Al Thornton

Always a fantastic athlete, Thornton's game blossomed last year as the second-year pro developed a knock-down jumper from 20-feet. With his ability to put the ball on the floor and get to the rim whenever he wants, refining this area of his game pushed him from a nice NBA talent to a guy on the verge of becoming a star. He still needs a bunch of work defensively but there's no reason to think his offensive stats won't continue to climb.

In a way, Elton Brand’s Achilles’ injury was a long-term benefit to the Clippers. Forced to play most of last season without their top frontcourt player, the Clippers got an extended look at rookie Al Thornton. And now, faced with holes in the lineup due to the departures of Brand and Corey Maggette, they know that Thornton is part of the solution. An explosive leaper with good size and strength, Thornton scored 12.7 points with 4.5 boards in 27.3 minutes per game last season on his way to First Team All-Rookie Honors. This year, in a far more prominent role, look for his numbers to improve across-the-board.

Thornton was going to be brought along slowly this season, able to learn behind one of the best forwards in today’s NBA. That plan was thrown out the window when Elton Brand blew out his Achilles tendon in a routine workout. Now it looks like Thornton will be needed to provide scoring for a Clipper team that suddenly seems short in that department. He should be up to the task. Going into the draft, Thornton was generally considered to be one of the most NBA-ready players. He’s already 23, has a solid 6-8, 220-pound body and explosive leaping ability. With Corey Maggette reportedly set to start at small forward, Thornton will likely be in competition with Tim Thomas for minutes at Brand’s spot or as a backup at both forward positions. We like Thornton’s potential to contribute immediately, particularly if he gets run at his college position, power forward.