As the surprising Los Angeles Clippers rush towards the NBA trade deadline with 20 wins to their credit and a 16-14 home record, it appears the organization has some long-term decisions to make.

The frugal Clippers have about $53 million in player salaries this season and have committed $50 million to 10 players next year.  In the uncertain salary cap world created by the upcoming labor negotiations having player salary flexibility could be considered prudent, but in the Clippers case, they are not historically considered to be big spenders.  With their promising young center DeAndre Jordan becoming a free agent at the end of this season, it will be challenging for the Clippers to stay under this season’s salary cap next year and most people expect the cap will drop under a new collective bargaining agreement.

From the day the Clippers first overall pick from 2009 Blake Griffin made his NBA debut after losing last season to injury, the Clippers have become relevant again in the NBA.  Add in the breakout season from Eric Gordon and the rapid development of Jordan and the Clippers suddenly have a young core of players with a very bright future.  

Forgotten in all the excitement has been the loss of the team’s 2010 All-Star Chris Kaman who was injured after just 10 games.

"I am getting closer to getting back in there," said Kaman on Sunday.  "I told everyone hopefully a couple more weeks I’ll be playing but I hope its sooner than that.  But I don’t know.  I just have to be patient.  I am chomping at the bit to get ready to go. I told the coaches that I want to play, I am tired of sitting out, I am tired of watching from the side, tired of going on the late buses and wearing a suit on the bench.  It’s frustrating to me.  I just want to get out there and play and help."

Kaman signed a five-year, $50 million contract in 2007 that will pay him $12.2 million next season and was expected to be the veteran anchor for the Clippers young bigs.  However, his absence has provided a huge opportunity for the 6′ 11" second-year center from Texas A&M.

"With Chris going out, I had to be ready to step up and play," said Jordan.  "I am just doing whatever I can to help us get wins and just learn and get better as we go.

"I’m on the defensive end, defending, blocking shots and rebounding.  Flashing a little bit to take some pressure off Blake in the post because he gets doubled."

Jordan has impressed his teammates more than he is willing to admit.  While the 22-year-old is still raw offensively - he is already averaging about seven points, seven rebounds, and 1.6 blocks in just 26 minutes per game - and his potential is far higher.

"He could be the top shot blocker in the NBA if he wanted to," said Kaman.  "That’s something he is going to get better and better at.  He has that in him.  He is a solid rebounder that can get 10 rebounds a game and he definitely controls the paint by challenging people who come in there and making people change their minds into shooting shots that they are not used to shooting to shoot higher or over him.  His presence changes the offensive team’s setup and makes them do other things."

"Chris being out has helped him a lot," said the Clippers veteran center Brian Cook.  "His confidence has gotten better.  DeAndre is a special, special talent.

"I tell DeAndre all the time that he is just as athletic as Dwight Howard or Tyson Chandler.  He has the raw athleticism.  He can run like a guard, he can jump and he can fly.  We have been utilizing that and he’s been blocking shots.  More so defensively he has wowed people with his blocks on the ball and protecting the basket and its going to keep him in the league for a long time."

That kind of assessment of Jordan’s potential suggests the young center in is line for a huge salary increase next season (the Clippers, under current CBA rules, can tender him a Qualifying Offer at the end of the season to make him a restricted free agent and they will have his Bird Rights).  If his minutes increase, Jordan could easily be putting up the kind of numbers that earned Chandler and Kaman deals averaging about $10 million per season.

With Kaman’s return becoming imminent, head coach Vinny Del Negro has some hard decisions to make.

"That’s a problem that we haven’t had all year," said Del Negro.  "So I am looking forward to having that problem.  I am looking to forward to hopefully getting a full team back.  We will make that work somehow."

Re-integrating an All-Star back into the lineup this late in the season will not be easy.

"I have been out for so long that it’s almost a different team," said Kaman.  "When I come back I’ll almost have to start over with my teammates.  They are my teammates and they know me and they know what I can do but it’s almost like I have to start over from the standpoint of resetting myself within the offense and the defense and figuring everything out.  I don’t even know all the plays right now, I’ll be honest I don’t know all the plays we have.  We keep putting in new plays while I am out and I am not able to get in there and practice.

"I worked out today and my lungs hurt, I could taste some blood and I thought I was dying for a second.  It is a tough thing coming back when you’ve been out so long."

{AUTHOR_BOX}Plus the team is seeing the benefits of going with their young players and building towards next season.

"I think that is what we are trying to do," said Cook.  "We have all been around each other for about six months now and a lot of new players and a lot of new faces and new coaching staff and we have toughed it out throughout the season."

"That’s how you grow as a player," said Ike Diogu.  "You can practice and practice and practice but you never really going to know until you can go out there and play and have a chance to play through your mistakes.  Significant playing time is the only way you are going to grow as a player, it’s not happening any other way."

Perhaps as important is how Griffin plays with the Clippers’ other big men, and Jordan is the only big who has played with Griffin all season.

"You have to adapt to your teammates strengths and play off of them," said Griffin.  "When D.J. is in the game, I play more outside offensively and when Brian is in the game we like to have him at the three-point line so I will try to get inside more.

"Playing with Andre, he is always on the glass, always there for a lob so you know where he is at all times.

"Chris is a very skilled big man.  He is one of those guys who can shoot out to 17 feet extremely well so playing with him I read what he is doing."  

Coach Del Negro will have to decide if he wants his new All-Star Griffin deferring to the team’s old All-Star when he returns.

In an NBA where quality centers are in decidedly short supply the Clippers could reasonably decide to just keep Kaman and build a big man rotation that would be the envy of most teams in the league.  However, depending on an uncertain new collective bargaining agreement with the players, Jordan could be in line for a salary increase that would make the Clippers front office very uncomfortable and because of Kaman’s injury, Jordan is the one developing chemistry with Griffin, the long term future face of the franchise.

Is Kaman expendable?  Should the Clippers cash-in on their 2010 All-Star center?

For the balance of this season, Jordan would benefit from the extra playing time that would be available if Kaman does not return to the Clippers lineup, and for the long term, Jordan looks like the idea defensive center to pair with the offensive powerhouse that is Griffin.  

This would be an ideal time to try and make a move with Kaman.

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