Questions for the Clippers

[gmessi2]

Let's keep this simple. I'm a man of few words. No bs. No wordy responses. Ask your questions, get your answers. Go.

[TrayWithAnA]

What's your outlook and goals for the season?

[gmessi2]

I do expect to have a higher seed in the playoffs than the 8 seed like I had this previous season. My win total went down from 2 years ago to last season. Much of that is attributed to injuries. My team was not deep at all last year. At best, I had a solid 7 man rotation. I feel like I am improved on the bench. Here is the breakdown of my team.

Center- Nesterovic- He is my only player at the C position. I feel like he can handle a majority of minutes with short rests. I can test a few smaller guys at this position at backup.
Power ForwardI moved Nick Collison to the starting role after he spent a good portion of the season there last year. Balkman is untested as he has not played a minute in the league, but I expect him to be a solid reserve.
Small Forward Lamar Odom can play pretty much any position for me which puts me at ease at this position. Ruben Patterson will probably start and I will have Odom play my 6th man role.
Shooting Guard- Dwayne Wade obviously will get the start with Antonio Daniels and Jonah Duer getting the backup roles here. With their defensive abilities at B+, Wade will get some time at the point guard position as well.
Point Guard- After deciding to match Hinrich's offer, he will get the start. I almost decided to put Wade at the PG position and not match Hinrich, but I decided it would be best for my team to have a PG that has been with us before. Calderon, Williams, and Wade will all see time at the backup PG spot. Calderon and Williams will be tested to see who can handle more minutes.

Obviously my weakness again is depth, but only at the C position as I only have one. We will see how Odom does as a 6th man and adjustments will be made as necessary.

So much for being a few words.

[Pelicans78]

Did you offer Etan Thomas a contract or did your team decide to move in a different direction? Who's gonna be the guy after Dwyane
Wade to provide scoring? Finally how will you address the backup center spot?

[gmessi2]

We tried to give Etan an MLE. He did not accept as he got more money elsewhere. We did not feel he was worth the risk this year. We do hope that he gets his depression under control.

Just like last year, I am confident that Nesterovic can be a 20/10 guy. Other scoring options may include Hinrich, Odom/Patterson depending on the gameplan for that sim. I know we will see production from the same people as last year and hope to get extra production from Daniels while the second team is in.

As for the center position, when Nesterovic is not in, we will go with a smaller line-up. More than likely we will have a faster pace than last year.