However, I still think the Clippers have a better shot than most of the 11-20 teams, in that the 11-20 have no shot whatsoever. For example, the Wizards are absolutely not going to win a championship with their current makeup. How then, with an aging core and handicapped by Arenas’s disastrous contract, are they going to make a move to put themselves over the top within a 5 year window?

The Clippers will always be handicapped by Donald Sterling’s cheapness, but with Griffin and Gordon on rookie deals for the next 4 to 5 years, a still-serviceable Baron Davis at PG, and imminent cap room, they certainly have a glimmer of hope. Sterling would rather be eternally bad and profitable than risk losing money by increasing his payroll, but would adding a big-time free agent to that core be that much of a financial risk?