Clipps Waive Fred Jones and Paul Davis

by Jeff Clark on Jan 6, 2009 6:37 AM EST in Boston Celtics News & Links

A lot of teams will be making moves so they cut contracts they don't want to guarantee by this Saturday. The Clipps were one of those teams.

The Clippers acquired Cheikh Samb from the Denver Nuggets today, in exchange for a conditional second round draft pick. L.A. also got some cash as part of the deal, and to make room for Samb, they opened up a couple of roster spots by waiving Paul Davis and Fred Jones.

One writer from Dime Magazine thinks there is opportunity there for the Cs. (h/t RA)

The Celtics should sign Fred Jones immediately. Seems that all the cheapo Clip Show did was give every other NBA team a look to see what Freddie still had in the tank and frankly, it was a lot (or at least enough). The Clippers decided not to pay Jones for the rest of the year and waived him today. He’s better than Tony Allen right now and Allen is essentially the C’s 6th man. By the way, the Clippers also cut Paul Davis, who is probably better than Big Baby right now as well.

I'm not sure about those evaluations (but then again I haven't scouted either player very well), but I'm sure both guys are worth at least looking at.

Something else to keep in mind. If the team wants to take a flyer on someone, they can always give the guy a 10 day contract. If he works out, great. If not, then you still leave the door open for a run at someone like Joe Smith down the road. Of course to pick up anyone, it would mean cutting a player to make room on the roster. However, I can't imagine anyone would be too broken up about making Cassell an assistant a half year early.

Update: Some more details from an LA paper (via ClipperBlog)

Fred Jones has 48 hours to clear waivers, then can sign with any team in the league. The Clippers would like to have him back. But they needed to create a little flexibility before the seventh, since they have 15 guys on the roster.

I'm told it's far more likely Jones will be back with the team than Davis, even though the Clippers like Davis and would like to have kept him around. He just got caught in a numbers game, and on a team where point guards have been dropping like flies.

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Comments

Awesome. I like FJones game, but we need a big(a long big) and a backup pg. I wouldn’t mind FJones at times taking TAllen mins thou, but I can’t see DAinge making room for all of the above.

by cocofan on Jan 6, 2009 6:52 AM EST reply actions

TA and BBD are better.

by xmuscular ghandix on Jan 6, 2009 7:46 AM EST reply actions

TA and BBD are Much Better

There are two ends to a basketball court.

Fred Jones is a taller version of House who doesn’t shoot as well as house. Paul Davis is Paul Mokeski but he doesn’t shoot as well as Mokeski (or Patrick O’Bryant for that matter). And these are supposed to be roster upgrades? Yuck.

by Brickowski on Jan 6, 2009 8:08 AM EST up reply actions

Thanks for the laugh, Brick.

I’d have never come up with a Mokeski analogy. Hilarious. Agree with you on both players.

by Finkelskyhook on Jan 6, 2009 11:02 AM EST up reply actions

I agree

by cordobes on Jan 6, 2009 9:34 AM EST up reply actions

From what I've seen

from Fred Jones (which was not a lot), he is a better option than TA. Why? Because he’s not as dumb a player as Tony. That’s half the battle right there.

by Bankshot on Jan 6, 2009 7:49 AM EST reply actions

he's certainly just as injured

all the time

God bless and good night!

by BrickJames on Jan 6, 2009 10:37 AM EST up reply actions

careful with tony...

i’m in no way discouraging signing fred jones. in fact, when the clips signed him i thought: why didn’t we? but one consideration to keep in mind is this: tony is very fragile emotionally. if we sign jones, he’ll lose even more confidence and get worse. and if jones doesn’twork out then we’re really in trouble at the 2.

by ssspence on Jan 6, 2009 8:47 AM EST reply actions

Garbage

When did Clippers garbage start smelling better than ours?

by Michael Anthony on Jan 6, 2009 9:22 AM EST reply actions

When their garbage plays better than ours?

by Bankshot on Jan 6, 2009 11:28 AM EST up reply actions

Its the new cool thing to do to rip on our bench? are they really better than TA and BBD, or is this guy clueless ?

by TheAncientRivalry on Jan 6, 2009 9:23 AM EST reply actions

Something I have notice is you always have something bad to say when somebody expresses their opinion. If we feel the bench isn’t playing well you can disagree but don’t make it out like your right and we wrong.

But, I do think Big Baby is better then Paul Davis and I like Fred Jones but he’s not a good fit. I rather pursue a player who will come in and play a role for this team.

by illestmcsgt on Jan 6, 2009 7:35 PM EST up reply actions

I just checked the Realgm

Clippers board just to see what the fans think about these two being waived. It appears that these two (Davis and Jones) were playing well and some are not happy that they were waived. Fred Jones was injured in Sunday’s game and is day to day, but as I said had been playing well. Paul Davis also has a 15 ft jumper that we could use along with his size. Seems like these two guys could be useful on our bench.

http://www.realgm.com/boards/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=868160&st=0&sk=t&sd=a

by Bankshot on Jan 6, 2009 9:53 AM EST reply actions

my thinking with Paul Davis

was that I wonder if he’d be an upgrade to Patrick O’Bryant – if so, it wouldn’t hurt adding him

at best he can fight Big Baby for minutes – at worst he’s just another big body at the end of the bench

"Would I rather be feared or loved? Easy. Both. I want people to be afraid of how much they love me." Michael Scott

by Jeff Clark on Jan 6, 2009 10:05 AM EST up reply actions

Ditto

I had the same thought! If Paul Davis BBD with length and/or POB with any passion whatsoever, then this he’s is an upgrade either way. Granted, he’ll end up fighting Montross and Dino Radja for minutes down the stretch, but… wait, sorry, just had a ‘94 flashback. I’m okay now.

Still… Yes We Can (sign Paul Davis and waive O’B)

by chunnamark on Jan 6, 2009 10:30 AM EST up reply actions

Davis..

is not really a defender…

by ssspence on Jan 6, 2009 10:31 AM EST up reply actions

I prefer our two guys, plus they know the system. And as far as POB, I’d still like to give him a few meaningful minutes and see what happens, but if he is officially a bust, Dwayne Jones would be a decent replacement. He’s not as good offensively, but he can rebound and he can hold his ground and make defensive rotations much better.

by moiso on Jan 6, 2009 10:16 AM EST reply actions