Forward Danny Manning was a solid player for the Los Angeles Clippers.  He was the #1 overall pick in the 1988 NBA Draft.  Manning’s best season with the Clippers came in 1992-93.  In 1992-93, Manning played in 79 games (77 starts) in which he averaged 34.9 minutes, 22.8 points, 6.6 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.3 blocked shots per game.  Manning played in 373 games (307 starts) in his six years with the Clippers and he averaged 34.0 minutes, 19.1 points, 6.4 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.1 blocked shots per game.  Manning is still #10 in games played (373) in Clippers’ history.  He is also #8 in offensive rebounds (890), #4 in steals (548), #10 in blocked shots (406) and #5 in points scored (7,120) in Clippers’ history.  Manning was dealt to the Atlanta Hawks back on February 24th, 1994 for Dominique Wilkins and a first round pick in 1994 (Greg Minor).

28-year old point guard Chris Paul is a free agent and the Clippers need to re-sign him this summer.  He played in 70 games (all starts) for the Clippers last year and he averaged 33.4 minutes, 16.9 points, 3.7 rebounds, 9.7 assists and 2.4 steals per game.  Paul has now played in 130 games (all starts) in his first two years with the Clippers and he is averaging 34.7 minutes, 18.3 points, 3.7 rebounds, 9.4 assists and 2.5 steals per game.  The Clippers have a solid backup point guard in Eric Bledsoe, but they need to keep Paul if they want to stay a contender in the Western Conference in 2013-14 and beyond.

40-year old small forward Grant Hill has decided to retire from the NBA.  He played in 29 games (0 starts) for the Clippers last year and he averaged 15.1 minutes, 3.2 points, 1.7 rebounds and 0.9 assists per game.  Hill only shot 38.8% from the floor, 27.3% from three point range and 58.3% from the free throw line last year…..which is pretty awful.  Hill played in 1,026 games (972 starts) in his 18 years in the NBA and he averaged 33.9 minutes, 16.7 points, 6.0 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 1.2 steals per game.  The Clippers should have little problem replacing Hill, as he didn’t play too well for them last year.

46-year old head coach Vinny Del Negro is solid in-season, but he continues to struggle in the playoffs and it could cost him his job.  Del Negro led the Clippers to a 56-26 (68.3%) record during the regular season, but they were only 2-4 (33.3%) in the playoffs.  Del Negro is now 128-102 (55.7%) in his first three years with the Clippers during the regular season, but he is also 6-11 (35.3%) in the playoffs so far.  Del Negro is now 210-184 (53.3%) during the regular season in his first five years as an NBA head coach but he is also only 10-19 (34.5%) in the playoffs.  The Clippers are spending a ton on money on players and they expect to win playoff games.

UPDATE:  (5/22/2013) – The Clippers have essentially fired Vinny Del Negro, as his contract and run out and he won’t be re-signed.

The Clippers signed 21-year old rookie point guard Maalik Wayns late in the 2012-13 season and he didn’t get to play too much.  Wayns played in 6 games (0 starts) for the Clippers last year and he averaged 6.2 minutes, 3.3 points, 0.3 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game.  He played in 27 games (1 start) overall last year as a rookie and he averaged 7.5 minutes, 2.8 points, 0.3 rebounds and 1.0 assist per game.  Wayns is going to have a hard time making the Clippers’ roster in 2013-14, as they are in pretty good shape at point guard.

The Clippers won the Pacific Division of the NBA in 2012-13 with a 56-26 record, which had them a whopping 10 games ahead of the second place Golden State Warriors.  But, they lost the last four games against the Grizzlies in the first round of the playoffs, losing in six games.  Here is a look at the players who made the biggest impacts for the Clippers in 2012-13, in my opinion:

TEAM MVP:  Chris Paul – 27-year old point guard Chris Paul had another rock solid year for the Clippers in 2012-13.  He played in 70 games (all starts) for the Clippers last year and he averaged 33.4 minutes, 16.9 points, 3.7 rebounds, 9.7 assists and 2.4 steals per game.  Paul had 31 double-doubles in 2012-13.  He also had 22 games with at least 20 points, 25 games with at least 5 rebounds, 35 games with at least 10 assists and 29 games with at least 3 steals in 2012-13.

BIGGEST SURPRISE:  Matt Barnes – 33-year old Matt Barnes was supposed to back up Caron Butler and play 15-20 minutes per night in 2012-13, but he earned a lot more P.T. than that.  Barnes played in 80 games (4 starts) for the Clippers last year and he averaged 25.7 minutes, 10.3 points, 4.6 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.0 assist per game.  Barnes only had 1 double-double in 2012-13, but, he scored more than 10 points in a game 44 times last year and he also had 40 games with at least 5 rebounds.

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT:  Lamar Odom – 33-year old SF/PF Lamar Odom proved in 2012-13 that he is running on empty.  He played in 82 games (2 starts) for the Clippers last year and he averaged 19.7 minutes, 4.0 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game.  Odom only shot 39.9% from the floor, 20% from three point range and 47.6% from the free throw line in 2012-13….and that is pathetic!

The Clippers shot 52.6% from the floor, but they played no defense as the Grizzlies shot 50.7% from the floor last night.  The Clippers just couldn’t keep up with the Grizzlies last night.  Matt Barnes (30 points, 10 rebounds and 1 steal in 37 minutes) and Chris Paul (28 points, 4 rebounds, 8 assists and 1 steal) led the way for the Clippers last night.  Caron Butler also pitched in with 14 points and 3 rebounds last night.  Blake Griffin only last 14 minutes last night and he had 9 points and 3 rebounds in 14 minutes off the bench.  The Clippers’ 2012-13 season ended with a thud, losing 4-2 to the Grizzlies.

24-year old power forward Blake Griffin has a high ankle sprain, which could keep him out of tonight’s game against the Grizzlies.  Griffin has played in 5 games (all starts) for the Clippers so far against the Grizzlies and he is averaging 28.8 minutes, 14.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.0 blocked shot per game.  He is also having big time issues defending Zach Randolph and rebounding in this series.  Griffin has now played in 16 games (all starts) in his first two years in the playoffs for the Clippers and he is averaging 33.6 minutes, 17.5 points, 6.6 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.3 steals per game.  Griffin needs to start playing better in the playoffs if he wants to ever be considered a true star in the NBA.

The Clippers had a rough night against the Grizzlies at the Staples Center last night.  You can’t blame this loss on Chris Paul, as he led the way for the Clippers with 35 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals.  Jamal Crawford pitched in with 15 points, 2 rebounds and 3 assists off the bench.  Blake Griffin suffered a high ankle sprain in practice on Monday and he tried to gut it out last night.  He played 20 minutes for the Clippers last night and he had 4 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists on 2 of 7 shooting from the floor.  He was also getting abused by Zach Randolph on both ends of the court before he shut things down last night.  The Grizzlies are now up 3-2 in this series.

The Clippers got outscored 33-16 in the 4th quarter yesterday and it doomed them.  The Clippers were out-rebounded 45-28 and they didn’t play much D either as the Grizzlies shot 50.6% from the floor, which did them in.  Blake Griffin (19 points, 10 rebounds and 2 assists) and Chris Paul (19 points, 2 rebounds, 6 assists and 1 steal) led the way for the Clippers last night.  Jamal Crawford pitched in with 12 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist and 1 blocked shot in 29 minutes off the bench.  The Clippers are now all tied up at 2 games apiece against the Grizzlies in this series.