13. Los Angeles Clippers

The LA Clippers (who made the playoffs again) have the 13th pick
in the 1993 Usenet draft.  They are represented by:

   Cliff Slaughterbeck .

They select:

   Vin Baker, SF, 6-10, Hartford

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TEAM NEEDS
----------
The Clippers have been a team that was looking for players, any players, for
so long, it is difficult to remember when they last were any good at all.
This year they not only made the playoffs, but even beat out the Lakers for
the 7th spot in the Western Conference, a long time goal.  This team has
loads of talent but is one of the most inconsistent teams ever to grace
the floor in the NBA.  Throw in the fact that Larry Brown resigned as head
coach immediately following the season, and you have virtual chaos.  Here
is the team as it existed last year:

CENTER:  Stanley Roberts ate up the middle last year for the Clippers, and
I do mean ate.  Roberts is 7' and 295 lbs.  Go ahead, you take a charge.  He
has talent, and showed that he can hold his own quite well against the 
premeir centers in the league when he played well against Olajuwon in the
first round of the playoffs.  Roberts biggest problem is that he is foul
prone--he led the league in fouling out this year.  If he can stay in the
game, the Clippers can bang with Eastern Conference teams, but when Roberts
rests on the bench, the Clippers are in trouble.  James Edwards gave some
minutes off of the bench, but face it, Edwards is old and will probabaly
retire soon (if not this year).  John "Hot Plate" Williams also saw time
as the center, but he is more of a power forward (see below).

POWER FORWARD:  Danny Manning is a quick agile sometimes all-star player that
can really light it up.  He is streaky, however, and his no-show against
Houston probably cost the Clippers an upset in the first round of the playoffs
this year.  He is also a restricted free agent who would like to get out
of town.  He will likely only be around for one more year unless the Clipper
management forks over undeservedly large bucks for a long term contract.
Hot Plate Williams played quite a bit off of the bench for the Clippers as
well.  Hot Plate is huge at 6'8" and 295 lbs.  He has loads of talent
offensively, but needs to lose 40 lbs. to really be effective.  The other
player who saw signifigant time was former Michigan player Loy Vaught.
Vaught played reasonably well, collecting the third most rebounds on the
team and contributing 9.4 ppg off the bench.

SMALL FORWARD:  Kenny Norman was the star all by himself this year after
the Clippers traded away Charles Smith to the Knicks.  Norman has decent
range on his jump shot, but is more of a slasher.  He can also rebound 
reasonably well for a small forward.  His defense is average.  Manning
occaisionally played some 3 when Norman was on the bench, as did Ron Harper
(see shooting guard).  The biggest problem for the Clippers is that Norman
is a unrestricted free agent who has expressed a desire to leave, and the
Clippers have absolutely nobody ready to take his place if they can't 
sign him.

SHOOTING GUARD:  Ron Harper is a 6'6" slasher who was one of the best
finishers in the league before getting his knee torn up a few years back.
He played well this year, scoring 18 ppg to come in second on the team
(behind Manning's 22).  No real backup for Harper, although Gary Grant
came in as the only real backup for both guards.

POINT GUARD:  The Clippers picked up Mark Jackson in the trade with the
Knicks, and he has really blossomed his game with the Clippers.  He scores
a consistent 14.4 ppg and dished out 724 assists (if he played in all 82
games, this works out to 8.8 apg).  Gary Grant saw time as the backup to
both Harper and Jackson, scoring 6.6 ppg.  He is a restricted free agent
this year.

MY SELECTION:
-------------
Vin Baker, SF from Hartford.  Baker is a really big time scorer who can
play inside and outside on a team that needs another contributor, especially
if they can't re-sign Norman.  The ideal pick for the Clippers would be
to get Mashburn, but there's no way he'll fall this low.  It may be possible
for the Clippers to trade up to get him, but doing that would simply leave
a hole somewhere else.

OTHERS CONSIDERED:
------------------
Terry Dehere, SG, from Seton Hall.  Ron Harper is another of those restricted
free agents who wants out.  If the Clippers can sign Norman, they may well
take Dehere.

WHO THEY'LL PROBABLY TAKE:
--------------------------

Barring trades, the Clippers will take either the best SG or SF on the 
board.  Which one they take will depend on who they can sign.  I'm guesing
Baker, but Dehere would also be a nice pick.

OTHER MOVES:
------------

One possiblity would be to trade Danny Manning to a team that really wanted
him in exchange for a player and a mid range #1 draft pick.  Dennis Rodman
might be available for such a deal.  If you could swing that kind of a deal,
then Vaught could assume the PF position, and the Clippers could use Rodman
at the 3 spot and use both draft picks to supplement the bench by taking
Dehere and Baker.  That still leaves a hole at the backup center position,
but it's better than where the Clippers are at now.

===========================================================================
Draft Summary:
1.  Orlando
    GM:   Tom@Orlando 
    Pick: Chris Webber, PF, 6-10.  University of Michigan
2.  Philadelphia
    GM:   Dave Meeks 
    Pick: Shawn Bradley, C, 7-7. BYU
3.  Golden State
    GM's: Mike Moore 
          Terry Wong 
    Pick: Jamal Mashburn, SF, 6-8. Kentucky
4.  Dallas
    GM:   Curtis Hill  
    Pick: Anfernee Hardaway, SG, 6-7, Memphis State
5.  Minnesota
    GM's: Kevin Hansen 
          Toni Morgan 
    Pick: Calbert Cheaney, SF, 6-7. Indiana
6.  Washington
    GM's: The Crossjammer 
          Jim Nagle   
    Pick: J.R. Rider, SG, 6-5, UNLV
7.  Sacramento
    GM:   TODD FURESZ 
    Pick: Rodney Rogers, PF, 6-7, Wake Forest
8.  Milwaukee       
    GM's: Brian Saunders 
          Morgan Edwards 
    Pick: Malcolm Mackey, PF, 6-11, Georgia Tech
9.  Denver
    GM's: John Exby 
          Rick Grubin 
    Pick: Ervin Johnson, PF, 6-11, New Orleans
10. Detroit
    GM:   Rob Skrobola 
    Pick: Alan Houston, SG, 6-6, Tennessee
11. Detroit
    GM:   Rob Skrobola 
    Pick: Acie Earl, C, 6-10, Iowa
12. L.A. Lakers
    GM:   Cliff Slaughterbeck 
    Pick: Bobby Hurley, PG, 6-0, Duke
13. L.A. Clippers
    GM:   Cliff Slaughterbeck 
    Pick: Vin Baker, SF, 6-10, Hartford

Next up:
14. Indiana
    GM:   Doug Mraz