Dunleavy Aiming For A Camby Return?

Welcome to our community

Be a part of something great, join today!

Register Log in
ABM

ABM

Happily Married In Music City, USA!
Joined
Sep 12, 2008
Messages
31,865
Likes
5,785
Points
113
FWIW

From: Henry Abbott

Mike Dunleavy, the Clippers coach, recently lost his job. Luckily, he had a spare: general manager.

And in that role, he is being judged for trading arguably his best player -- Marcus Camby -- for a backup point guard in Steve Blake, and a small forward coming off a major injury in Travis Outlaw.

The Clippers' end of the trade has been praised as a solid and affordable way to get younger and more skilled; it has also been condemned as a cheap way to drum up some cash while dooming the season.

Dunleavy was a guest on the Fox Sports West broadcast of the Blazers vs. Clippers, and used the airtime to intimate that it's conceivable he just pulled off an amazingly lopsided trade -- because Camby could return to the Clippers as a free agent this summer.

In a phone interview from Los Angeles, Dunleavy spoke sparingly of his two new players. Instead he made clear how much he still likes Marcus Camby, and that it's a possibility the big man -- reportedly very happy in Los Angeles -- would return in the summer.

By moving Marcus we got a couple of young players that we'll have Bird rights for going into the future. We preserve our cap space as well, going into next summer. And, you know, Marcus Camby's a guy that we loved and appreciated and uh ... you know ... you never know how things are going to end up. But, uh, we're very excited about the players that we're adding to our team and what it does for us moving forward.

It's worth pointing out that it would be against League rules for a GM to have a handshake deal on a future contract, and I'm implying nothing of the sort here. But because of, for instance, the severe penalties Minnesota once paid for secret deals with Joe Smith, GMs go to trouble to avoid saying anything that might sound at all like this or that free agent has a particular destiny.

In the context of a total ban on such talk, however, Dunleavy was coy and suggestive. A Camby return is clearly on his mind, and something he encourages Clipper fans to consider. He added:

We love Marcus as a player. Everything about his game and what he does for this team. Like I said, we'll see how things go forward. Marcus is a free agent. We have a lot of cap space this summer -- and you never know how things work out.


This emphasis certainly does change a bit how the trade can be judged. Perhaps it's best to give it an incomplete for now. And if one or both of the new Clippers prove to be long term solutions at positions of need, and Camby returns, then there's no choice but to give Dunleavy an A+.
Click to expand...
 
And what are the chances that Camby loves it here and ends up staying here after this season? I think there's a good chance we re-sign him. This team needs veterans, and having Camby's bird rights would give us a chance to bring him back when we would have had very little chance this summer otherwise. It really all depends on how well he plays here, and if he wants to stay.
 
I wouldnt read too much into that. If we were to pull off a first round series, it would be hard for him to take a step down to the clip show, for his remaining couple years.
 
Dunleavy was a guest on the Fox Sports West broadcast of the Blazers vs. Clippers, and used the airtime to intimate that it's conceivable he just pulled off an amazingly lopsided trade -- because Camby could return to the Clippers as a free agent this summer.
Click to expand...

Yeah, that would be amazingly lopsided...if either Blake or Outlaw were impact players AND if they weren't free agents themselves. All of these three players (Outlaw, Blake and Camby) could be had on the free agent market in the off-season. So it's two rentals for one...and the one the Blazers got was the best.
 
This may be random......but Marcus Camby looks like Dr.Dre to me. I just had to put it out there.
600px-drdrecapture.jpg
 
And on the flip side, there's nothing stopping the Blazers from re-signing either Steve Blake or Travis Outlaw, or both, this summer. Especially Outlaw, I'd see it as a possibility.

But if Camby has the choice between a young, playoff-bound team with an owner whose pockets are deeper than anyone else's, or playing on a young, lottery-bound team for an owner whose stinginess is notorious throughout sports - which do you think he'll choose?

Sure, it's a choice between Portland and LA, and maybe he'll prefer the sunshine. But there's a lot in the Blazers' favor, if he's willing to consider it. And if he's not? Oden and Przybilla will return, and there are other fish in the sea, when it comes to a backup, backup big men, who can help out at C in a pinch (hey, Juwan Howard did a pretty good job at it, for a 36 year-old guy who's only 6'9" - so finding someone else to fill in maybe shouldn't be so hard...?).
 
I guess it all boils down to what team has a better chance of making some noise in the next couple of years. The Clippers have some pretty nice young pieces in Gordon, Jordan, and Griffin, but if I were Marcus and I ended up liking it here in P-town and I knew that I didn't have much time to cross the finish line with a ring on my finger I think I'd be moderately more enthused about Portland's prospects than the Clippers. :dunno:

It all depends on Camby I guess.
 
If the Clips win the lottery again thanks to this tanking trade, then they may have gotten the best of the trade. In the meantime the Blazers will spoil Camby with wins, playoffs, great facilities, an awesome team plane, and the richest owner in sports who has a history of overpaying his players. Why he'd go back to the Clips voluntarily is beyond me.
 
BBert said:
If the Clips win the lottery again thanks to this tanking trade, then they may have gotten the best of the trade. In the meantime the Blazers will spoil Camby with wins, playoffs, great facilities, an awesome team plane, and the richest owner in sports who has a history of overpaying his players. Why he'd go back to the Clips voluntarily is beyond me.
Click to expand...

That's a very good point. The Clips will be garbage for the rest of the year, yet still, the have a bunch of teams to pass in order to improve their ping-pong chances. Also, there is Baron Davis , his declining game, and his contract to worry about at that point.
 
Last edited:
Listening to Camby on the Clipper's pre game broadcast i did not get the same "warm& fuzzies"
from him towards Dunleavy.

I am sure Camby likes SoCAL, but it is far from a lock that he would re-sign.
 
I consider Camby a rental. He came cheaply and should be a big help.
 
Either way, I don't care. We get him to help us now. Rad. We don't really need him next year, if Greg can stay on the court. Either way, I am not going to cry about it.
 
ABM said:
...or Boston, or the L*kers, or Denver, or...
Click to expand...

Yes--this thread assumes that Camby's only summer options will be Portland and Los Angeles. No, the whole league wants him if he doesn't cost too much.
--------
A different TrueHoop article gives the main deficiency of each player: Camby drops back on virtually every screen. The same cluelessness that makes Outlaw impervious to crunch-time pressure also makes him a liability in complex defensive schemes.

http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/po...-deal-through-the-eyes-of-arnovitz-and-abbott
 
It has been my impression in the past that Camby does everything he can to pad his rebounding stats at the expense of good overall basketball. Same with blocks. Why? My guess is because like Dennis Rodman, that's his statistical schtick to get the big contract. Is it my imagination or was Camby known in Denver for getting pissed off at his teammates if they dared to corral one of 'his' rebounds? Did I imagine that? (Hey, I may have. Hallucinations are fun.) I read somewhere yesterday about how Dunleavy got Camby to focus less on blocks and more on good defense, and that was trotted out as showing what a great selfless team player he is.

I always thought Camby was kind of a selfish, injury-prone cancer. Well, he hasn't been injury prone the last few years (There is hope for G.O. I tell ya!).

Contrary to my previous impressions, I have read and heard repeatedly over the last 24 hours what a great teammate Camby is, what a great locker room guy he is, what a great "glue guy" he is, what a great mentor and teacher he is, and how he's the most unselfish team-first player in the history of basketball.

I hope I was wrong and all that P.R. is right. Probably it's somewhere in between.

Don't get me wrong, I think on balance it's a pretty good trade. We got a legit player for our refuse and maintained a shot at the playoffs. I expect he will work hard for his next contract and fit in perfectly while here, and there is even a chance that if the Blazers don't want to keep him (or he doesn't want to stay) we may be able to do a sign and trade this summer for some long-term value.

Keep the Faith!

:cheers:
 
Last edited:
What else is Dunleavy going to say? He can't tell the truth, which is that he made the deal to give Stirling a few million bucks in cash.


This deal had very little to do with basketball. Much like all of the other moves the Clippers have made.

A joke of a team with a joke of a GM.
 
LittleAlex said:
What else is Dunleavy going to say? He can't tell the truth, which is that he made the deal to give Stirling a few million bucks in cash.


This deal had very little to do with basketball. Much like all of the other moves the Clippers have made.

A joke of a team with a joke of a GM.
Click to expand...

That joke of a GM used to be our coach. I don't think Dunleavy is a joke in any way, shape or form. Does anyone remember when we traded Blake to MIL? Clearly we had a talk with him to let him know when he was a free agent, we would be interested in re-signing him. He intimated that very thing to me when I ran into him shortly after he was traded to Denver. I think Dunleavy had that very talk with Camby.

Right now the Clippers are a much better team than their record indicates. Injuries aside, they're "set" at four positions:

PG - Davis

SG - Gordon

PF - Griffin

C - Kaman

Where do they need help? Small forward and backup point guard. What did they get in return for Camby? A small forward and a backup point guard. They can spend as much as they want on those two next year because they have their Bird Rights. That leaves the full MLE to re-sign Camby, thereby giving them a pretty strong three-man rotation of Kaman, Griffin and Camby at the 4/5.

They didn't snooker us; we knew the score. But to pretend that Dunleavy is an idiot is just silly.
 
maxiep said:
That joke of a GM used to be our coach. I don't think Dunleavy is a joke in any way, shape or form. Does anyone remember when we traded Blake to MIL? Clearly we had a talk with him to let him know when he was a free agent, we would be interested in re-signing him. He intimated that very thing to me when I ran into him shortly after he was traded to Denver. I think Dunleavy had that very talk with Camby.

Right now the Clippers are a much better team than their record indicates. Injuries aside, they're "set" at four positions:

PG - Davis

SG - Gordon

PF - Griffin

C - Kaman

Where do they need help? Small forward and backup point guard. What did they get in return for Camby? A small forward and a backup point guard. They can spend as much as they want on those two next year because they have their Bird Rights. That leaves the full MLE to re-sign Camby, thereby giving them a pretty strong three-man rotation of Kaman, Griffin and Camby at the 4/5.

They didn't snooker us; we knew the score. But to pretend that Dunleavy is an idiot is just silly.
Click to expand...

Don't we also have Canby's Bird Rights?:confused:
 
I think this should also be considered an audition. Marcus Camby would be a rich mans version of the Birdman if:

1. His time here works out pretty well.

2. He is open to such a scenario.

I would absolutely love to have a player of his caliber on this team to provide the depth to the front line, stability to the 2nd unit, and last but not least:

Could you imagine how hard it would be to score in the paint with Camby and Joel/Oden on the floor?

Joel may or may not make it back by beginning of season. He would help out there too.
 
Last edited:
Interestingly, the Blazers and Clippers will be trying to woo him over as a bench player this summer. He wouldn't start in front of either Aldridge/Oden or Griffin/Kamen next year.
 
mook said:
Interestingly, the Blazers and Clippers will be trying to woo him over as a bench player this summer. He wouldn't start in front of either Aldridge/Oden or Griffin/Kamen next year.
Click to expand...

And if Jordan can ever learn to shoot free throws . . . they got to find some development time for him too.

Canby is a better fit in Ptd with no backup PF and two centers coming off of serious injuries.
 
maxiep said:
That joke of a GM used to be our coach. I don't think Dunleavy is a joke in any way, shape or form. Does anyone remember when we traded Blake to MIL? Clearly we had a talk with him to let him know when he was a free agent, we would be interested in re-signing him. He intimated that very thing to me when I ran into him shortly after he was traded to Denver. I think Dunleavy had that very talk with Camby.

Right now the Clippers are a much better team than their record indicates. Injuries aside, they're "set" at four positions:

PG - Davis

SG - Gordon

PF - Griffin

C - Kaman

Where do they need help? Small forward and backup point guard. What did they get in return for Camby? A small forward and a backup point guard. They can spend as much as they want on those two next year because they have their Bird Rights. That leaves the full MLE to re-sign Camby, thereby giving them a pretty strong three-man rotation of Kaman, Griffin and Camby at the 4/5.

They didn't snooker us; we knew the score. But to pretend that Dunleavy is an idiot is just silly.
Click to expand...

Why? When has Dunleavy put together a good team during his time with the Clippers?

I don't remember the time he made a fantastic deal but he must have since he is a good GM.

He is a way better coach then he is a GM.

And he was never Portland's GM, only the coach.
 
clips just opened up a max salary spot, doubt they give any to camby, i guess we will see.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

MIXUM
Camby Update(S)
2
Replies
30
Views
2K
maxiep
maxiep
Tortimer
Knicks after Camby/Amare
Replies
15
Views
1K
craigehlo
craigehlo
OSUBlazerfan
Camby Blocking Trade????
2 3
Replies
68
Views
3K
KingSpeed
KingSpeed
thedude9990
Frye for Lee?
2
Replies
34
Views
3K
DaRizzle
DaRizzle
jaspitzer
Camby to Houston?
Replies
12
Views
704
RoyToy
R

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 1 (members: 0, guests: 1)
Back
Top