Clippers' Chauncey Billups is out for the season

An MRI exam Tuesday revealed that Clippers guard Chauncey Billups has a torn left Achilles’ tendon. Billups, who was injured in Monday’s overtime victory over the Magic in Orlando, Fla., will be out at least eight months, ending his season.

Clippers Coach Vinny Del Negro revealed Billups’ status to Times columnist T.J. Simers during a lunch interview. Del Negro had gotten the news from Clippers trainer Jasen Powell by phone.

Billups, 35, was a key figure in the Clippers’ rise to second place in the NBA’s Western Conference this season. He teamed with point guard Chris Paul to form an extremely talented backcourt for the Clippers, who are enjoying one of their most successful starts in franchise history.

They lead the Pacific Division at 15-7 and have won the first two games of their six-game road trip.

Billups fell to the court midway through the fourth quarter of Monday’s game and had to be helped from the arena.  He was unable to put weight on his left leg.

Billups was averaging 15 points and four assists this season and playing about 30 minutes a game. It is not yet clear what the guard rotation will be without Billups, though the roles of Randy Foye and Mo Williams will probably be expanded.

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Photo: Clippers guard Chauncey Billups was injured Monday and is out for the season. Credit: Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times

 

Chauncey Billups and the 'Clippers Curse'? That's mumbo jumbo

Monday night's Clippers victory over the Orlando Magic was marred by an Achilles' tendon injury to Chauncey Billups, who is a big reason the Clippers are 15-7 and in second place in the Western Conference.

On Tuesday, the Internet was abuzz with fans pointing to Billups' injury as another example of the "Clippers Curse."

One problem. There is no Clippers Curse. What believers consider a curse the rest of the world considers a series of bad management decisions. Oh sure, there are times when players have been injured: Blake Griffin missed his first season because of a knee injury. Danny Manning, the Clippers' top pick in 1988, blew out his knee in his rookie season. The team traded two first-round picks for Tiny Archibald in 1977; one month into the season, he tore his Achilles' tendon and missed the entire season. Bill Walton had a series of foot injuries during his seasons with the team.

Some call that a curse, but other teams call it a day in the life of an NBA team.

Ask Lakers fans about James Worthy breaking his leg just before the start of the 1983 NBA playoffs, probably costing the Lakers an NBA title. Or ask them about Byron Scott and Magic Johnson both suffering torn hamstrings during the 1989 NBA Finals, with Scott hurting his before Game 1 and Johnson during Game 2. The Lakers were swept in that series. Or Magic retiring after testing positive for HIV. Does anyone say the Lakers are cursed? No, because the Lakers officials have a history of making wise draft picks and trades, leaving the team in position to recover quickly from setbacks.

Look at the Clippers draft history: In 1981, they drafted Tom Chambers, who went on to have a solid career ... with Seattle and Phoenix. After averaging 17.4 points for the Clippers, they traded him to the SuperSonics for James Donaldson, Greg Kelser and Mark Radford. To be fair, the Clippers did draft a future Hall of Famer in 1981: Tony Gwynn, who is in the Baseball Hall of Fame. In 1983, the Clippers selected Byron Scott, then traded him to the Lakers. In 1984, they selected Lancaster Gordon with the eight overall pick of the draft. Lancaster Gordon? Meanwhile, eight picks later, the Utah Jazz selected John Stockton. In 1985, with the third pick in the draft and with Chris Mullin, Detlef Schrempf, Charles Oakley, Karl Malone and Joe Dumars all available, the Clippers selected, wait for it, Benoit Benjamin. (By the way, that same year the Lakers selected A.C. Green with the 23rd pick.)

We could play the "name the bad draft pick" game all day. In 1987, the Clippers had three first-round picks. They went with Reggie Williams, Joe Wolf and Ken Norman. Remember Danny Ferry? Bo Kimble? LeRon Ellis? Randy Woods? Terry Dehere? Lamond Murray? Michael Olowokandi?

So, no, there is no Clippers Curse. There was just a series of horrible player personnel decisions made by the team. Which seems to have changed this season under new General Manager Neil Olshey. Who is probably busily trying to fill the hole Billups' injury leaves.

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Photo: Chauncey Billups is guarded by Glen Davis (11) and Jameer Nelson (14) of the Orlando Magic during Monday's game. Credit: Sam Greenwood / Getty Images

Clippers wait for Chauncey Billups' MRI results

Chauncey Billups went to get an MRI on his injured left Achilles' tendon on Tuesday at a local Cleveland hospital, and the Clippers were still waiting for the results after they finished practice on the Cavaliers’ practice court.

The hope among the players and coaching staff was that Billups, 35, didn’t suffer a season-ending torn Achilles.

Billups was injured Monday night, midway through the fourth quarter of the Clippers’ overtime win over the Orlando Magic.

“All I can say is that it was very quiet in the locker room and very quiet on the bus and very quiet on the plane because everyone knows how important Chauncey is and how much they respect him and what he brings to the team,” Clippers Coach Vinny Del Negro said after practice Tuesday. “You feel bad for him more than anything. So, we’ll see what the results are and go from there.”

Del Negro said that he’ll start Randy Foye at shooting guard Wednesday night against the Cavaliers and continue to bring Mo Williams off the bench.

“Now they are going to need me more than ever,” Foye said after practice. “I’m ready.”

The Clippers on Tuesday waived forward Solomon Jones, trimming their roster to 14 players.

That gives the Clippers room to sign a free agent -– perhaps someone like J.R. Smith after he becomes eligible to play in the NBA after the season is over for his Zhejiang Golden Bulls team in the Chinese Basketball Assn.

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Photo: Chauncey Billups drives past Denver guard Arron Afflalo. Credit: Jack Dempsey / Associated Press

Clippers win in overtime, lose Chauncey Billups to injury

The good news for the Clippers was that they beat the Orlando Magic, 107-102, in overtime Monday night at Amway Center in Orlando, Fla.

The bad news came when Chauncey Billups injured his left Achilles tendon with 5 minutes 48 seconds left in a game.

He was helped off the court and into the Clippers’ locker room and never returned.

The Clippers said Billups, 35, will be evaluated Tuesday when the team arrives in Cleveland.

Billups had 11 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter. He had made three three-pointers in the fourth, his last giving the Clippers an 82-74 lead.

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The Clippers had to push on in the overtime without Billups.

But then DeAndre Jordan fouled out with 4:20 left in overtime and the score tied at 94-94.

Reggie Evans, who replaced Jordan, fouled out with 2:06 left in the OT and the Clippers now trailing 100-98.

Clippers Coach Vinny Del Negro inserted Brian Cook into the lineup.

Blake Griffin started defending Dwight Howard, with plenty of double- and triple-team help from his teammates.

The Clippers began to scramble on defense and forced Glen Davis into a turnover.

Chris Paul found Caron Butler for a three-pointer and a 101-100 Clippers lead.

After more good defense, Paul scored for a 103-100 Clippers lead with 1:16 left in the overtime.

After Jason Richardson scored, the Clippers got back-to-back offensive rebounds on the same possession, one by Ryan Gomes and the other by Butler.

That led to two free throws that Mo Williams made for a 105-102 Clippers lead.

Paul made two more free throws to finish with 29 points, eight assists and seven rebounds.

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 -- Broderick Turner, reporting from Orlando, Fla.

Photo: Clippers power forward Blake Griffin looks to score against Magic power forward Ryan Anderson in the first half Monday night in Orlando. Credit: John Raoux / Associated Press

Clippers' Chauncey Billups injures left Achilles' tendon

Chauncey Billups suffered an injury to his left Achilles' tendon Monday night with 5 minutes 48 seconds left in the fourth quarter of the Clippers' game against the Orlando Magic, which was tied, 94-94, at the end of regulation.

Billups was helped to the locker room and did not return to the court. The Clippers said Billups, 35, will be evaluated Tuesday after the team arrives in Cleveland.

Billups had 11 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter. He had made three three-pointers in the period, his last one giving the Clippers an 82-74 lead.

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Two plays later, Billups went down after he missed another three-point attempt. He tried to get up, but fell back down on the court.

Blake Griffin made the first of two free throws to tie the score at 94-94. After his second miss, Orlando's Dwight Howard got the rebound with 21.2 seconds left and the Magic called time out.

Jameer Nelson missed a 16-foot jumper with DeAndre Jordan running at him at the end of regulation, and the game went to overtime.

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Photo: Clippers guard Chauncey Billups drives against Nuggets guard Arron Afflalo during their game last week in Denver. Credit: Jack Dempsey / Associated Press

Clippers' sales job works -- Kenyon Martin agrees to 1-year deal

Kenyon Martin got calls from his former Denver Nuggets teammate Chauncey Billups and from Clippers all-star guard Chris Paul,  and he met with the team’s front office and Coach Vinny Del Negro.  All of them expressed their hope that he would join the team.

The calls and talks worked, because Martin agreed Friday to a one-year contract at the mini-mid-level of $2.5 million.

Just before the Clippers took off Friday afternoon for Washington, D.C., to start a six-game trip that begins Saturday night against the Wizards, Del Negro said the 6-9 Martin provided the Clippers with badly need quality depth in the frontcourt to help out all-star power forward Blake Griffin and center DeAndre Jordan.

The plan was for Martin to take a physical Friday night or Saturday and to join the team in Orlando by Sunday or Monday.

But Del Negro said he didn’t think Martin would play in a game with the Clippers for a few days. When he does, Del Negro said, Martin will be the third big man on the team.

“He’s a pro and I think he’s going to fit in perfect for us,” Del Negro said on the team’s plane. “I’ve talked to him a lot and kind of explained everything and he’s very comfortable with the situation. Now we’ve just got to get him in here and figure things out as we go forward.”

Martin averaged just 8.6 points and 6.2 rebounds with the Denver Nuggets last season in 48 games, but he has averaged 13.5 points and 7.2 rebounds over his 11-year NBA career in New Jersey and Denver.

Martin recently played for the Xinjiang Tigers in China before he left the team in December. He had been required to wait until their season was over before he could join any NBA team. But he was cleared to return to the NBA on Thursday by FIBA, the international basketball federation.

The Clippers won Martin’s services over the Miami Heat, San Antonio Spurs, New York Knicks and Atlanta Hawks.

It helped that Martin has a home in Los Angeles, that the Clippers were willing to provide him with the playing time that he sought, and that Billups and Paul sold him on the Clippers.

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Photo: Former Denver forward Kenyon Martin, right, guards former Clipper forward Elton Brand in 2006. Credit: Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times.

Clippers: Del Negro, Billups talk about free agent Kenyon Martin

Kenyon Martin to the Clippers?

Chauncey Billups would like to see that happen.

In fact, the Clippers' veteran guard said Saturday that he has reached out to the free-agent forward, a former teammate of his in Denver, about signing with the Clippers. 

What are Martin's thoughts about doing so?

"I'll let him tell y'all that," Billups said with a smile.

Asked about reports that the Clippers are one of a handful of teams that have reached out to Martin, Clippers Coach Vinny Del Negro declined to go into specifics.

"Kenyon is an experienced guy that knows how to play, can play some [power forward], play some [center]," Del Negro said. "He brings a lot of athleticism to the team. But those are all speculations. There are a lot of teams talking to a lot of different players. I'm pleased with our group right now and we're always looking to add good character, quality, competitive guys to the roster."

Del Negro neither confirmed nor denied that he has reached out to Martin. 

The Clippers look like a good fit for the 34-year-old Martin, an 11-year NBA veteran.

They have two trade exceptions they can use to sign a player, one for $3.8 million and another for $2.7 million that were acquired in their deal for Chris Paul.

They also have what's called a mini mid-level exception for $2.5 million, and, lastly, the Clippers have a 14-man roster, leaving one spot open.  

"He's very valuable," Billups said of Martin. "Of course, he comes from winning stock. He’s been to the [NBA] finals twice. He has great ability. He is a leader. One thing I know about Kenyon, he’s a winner. He’ll do whatever it takes to win. He’s one of the great one-on-one defensive players for a big man I’ve played with. And, contrary to what everybody believes, he’s a really good dude."

Martin can sign with an NBA team as soon as the team he signed with in China, the Xinjiang Guanghui Flying Tigers, completes its season.

Martin signed with Xinjiang Guanghui during the NBA lockout, but the China Basketball Association stipulated that any players signing with a CBA team this year complete the season before returning to the NBA.

As the Flying Tigers are currently out of the playoff race, their season could end in mid-February. 

Martin averaged a career-low 8.6 points and only 6.2 rebounds in 48 games for Denver last season. 

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Photo: Nuggets power forward Kenyon Martin is guarded by Timberwolves rookie Kevin Love. Credit: David Zalubowski / Associated Press / October 10, 2008

Clippers' tough week: At Trail Blazers, home vs. Heat, Lakers

The Clippers face an early-season test this week with a game against the Trail Blazers in Portland on Tuesday followed by home games against the Miami Heat on Wednesday and the Lakers on Saturday.

On New Year's Day, the Clippers defeated Portland at Staples Center, 93-88, but only after L.A. nearly let the game get away.

"I’m sure they’ll be looking forward to getting us on their court," Clippers guard Chauncey Billups said of the Trail Blazers, "and they're a really, really good home team, so it will be a big challenge for us."

The Clippers are coming off a 92-86 win over the Milwaukee Bucks at Staples Center on Saturday, but they struggled in that game too, and Clippers Coach Vinny Del Negro said, "We’re going to have to play better than we did last game, that’s for sure.

"Luckily, we just played Portland last week so we’ve got a good feel for them, but we’ve got to do a lot better in a lot of areas," Del Negro said after the team practiced Monday at its Playa Vista training facility.

That includes rebounding, where the Clippers have been weak so far this season. "When the ball goes up we’ve got to get a body on somebody," Del Negro said. "Everyone has to do a better job."

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Photo: Clippers guard Chauncey Billups drives the lane against the Houston Rockets at Staples Center last Wednesday. Credit: Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times