PORTLAND, Ore. -- As teammates of varying degrees, it was fitting that Elton Brand and Andre Miller were the first players out on the floor before this final exhibition game Sunday night in preparation for the World Championships of Basketball.
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| Andre Miller works against Germany's Misan Nikagbaste during the U.S. exhibition victory Sunday.(AP) |
So while Miller worked at catch-and-shoot rainbows from the perimeter and hard-drive stop-and-pop mid-range jumpers, Brand worked the low post. Drop steps that led to short bank shots, jump hooks when he faked right and went left. They covered the spectrum of offense, representative of why the Clippers have the opportunity to become the New Jersey Nets of the coming season.
From perennial doormats to knocking on the front door of the NBA's elite, the Nets did it last season, and nobody would be surprised if the Clippers danced through this season in glass slippers.
"It isn't as if the West wasn't tough enough," said Gregg Popovich, an assistant on Team USA and head coach of the San Antonio Spurs. "The Clippers are for real. Last year, they brought in Elton, and he made them that much better. And now they got Andre ... not only is Andre a tough kid who works hard, but he's a throwback point guard who makes everyone around him better."
The optimism for the Clippers, who have been above .500 just twice since moving from Buffalo in 1978, began the night of the 2001 draft.
In a stunning move, general manager Elgin Baylor swapped the rights to the second pick overall -- 7-foot prep star Tyson Chandler -- to the Chicago Bulls for Brand, a 6-8, 275-pound former NCAA player of the year from Duke and the No. 1 overall pick in 1999.
Brand has the wingspan of a 7-footer and an easy personality and focus that make him a natural leader for a team that is dominated by the youth of Michael Olowokandi, Lamar Odom, Quentin Richardson, Keyon Dooling and Brand's teammate at Duke, Corey Maggette.
Still only 23, Brand was just thrilled not to be part of a bottom-feeder organization like Chicago and be the cornerstone for a team on the rise. A testimony to it all was his first appearance in the NBA All-Star game in Philadelphia last February.
"We improved a lot last season," said Brand, preciously close to the 20/10 star barometer, averaging 19.4 points and 10.6 rebounds in his three-year career. "We didn't get as far as we wanted to go, but we were still learning, and it felt good to have a chance to win every night. This year, we'll win a lot of those same games we didn't hang on to win."
A lot of that will have to do with Miller, who will add structure to what has always been the Achilles' heel for the Clippers.
Acquired from the Cleveland Cavaliers on July 30 with Bryant Stith in exchange for popular Darius Miles and Harold Jamison, many believed Baylor came up with his second steal in consecutive summers.
Miller, a 26-year-old native Los Angelino, led the NBA in assists, averaging 10.9, and had 43 double-doubles and three triple-doubles, while also contributing 16.5 points and 4.7 rebounds.
"We hated to see Darius go," Brand said. "We love him and he's going to be a great player. But Andre is the missing piece. I've known him since we were high school kids competing in the summer. He complements everybody on the floor and makes them better. Now we have a playoff team capable of competing all season."
Unlike the effusive Brand, Miller tends to be on the shy side.
The Cavs were never going to give him the maximum contract he desired, and the opportunity to play at home for a team with so much young talent was precisely the answer. It appeared a deal was completed on draft night, with the Clippers sending Odom and draft picks Chris Wilcox and Melvin Ely to Cleveland for Miller and Stith.
But the Cavs reacted too late when they wanted to Clippers to select Caron Butler instead of Wilcox with the eighth pick.
Instead, it appears the Clippers ended up with a better deal -- retaining their first two draft picks and Odom -- while dealing the younger and even less proven Miles.
"I'm just excited about coming to my home and having a chance to win and help turn this thing around," Miller said. "Playing with Elton, Lamar and these other guys, we feel that we're a playoff team now. We want to take that next step and be a team that's only going to get better and be able to compete at the highest level."
That's the plan, anyway. They are the yin and yang of the future. The Clippers honestly believe they can usurp their fellow tenants at the Staples Center -- the three-time NBA champion Lakers -- over the next two to three years.
Whether owner Donald Sterling, renowned for keeping the purse strings tied in triple-knots, comes up with the dough to pay all of these young stars to stick around is another question.
For now, the team is young and exciting, beginning with the duo representing the old US-of-A in the World Championships.
"This is just the start and this helps us start getting used to playing with each other," Brand said. "We're getting a feel for where each other is going to have the ball, where we like the ball, and how we can do things together. The best part about it is we're only going to get better."
He's talking about the Clippers. Yes, the Los Angeles Clippers.
