A Luxurious Inside Man Worth 30 Million (1/5)

The Los Angeles Clippers' start to the season had actually been somewhat disappointing. As last season's fourth seed in the West, their current 7–4 record left them only sixth in the standings, far behind where they had been at the same point last year.

Through 11 games, the Clippers had basically alternated between good and bad performances. Their offensive efficiency ranked fifth in the league, which looked respectable, but the gap between them and fourth place was actually enormous.

The Clippers had made virtually no major moves over the summer, and their roster changes had been minimal. By all rights, they should not have been playing worse than they had last season.

When a team kept the same roster yet played worse than the year before, there was usually only one reason—something was wrong with the players' form.

At this point in the season, J.J. Redick was shooting just 38.9 percent overall and only 28.6 percent from three-point range.

The streaky shooting of that sharpshooter had greatly reduced the Clippers' efficiency from beyond the arc.

Redick had shot an outstanding 42.7 percent from three last season. For him to suddenly fall below league average this year was indeed rather baffling.

Aside from Redick, Matt Barnes' poor physical condition had left the Clippers desperately short on the wing.

Whether offensively or defensively, Matt Barnes had declined badly this season. After all, he was already 34, the age when decline was to be expected.

Barnes was now neither quick enough nor strong enough, and his rebounds and steals per 36 minutes had both dropped by more than half. In the season opener against the Thunder, Barnes allowed Perry Jones to score 32 points, even though that Thunder surprise had never scored more than 14 in an NBA game before. Barnes had completely