1999-00

The Clippers entered the 1999-2000 season with promise. The roster featured rookie forward Lamar Odom and second-year center Michael Olowokandi, top-five picks from the previous two NBA Drafts. Lamar Odom was third among rookies in scoring (16.6 ppg), second in rebounds (7.8 rpg) and fifth in assists (4.2 apg). The starting lineup also included a trio of athletic youngsters: talented forward Maurice Taylor; Tyrone Nesby, a surprisingly spry free agent forward who had blossomed in 1999; and guard Derek Anderson, acquired from Cleveland in exchange for popular Lamond Murray. Although the campaign started with a 5-3 preseason record, it ended in disappointing style as the Clippers lost 17 of their final 18 games. The team went 5-35 in the second half of the season to finish 15-67. A coaching change, an arena change, and balanced scoring were among the story lines of a season that included the hiring of two NBA champions as assistant coaches. In Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Dennis Johnson, the Clippers hired respectability and championship mettle. Only time will tell how much wisdom the two can impart on the young players in Los Angeles. By season's end, however, Olowokandi had already improved his defensive control and mobility. Bookending the season were Odom's top-scoring performances -- a 30-point outing in the season opener and a 33-point outburst in the finale. The good, however, was balanced by a variety of injuries that rendered Taylor and Anderson out of the lineup for a combined 38 games. On paper, this team's untapped talent and balance -- four players averaging more than 13 points per game, and arguably the largest collection of "he's-got-great-upside" players -- belies its results. "The gap between the actual results and where we think we should be -- based on our talent level -- is just too wide," said VP of Basketball Operations Elgin Baylor when head coach Chris Ford was replaced by interim coach Jim Todd in early February. The gap didn't shrink, as the team went 4-32 under Todd. Next season promises to be different. The Clips will once again have a high first-round draft pick and will likely need to parlay that selection into a replacement for Taylor or Anderson, free agents who are assumed to be on their way out of town. With less than a handful of players with more than three years of experience on the roster, the team's maturity will likely rise even if the squad does not make moves for more veteran experience. Odom will most certainly grasp a more vocal leadership role as he develops into a franchise player. Like other rookies before him, Odom had a difficult time adjusting to the 82-game NBA schedule. Capable of getting to the line, composed at crunch time and versatile in any offense, Odom recorded three triple-doubles (tied for fourth in the league) and 26 double-doubles, but his productivity dipped during the season. A February slump showed he had hit the wall, scoring a season-low 12.7 points on 42 percent shooting for the month, and averaging season-lows in assists and rebounds.