The Hornets might get a Stretch 5 at a value price if Hawes is effective. Also they had no future with Stephenson and they signed him for only cap space. That they could get anything for him without having to just cut him was a win in their book.

Problem is Stephenson is a SG, and they already have Crawford, Redick and Rivers. Meanwhile they have no SF. Also, Stephenson needs to handle the ball a lot to be effective, except they have CP3 to do that. Also their locker room has issues and tensions between CP3, Blake and DeAndre. Not sure if adding Lance to that is a great idea. It will be funny to see how long CP3 can tolerate him for though!

crzymdups wrote:

smackeddog wrote:

Problem is Stephenson is a SG, and they already have Crawford, Redick and Rivers. Meanwhile they have no SF. Also, Stephenson needs to handle the ball a lot to be effective, except they have CP3 to do that. Also their locker room has issues and tensions between CP3, Blake and DeAndre. Not sure if adding Lance to that is a great idea. It will be funny to see how long CP3 can tolerate him for though!

I bet the Clippers put Lance at the 3, given how the West is prone to playing small and fast. Keep Reddick at the 2, Jamal and Rivers off the bench.

I could see them letting Crawford walk in FA. He was dynamic off the bench but his lack of D there hurt the clippers. A bench of Rivers and Stephenson at the 1 & 2 could be good for LA. I think they are planning to go after Paul Pierce for whatever money they would have from the MLE so Lance isn't going to play a lot of SF.

smackeddog wrote:Don't forget, there is a reasonable chance DeAndre Jordan walks. I think it was a risky trade to make, and if they were going to take that risk, they shouldn't have pulled the trigger until they knew what was happening with DeAndre Jordan.