The Los Angeles Clippers maintain that they are going to match any offer that restricted free agent center DeAndre Jordan gets on the free agent market.  That being said, they still have 29-year old center Chris Kaman.  Kaman played in 32 games (15 starts) for the Clippers last year and he averaged 26.2 minutes, 12.4 points, 7.0 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.5 blocked shots per game.  He has now played in 493 games (425 starts) in his NBA career and he is averaging 29.7 minutes, 11.8 points, 8.3 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.4 blocked shots per game.  Kaman could also be trade bait for the Clippers if they do indeed re-sign Jordan.

22-year old power forward Blake Griffin was the NBA Rookie of the Year in 2010-11.  He played in 82 games (all starts) for the Clippers last year and he averaged 38.0 minutes, 22.5 points, 12.1 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game.  Griffin could even top those numbers in 2011-12 for the Clippers as he is the most exciting player in the NBA right now.  I stay up late on the East Coast to watch the Clippers on my NBA League Pass, because of Griffin.  28-year old Ike Diogu will backup Griffin in 2011-12.  Diogu played in 36 games (0 starts) for the Clippers last year and he averaged 13.1 minutes, 5.8 points, 3.2 rebounds and 0.1 assists per game.  He has now played in 223 games (18 starts) in his NBA career so far and he is averaging 12.5 minutes, 6.0 points, 3.1 rebounds and 0.3 assists per game.  21-year old Trey Tompkins was taken by the Clippers in the 2nd round of the NBA Draft last April.  He has a nice upside as a power player in the near future for the Clippers.

The Clippers need more offensive production out of the small forwards in 2011-12.  22-year old Al-Farouq Aminu might get a shot to be the full-time starter this year.  He played in 81 games (14 starts) for the Clippers last year and he averaged 17.9 minutes, 5.6 points, 3.3 rebounds and 0.7 assists per game.  Aminu only shot 39.4% from the floor and he’s going to need to improve on that figure if the wants to play more this year.  29-year old Ryan Gomes will have a good shot of beating out Aminu for the starting job at small forward this year.  He played in 76 games (62 starts) for the Clippers last year and he averaged 27.6 minutes, 7.2 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game.  Gomes has now played in 450 games (369 starts) in his NBA career and he is averaging 28.9 minutes, 10.8 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game.  30-year old Brian Cook is #3 in line at small forward for the Clippers.  He played in 40 games (0 starts) for the Clippers last year and he averaged 11.2 minutes, 4.8 points, 2.4 rebounds and 0.4 assists per game.  Cook shot 43% from three point range last year for the Clippers, so he’s not totally without value.  Cook has now played in 389 games (74 starts) in his NFL career and he is averaging 13.8 minutes, 5.7 points, 2.7 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game.

The Clippers are in great shape at shooting guard heading into the 2011-12 season.  22-year old Eric Gordon played in 56 games (all starts) for the Clippers last year and he averaged 37.7 minutes, 22.3 points, 2.9 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 1.3 steals per game.  He has now played in 196 games (181 starts) in his first three years with the Clippers and he is averaging 35.8 minutes, 18.1 points, 2.7 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.1 steals per game.  He has a nice upside to be even better than he was last year and that has to excite the Clippers.  28-year old Randy Foye will be Gordon’s back up again this year.  Foye played in 63 games (24 starts) for the Clippers last year and he averaged 24.6 minutes, 9.8 points, 1.6 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game.  He has now played in 324 games (166 starts) in his NBA career and he is averaging 27.3 minutes, 11.7 points, 2.4 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game.  Foye is a solid player, when healthy.  22-year old Willie Warren didn’t get on the court much as a rookie last year.  He played in 19 games (0 starts) for the Clippers last year and he averaged 7.1 minutes, 1.9 points, 0.6 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game.  21-year old rookie Travis Leslie was a 2nd round pick last June.  He will likely be sitting either at the end of the bench or he will be playing in the D-League in 2011-12.

28-year old Mo Williams will be the starting point guard for the Clippers again in 2011-12.  Williams played in 56 games (all starts) for the Clippers last year and he averaged 30.8 minutes, 14.0 points, 2.6 rebounds and 6.6 assists per game.  Williams has now played in 537 games (431 starts) in his NBA career and he is averaging 30.6 minutes, 13.9 points, 3.1 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game.  21-year old Eric Bledsoe will be Williams’ caddy again in 2011-12.  Bledsoe played in 81 games (25 starts) for the Clippers as a rookie last year and he averaged 22.7 minutes, 6.7 points, 2.8 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.1 steals per game.  Bledsoe will be the starter down the road as he has a huge upside.

The Clippers were only 29-53 last season but the additions of Blake Griffin, Randy Foye, Eric Bledsoe, Brian Cook, Ryan Gomes and Al-Farouq Aminu inject them with a lot of high end talent. That gives 44-year old new head coach Vinny Del Negro with a lot more talent then Clippers’ coaches usually have to work with. Del Negro was 41-41 (50%) with the Bulls last season and they were 1-4 (losing to the Cavs) in the first round of the playoffs. Del Negro has a career record during the regular season of 82-82 (50%) and he is 4-8 (33.3%) in the post season. It will be interesting if Del Negro can keep his playoff streak going with the Clippers this year.

28-year old Chris Kaman was outstanding last season as he seems to keep getting better every year. Kaman played in 76 games (all starts) for the Clippers last season and he averaged 34.3 minutes, 18.5 points, 9.3 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.2 blocked shots per game. He has now played in 461 games (410 starts) in his 7 years with the Clippers and he has averaged 30.0 minutes, 11.7 points, 8.4 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.4 blocked shots per game. The best is yet to come from Kaman.

22-year old DeAndre Jordan is a solid back up for Kaman. Jordan played in 70 games (12 starts) for the Clippers last year and he averaged 16.2 minutes, 4.8 points, 5.0 rebounds and 0.3 assists per game. He has now played in 123 games (25 starts) in his 2 years with the Clippers and he has averaged 15.5 minutes, 4.6 points, 4.8 rebounds, 0.3 assists and 1.0 blocked shot per game.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE CLIPPERS CENTERS IN 2010-11: A

21-year old power forward Blake Griffin broke his kneecap during the pre-season last year so he didn’t get to play in any games. The 6’10″, 251 pound Griffin will try to make up for lost time as a rookie this year for the Clippers. He is often compared to Karl Malone and the Clippers would be ecstatic if he can play anywhere near the Mailman’s level of play. Griffin played in 68 games in his two years at Oklahoma and he averaged 30.9 minutes, 18.8 points, 11.8 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.1 steals and 1.0 blocked shot per game. Griffin shot an amazing 61.8% from the floor but only 58.9% from the free throw line in college.

26-year old Craig Smith is a solid back up power forward. He played in 75 games (2 starts) for the Clippers last season and he averaged 16.4 minutes, 7.8 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game. Smith has now played in 308 games (49 starts) in his four years in the NBA and he has averaged 18.8 minutes, 8.7 points, 4.4 rebounds and 0.9 assists per game. Smith will do a solid job for the Clippers when on the floor this year.

29-year old Brian Cook is the rare power forward who can actually shoot the long ball. Cook has shot 39.1% from three point range in his NBA career which could give the Clippers matchup advantages when he’s on the court. Cook played in 15 games (0 starts) for the Rockets last season and he averaged 2.9 minutes, 1.4 points, 0.6 rebounds and 0.1 assists per game. He has now played in 349 games (74 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 14.1 minutes, 5.8 points, 2.7 rebounds and 0.7 assists per game.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE CLIPPERS POWER FORWARDS IN 2010-11: B

31-year old Rasual Butler will likely be the starting small forward for the Clippers when the season starts but he’ll have to play good to keep the job. Butler played in 82 games (64 starts) for the Clippers last season and he averaged 33.0 minutes, 11.9 points, 2.9 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game. He has now played in 557 games (247 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 24.6 minutes, 8.8 points, 2.7 rebounds and 0.9 assists per game. Butler’s main asset is his 3-point shooting as he has hit 36.3% from that range in his NBA career.

28-year old Ryan Gomes is going to push Butler for P.T. this year. Gomes played in 76 games (64 starts) for the Timberwolves last season and he averaged 29.1 minutes, 10.9 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game. He has now played in 374 games (307 starts) in his five years in the NBA and he has averaged 29.2 minutes, 11.5 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game. Gomes has a lot of experience so don’t be shocked if he bumps Butler to the bench at some point in 2010-11.

20-year old rookie Al-Farouq Aminu was a first round pick out of Wake Forest by the Clippers last June. Aminu played in 31 games for Wake Forest last season and he averaged 31.3 minutes, 15.8 points, 10.7 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.4 blocked shots per game. He played in 62 games in his two years at Wake Forest and he averaged 30.1 minutes, 14.4 points, 9.4 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.3 blocked shots per game. Aminu is the Clippers’ starting small forward of the future but this season he’s likely going to sit and learn a lot.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE CLIPPERS SMALL FORWARDS IN 2010-11: C

21-year old Eric Gordon’s game is all about putting the ball in the basket as he doesn’t like to rebound or pass very much. Gordon played in 62 games (60 starts) for the Clippers last season and he averaged 36.0 minutes, 16.9 points, 2.6 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.1 steals per game. He has now played in 140 games (125 starts) in his two years with the Clippers and he has averaged 35.0 minutes, 16.4 points, 2.6 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.1 steals per game. The Clippers hope that Gordon can stay healthy in 2010-11 because they need his offense.

27-year old Randy Foye will back-up Gordon at shooting guard this year. Foye played in 70 games (38 starts) for the Wizards last year and he averaged 23.8 minutes, 10.1 points, 1.9 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game. He has now played in 261 games (142 starts) in his four years in the NBA and he has averaged 28.0 minutes, 12.2 points, 2.6 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game. Foye gives the Clippers solid depth at both guard spots as he can also handle the point in a pinch.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE CLIPPERS SHOOTING GUARDS IN 2010-11: B-