http://www.yardbarker.com/content/player/22832 Recent articles about Al Thornton en-us All I can say is it's about time someone picked him up. Davis was the best free agent available on the market the past few days and the Clippers could really use a swingman too. After picking up Baron Davis, Marcus Camby and trading Brevin Knight for Jason Hart, who played well with the Clips a year ago, Davis fills the need for a wing, which might push back Al Thorton from a starting spot or make Cuttino Mobley a role player off the bench. He couldn't stay a free agent too long, but the Clippers are making some good moves this offseason. Elton Brand was the main reason bringing Baron back home to L.A., just too bad Brand or Maggette didn't stick around. Either way, the Clips got rid of the "Worst Point Guard Rotation in the NBA" tag when they had Knight and Dan Dickau, and there was no reason to bring back Shaun Livingston, a sad story. Trading for Camby and giving Denver the option to swap 2nd round picks didn't exactly replace Brand, but they did bring in the leader in blocked shots and a player one year removed from Defensive Player of the Year. Getting Hart, another hometown guy, also a good pick-up. He played well in his first stint when he replaced the injured Livingston back in 2007. After failing to get Azubuike, Davis was the best available afterwards. Now, looking at a roster that includes, Baron Davis, Ricky Davis, Camby, Chris Kaman, Mobley, Tim Thomas, Hart, Thornton and rookie Eric Gordon, their roster looks good. It's definitely a whole new Clippers team next year. Mon, 28 Jul 2008 20:34:15 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/297211 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/297211 Hey whats up guys back with another article, Now its on to say what sophmore i feel will make the biggest impact this coming year. First off the most underrated rookie last year was most definately Al Thorton. This is the guy who i feel in the long run will be the best player in the draft, sure I haven't seen Greg Oden yet, sure I think Kevin Durant is a great and going to be greater player but have you seen the way this guy plays. Hi energy, strong, skilled player with great size and speed, he can handle the ball and also shoot it. Another guy we saw practicly nothing of last year who happens to play for the Phoenix Suns is named Alando Tucker. Yes i have not watched this man play on an NBA floor yet once. I love this guys potential. If you look at his d-league numbers and yes it is the d-league however still impressive. He scored over 25 points a game and played with versatility. Alando not that this counts for anything at all ends up to be a 99 in NBA live in the future and is the best out of all the players he went in the draft with. Don't comment back on that but i do think he is going to be a great player. He is a player very alike to Thorton. Big skilled player who can score rebound and do multiple things. The Suns have a diamond in the rough and im telling you this right now is the break-out player of the year, that is if he plays. Those are the sophmores that i feel will have the biggest impact in the coming year. Great picks and I see alot of great surprising players to come this year. This will probably the most surprising year you see. I might be jumping the gun but from looking close at these guys and others and see a big surprising year coming out of the NBA. Sun, 20 Jul 2008 20:36:38 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/292962 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/292962 Who knew that Clipper fans were so touchy! It appears that I have ticked off the remaining 6 fans of the Clippers by wondering if anyone feels sorry for the Clippers and their fans. Thu, 17 Jul 2008 09:25:09 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/291596 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/291596 Points in the Paint asks if Camby is a Consolation Prize for losing Brand. Sure, Camby is not a 20 and 10 guy, but getting him for the right to switch places in the second round with a team that is not really any worse than you in 2010 only brings up thoughts of conspiracy theory in my head. I mean, are there some hot second round prospects for 2010 that are worth someone who had 9.1 points, 13.1 rebounds, 3.6 blocks, 1.1 steals, and 3.3 assists? This was like Michael Scott inking a deal with Christian over a Blooming Onion Rose. Of course now, Patrick's neglectfulness of Chris Kaman looks almost prescient. IMPACTFUL! Clippers Theoretically, the Clippers can slide Kaman to the 4, but his rebounds and blocks are going to go down simply because Camby gets so many of those. As a result, though, Al Thornton will have to move down the old Big Board a bit. Other than that, I'm not sure who is actually left on the Clippers besides Baron Davis. Nuggets As for the Nugs, well, I'm not sure how they think rebuilding with Allen Iverson and Kenyon Martin on the team is somehow a good idea… but then, I'm not running an NBA franchise. Carmelo Anthony is only 24 (and has my mom's birthday!), so they've got that on their side. Nene Hilario will be 26 in September - and he figures to be a big part of the team with Camby gone. I have to figure there are some other trades in the works - and the way things are going this offseason, I'm sort of holding my breath for it - but if that's it… the man called Nene will be looking at a jump to 11 and 7 again. And he should still be eligible as an FC for Yahoo leagues. Well, at least there's one thing Nuggets fans can cheer about… Unless the Nuggets managed to trade her for Meredith Palmer somewhere around the 3rd Presidente Margarita. Wed, 16 Jul 2008 06:50:12 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/291021 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/291021 Bobby Brown rises in summer league scoring 20 points including the go-ahead shot, while Arron Affalo and Marco Bellinelli each scored 25 points leading to wins for their teams, and see why Clippers' lottery pick Eric Gordon is out for the rest of summer league after playing 2 games. Mon, 14 Jul 2008 14:32:35 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/290271 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/290271 Spencer Hawes, O.J. Mayo, D.J. Augustin and Dhantay Jones all starred leading their teams to wins. Augustin, Joe Alexander and the little known lottery pick Jason Thompson made their summer league debut. After 2 days of action, here's the early player and rookie rankings of summer league. Sun, 13 Jul 2008 14:21:14 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/289827 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/289827 Following the 10 days of NBA Summer League action in Las Vegas and the best performances of the day, starting with Day 1 with 4 games on the schedule. The debuts include Anthony Randolph, O.J. Mayo, Marreese Speights, Eric Gordon and Darrell Arthur. More after the jump. Sat, 12 Jul 2008 11:17:57 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/289493 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/289493 Rookies tend to get most of the hoopla during Summer League action, but the reality is that very few of them will make an immediate fantasy impact. So here are a few non-rookies to look out for. Not all of them are worth drafting, but all have the potential to put up nice numbers if they continue to improve and the opportunity presents itself. Some non-rookies who looked great in Summer League 2007 and carried that momentum into the regular season include: Louis Williams, Francisco Garcia, Kelenna Azubuike, and Jason Maxiell (all had solid fantasy value at some point last season). Wed, 09 Jul 2008 08:19:00 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/287882 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/287882 After several key acquisitions and releases, the Los Angeles Clippers seem to be turning things around in a positive direction. Here is how I view the new and improved Los Angeles Clippers: PG Baron Davis www.rawsportsblog.com Sun, 06 Jul 2008 09:37:32 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/286202 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/286202 A list of the top 5 rookies and the top 5 most improved players of the 2007-08 season. Wed, 23 Apr 2008 08:39:27 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/255305 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/255305 A couple dozen basket-bloggers voted every two weeks on awards like MVP and Rookie of the Year. With the final Rookie, Coach, and Most Improved Player awards unveiled, did Kevin Durant hold off Al Horford? Did Doc Rivers win Coach of the Year over Kevin Garnett? Mon, 21 Apr 2008 13:48:13 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/252299 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/252299 The Biggest Loser: I didn't name this backwards day just because of Al Thornton. No, it takes something bigger, something like LeBron James (2.2) to make that happen. LeBron was 4-17 from the floor (1-5 from three) and finished with 13 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists, and 5 turnovers as the Piston held the Cavs to a lowly 71 points. Sun, 30 Mar 2008 07:39:13 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/224112 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/224112 With this week having been highlighted on my calendar since last April, I've dubbed it the "Sportal Alignment" period. Like many astrologists and zodiac experts will refer to as Planetary Alignment, in late March and early April we reach a nexus in sports almost like no other time period during the course of the year. Everyone truly has something going on this time of year… Baseball lovers have renewed hope that another Spring Training brings and MLB's Opening Day; Pro Basketball fans have the precursor to the NBA playoffs, where every game becomes more valuable down the stretch en route to the playoffs; Of course the Fantasy Basketball playoffs are in full swing; Potential NFL stars of tomorrow have gritted their way through another Combine, and the NFL Draft is so close you can smell the vendors grilling up a storm outside MSG; And last but not least, my focus for Fantasy Ballers this week, the NCAA Basketball Tournament ! Tue, 25 Mar 2008 10:21:05 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/217682 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/217682 Does it get any better for a sports fan than scoring free tickets? No stress, no hassle, just sit back and enjoy the game. Thu, 20 Mar 2008 01:46:43 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/211320 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/211320 It still looks like a very good possibility in both the Eastern and Western Conferences for some down to the wire action. With Houston putting the rest of the league on notice that hard nosed play can propel you to the top, it's also setting an example for the bubble teams like New Jersey who snuck into the #8 spot in the East this week. This kind of action can be very good for Fantasy Basketball, as there will be more players available for a competitive Fantasy Finals that many leagues are fast approaching. On the player movement front, it remains a bit stagnant, but here's the latest from this week. Wed, 19 Mar 2008 00:54:41 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/209348 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/209348