Saturday, August 18, 2012

NBA: Clippers Should Sign Adam Morrison

(Photo Courtesy: thefrontofficenews.com)
After last playing with the Washington Wizards in the 2010 preseason, Adam Morrison returned to the NBA competition a month ago in July by signing with the Brooklyn Nets summer league team. He played five games with them and averaged 5.2 points in 19.2 minutes a game. Besides scoring 6 straight points in a game against the Magic and recording a double-double in another game, his stint with the team was forgettable. Overall, Morrison's play in Orlando was inconsistent. He showed flashes of supreme offensive prowess, but also mediocre defense and questionable effort.

As the 2012 NBA Summer League moved on to Las Vegas, Morrison was named to the Los Angeles Clippers summer league squad. The next five games that he played with his new team proved to be much more productive and memorable. His first game wasn't great. He scored 11 points off of 5-13 field goals and grabbed 5 rebounds in a loss to the T'Wolves. He then scored over 20 points and shot above 50% from the field and from 3-point range in each of his next 2 games against the Spurs and the Lakers. In his second-to-last summer league game, he scored 18 points and had 5 rebounds.

His final game with the Clippers was by far his best game of the entire summer league. He led the Clips to a double-digit victory over the Celtics. He scored 26 points, pulled down 6 rebounds, and dished out 3 assists. He also shot 9-for-15 from the field and shot 4-for-6 from beyond the arc. The fans in Las Vegas chanting "MVP" for him at the end of the game was a great way to cap off the summer league.



-

The Los Angeles Clippers made it to the Western Conference Semi-Finals last season before being swept the Spurs. As a franchise that has been known for losing in the past, they have improved their roster significantly in recent years. In 2009, they drafted Blake Griffin who ended up being named the NBA's Rookie of the Year in 2011 after missing the entire 2009-10 season due to a knee injury. The Clippers also traded for All-Star point guard Chris Paul before the 2011-12 season.

During the current offseason, the Clips have made a flurry of moves in an attempt to build a roster that could win the 2013 title. They signed former All-Star Grant Hill and former Sixth Man of the Year Jamal Crawford and traded for 2-time NBA champion Lamar Odom and underrated shooting guard Willie Green. They also signed journeyman center Ronny Turiaf who won a championship with the Heat earlier this year.

The Clippers are looking like contenders for the upcoming 2012-13 season and are hoping to win it all for the first time in franchise history next June.

As a team, they have one roster spot left to fill. They have 14 players on contract that includes 3 point guards, 3 shooting guards, 3 centers, and 5 forwards. Of the forwards that they have, Caron Butler and Grant Hill are small forwards, Blake Griffin and Trey Thompkins are power forwards, and Lamar Odom is a combo forward. If they want to fill every position equally, then they should probably sign another forward to fill up their roster completely.

-

Adam Morrison is a small forward. He is, in my opinion, perfect to be the final add-on to the Clippers' roster for the upcoming season. He would likely accept the veteran's minimum and give Los Angeles the first shot to sign him out of loyalty. Morrison would be a great scoring kick off the bench and would probably be rejuvenated on the defensive end if he was given a role on a contending NBA team. The general manager of the Los Angeles Clippers needs to make this happen and sign Adam Morrison! Or at least invite him to training camp....

If not, there are other teams that could use Morrison's services. But I think he would be a great fit for the Clippers and I hope that he ends up on their squad for the regular season.

According to multiple online sources, Greg Anthony may have said on NBATV that Morrison had already signed a contract with the Clippers. However, no reliable sources have confirmed this and nothing is official to my knowledge.

Should the Clippers sign Adam Morrison? Leave a comment below and tell me what you think.

No comments:

Post a Comment