San Antonio spoils Brand's debut with L.A.
May 2001 Los Angeles Clippers Wiretap
Release of Strong by Clippers Shows Times Have Changed
The LA Times' Steve Springer writes that the Clippers waived two players, forward Derek Strong and guard Miles Simon, and placed forward Harold Jamison (contusion of the left shin) on the injured list to reach the 12-player limit.
The Strong move raised eyebrows, considering the Clippers still owe the 10-year veteran $8 million, which will now be paid over the next four seasons. In the past, owner Donald Sterling would rather eat crow and keep a player he didn't need than eat a contract.
But no longer.
The Clippers also obtained center Will Perdue, 36, from the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday, then immediately waived him.
The Clippers had no intention of keeping Perdue, making the move strictly for salary-cap purposes. In exchange for freeing money up for the Trail Blazers, who are well over the cap, the Clippers received monetary compensation from Portland.
But since the Trail Blazers weren't allowed to simply give Perdue away, the Clippers made it legal by giving Portland the draft rights to Doron Sheffer, a 1996 second-round draft choice who retired after playing in Israel two years ago.
Blazers trade Perdue, waive Taylor and Lauderdale
The Portland Trail Blazers finalized their 15-man roster on Tuesday by trading Will Perdue to the Clippers and waiving Johnny Taylor and Priest Lauderdale.
Perdue was moved to the Clips for the rights to 1996 draft choice Doron Sheffer (36th pick).
The 6-5 Sheffer averaged 13.3 points and 5.5 assists in his three-year career at Connecticut. He was the Big East Conference Rookie of the Year in 1993-94.
After failing to stick with an NBA team, he returned to Israel in 1996 to play for Maccabi Tel-Aviv. He posted 13.0 ppg on 53.6% from 3-pt range in 62 games over a three-year span.
Sheffer retired from basketball in July of 2000 and hasn't played competitively for over one year.
The acquisition of his rights allowed Portland to keep veteran Mitchell Butler, who was on the bubble.
Taylor, a first-round pick of the Magic in 1997, has appeared in 54 games in his NBA career. He averaged 4.7 points and 2.2 rebounds during that span.
Lauderdale, a 7-4 center, was a 4th round pick of Atlanta in 1996. He has career averages of 3.4 points and 1.9 rebounds.
Blazers Trade Will Purdue
Nba.com reports: The Portland Trail Blazers have traded center Will Perdue to the Los Angeles Clippers in exchange for the draft rights to Doron Sheffer, the 36th pick in the 1996 NBA Draft.
Perdue finished his first season with the Blazers in 2000-01 where he averaged 1.1 points and 1.4 rebounds in 13 games. In 13 NBA seasons, Perdue has compiled averages of 4.7 points, 4.9 rebounds and 15.6 minutes in 792 games.
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