Clippers ready to cash in
L. A. owns first pick; Flynn awaits fate
NEW YORK — When Willie “Hutch” Jones was released by the Los Angeles Lakers in 1982, he hooked on immediately with the San Diego Clippers. Let’s just say playing with the Clippers was a different experience than the Lakers.
With the Lakers, Jones could barely put the ball on the floor without it getting swiped away by Magic Johnson, Michael Cooper or Norm Nixon. At times during practice with the Clippers, Jones was a star.
“You didn’t get many baskets with the Lakers,” said Jones, who played at Turner- Carroll before the Lakers made him their second pick in the 1982 draft, behind James Worthy. “Now with the Clippers I’m getting dunks off, talking stuff, it was totally different. I kept trying to tell those guys, this is easy. Try going to play up the highway. You don’t make baskets hardly in practice. It was like going from royalty almost to a level below middle class.”
Things haven’t changed much over the years for the sad-sack Clippers. The Clippers, the truest example of “have nots” in professional sports, are picking in the lottery for the 20th time — the most of any franchise in the NBA — and hold the No. 1 overall pick when the NBA draft begins at 7:30 tonight (ESPN) at the WaMu Theatre in Madison Square Garden. The Clippers are expected to select Oklahoma All-American Blake Griffin with the top pick.
“It’s definitely an honor,” Griffin said. “Going No. 1 or No. 3, 4 or 5 doesn’t change what kind of player I am. I’m still the same player and I do the same things. It doesn’t make me any better to go No. 1 but that’s definitely the goal.”
Tonight will also be a special one for Western New York hoops. Point guard Jonny Flynn, who starred at Niagara Falls High School and Syracuse University, is expected to be selected in the lottery, while shooting guard Paul Harris, who played alongside Flynn at the Falls and Syracuse, could be drafted in the second round.
Also, small forward Jonas Jerebko, who signed with the University at Buffalo four years ago before opting for a professional league in Sweden, could be selected late in the first round or early in the second. Jerebko’s father, Chris, was All-Western New York at St. Francis and played for Syracuse from 1977 to ’81 and played professionally in Europe.
“I’m ready to play for anybody,” Flynn said. “I just want to be in the NBA and show my talents and play for any team that wants to pick me.”
Perhaps no one in the draft helped himself more during pre-draft workouts than the 6-foot Flynn, who — depending on which mock draft you believe— could go as high as No. 4 to the Sacramento Kings. He probably won’t slip past No. 10 to Milwaukee, which perhaps made a deal on Tuesday with Flynn in mind.
The Bucks traded Richard Jefferson to the San Antonio Spurs to clear cap room to sign Charlie Villaneuva or Ramon Sessions. They can’t afford to keep both and if they lose Sessions the Bucks will need a point guard and Flynn will be the best prospect on the board if he’s still available.
Also, the Washington Wizards completed a deal Wednesday to send the No. 5 pick, plus forwards Oleksiy Pecherov, Etan Thomas and Darius Songaila to the Minnesota Timberwolves for guards Randy Foye and Mike Miller. The Timberwolves now own Nos. 5, 6, 18 and 28 in the first round and are now in the market for a point. The Wolves like Flynn at No. 5 as well as Memphis’ Tyreke Evans and Davidson’s Stephen Curry.
Flynn worked out for Sacramento, Minnesota, Golden State, the New York Knicks, Toronto and New Jersey. All were left impressed with Flynn.
Minnesota has shown the most interest in Harris and could use one of its second-round picks — at 45 and 47 — to select the former high school All- American. Meanwhile, Cleveland and Los Angeles are possible first-round destinations for Jerebko. As it stands, the Clippers have only one pick in the draft and Flynn, Harris and Jerebko can be thankful they probably won’t be headed to Sorrywood.
One of the reasons for the Clippers’ discouraging existence can be traced to poor drafting. Since 1980 the Paper Clips got their pick wrong more often than not despite nearly always being trapped in the lottery. Here are a few miserable examples:
• In 1982 the Clippers selected No. 2 Terry Cummings while Dominique Wilkins went one pick later. While Cummings was the league’s Rookie of the Year, Wilkins is in the Hall of Fame.
• Looking for a big man in 1985 the Clips liked Benoit Benjamin at No. 3 and passed on a slew of players like Xavier McDaniel, Chris Mullin, Detlef Schrempf, Karl Malone, Joe Dumars, A. C. Green and Terry Porter, who all enjoyed better careers than Big Ben.
• In 1987, George Gervin “clone” Reggie Williams was available at No. 4, but the Clips would have been better off with either Scottie Pippen, Kenny Smith, Derrick McKey, Horace Grant, Reggie Miller, Mark Jackson or Reggie Lewis, who was Williams’ high school teammate.
• In 1998, the last time the Clips had the top pick, they figured Michael Olowokandi would be a fixture at center and he ended up being one of the biggest flops in draft history. They sure could have used Mike Bibby, Antawn Jamison, Vince Carter, Dirk Nowitzki or Paul Pierce.
Despite the presence of Griffin, chances are this won’t be the Clippers’ last trip to the lottery.
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