:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/54573041/usa_today_10031544.0.jpg)
Welcome to Day 2 of this week’s edition of the Liberty Links! If you made it through last night’s two playoff blowouts, check out the links below:
Chris Paul's Ceiling with the Clippers
Blow Up the Clippers (But Keep Chris Paul)
What the hell do the Clippers do next? Chris Paul, J.J. Redick and Blake Griffin can all become free agents. Doc Rivers should never have personnel control over an NBA franchise again. He probably shouldn't coach this Clippers team again. So what would I do? I’d hire the venerable Sam Hinkie to be the President of Basketball Operations in Los Angeles. Bring back Paul and try to create a Rockets-esque situation where CP3 is blanketed by shooters and DeAndre Jordan as a pick-and-lob threat.
It’d certainly be entertaining to see Hinkie inherit a situation vastly different than the one he did in Philadelphia in 2013.
ESPN is hiring Yahoo’s star basketball reporter Adrian Wojnarowski
After mountains of cuts to its staff and talent, it looks like ESPN is poaching Woj and some of his writers from The Vertical with a start day coming after next month’s NBA draft. It’s rough in an industry that’s going through a turbulent period to see so many lose their jobs. I feel for them.
Bryan Colangelo continues European scouting
After spending time scouting overseas stash and 2016 draftee Furkan Korkmaz, Bryan Colangelo also took in a double-header of games that included top European prospects Anzejs Pasecniks and Luka Doncic, per David Pick:
Sources tell me these NBA reps are scouting double-header in Espana. Game 1 was Anzejs Pasecniks, Game 2 in few hours: LUKA DONCIC. pic.twitter.com/H0NX9r8JkL
— David Pick (@IAmDPick) April 30, 2017
Pasecniks is DraftExpress’ first-ranked international prospect among those born in 1995 and is a potential first-rounder in this June’s draft. Doncic is much more well known, the 18-year-old phenom getting serious playing time for Real Madrid, likely the best non-NBA team in the world. Doncic could be the top pick in the 2018 draft. If the Lakers pick doesn’t convey this year, maybe it could bring the Sixers Doncic next year when it goes unprotected.
LeBron James fake drinks a beer
Drinking fluids is important pic.twitter.com/CjxO6u6865
— The Ringer (@ringer) May 2, 2017
Man, I just love this guy.