The L.A.C. had an amazing draft day. Already possessing the exciting young Lamar Odom, the Clippers managed to acquire a kid that Michael Jordan compared to Kevin Garnett - Darius Miles, plus the raw but still immensely talented Corey Maggette, college basketball's best point guard, Keyon Dooling, and Quentin Richardson.

Maurice Taylor is going to leave the team, but considering that (1) he can't rebound, and (2) He's of legal drinking age, he wouldn't really fit in on this new team, anyway.

The team still has no head coach, but whomever does get that job should learn three important letters - r-u-n.

Run.

Run Forrest, run.

Err, sorry. It was a good movie.

Anyway, so, yeah - the Clippers now have more explosive youth than anyone. At the very least, this team should finally generate some excitement, even if they keep losing. That's a start.

Now, besides a coach, all they need is a new owner.

After they find someone to teach these kids the X's and O's, step 2 should be to find some veterans. A.C. Green just got cut from the Lakers. He'd be a fantastic leader from the bench.

As for draft day, some great stuff happened :

The Orlando Magic really wanted Darius Miles. They also needed to get rid of Derek Strong and his $3.5 million-a-year, to clear as much cap room as possible. So, the L.A.C. and Orlando agreed that the Clippers would take Miles with the 3rd pick, and if the Bulls took anyone other than Fizer with the 4th pick, the Magic would take him at #5 and trade him, Corey Maggette, Derek Strong, and the 10th pick for Miles.

The Bulls were going to take Darius Miles, and when that was impossible they took the best player available, Fizer.

John Gabriel, the Magic general manager, had his priorities straight. Getting a good new college player would be nice, but clearing cap room for a proven star like Duncan or Hill was far more essential, so he made the deal anyway, without Darius Miles in it.

So, the Clippers got Derek Strong, Corey Maggette, and the 10th pick (which they used on Dooling), all for a future first round draft pick.

As stated earlier, now all the Clippers need (besides some fans, a new owner who isn't afraid to spend some money on a good coach, and a little bit of respect) are some veterans to teach all these kiddies the NBA game (not to mention how to drive a car, vote, dress themselves, and tie their shoelaces).

At the very least, it'll be fun to watch the Clippers this year. They may win a few games, or keep losing, but at least they're worth keeping an eye on for a change.

Good luck to them.

InsideHoops.com

7/15/2000
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