Clippers general manager Elgin Baylor explained that he expects even bigger things from the Clippers this season.
Last season, the team advanced to Game 7 of a Western Conference semifinal series against the Phoenix Suns. For Baylor, the team can do even better this year.
The Clippers had their highest total with 47 regular season wins since the franchised team moved to California. They also posted a franchise record for road wins despite Corey Maggette not playing for 50 games and backup point guard Shaun Livingston for 21 games, while being two essential players.
For the next season, point guard and co-captain Sam Cassell re-signed with the Clippers. The team also managed to lure free agent forwards Tim Thomas and Aaron Williams to Los Angeles. On the performance side, the continued development of 7-foot center Chris Kaman is likely to provide a boost for the Clippers as well. Last season, Kaman, entering his fourth NBA season, had career-best averages of 11.9 points, 9.6 rebounds and 1.38 blocked shots. He is expected to be a bigger factor on offense this season. It is also rumored that the Clippers will reach a formal contract extension agreement with Kaman’s agent this month. Based on recent contracts signed by centers with comparable statistics, Kaman could receive as much as $10 million to $12 million per season.
This season, the Clippers had predicted to have only the 14 players with guaranteed contracts in the season’s opening lineup. However, they could keep 15 due to injury concerns. In fact, they have to deal with backup center Zeljko Rebraca, who was already sidelined for most of last season with conditioning and heart problems, who has a bad back, and Thomas, who also has a sore back. back. Thomas’ availability is done on a day-to-day basis.
