By Alex of NBAtipoff

The LA Clippers have got a huge hole they need to fill (how many times has that been written?). I thought Elton Brand would come waltzing back, but now he’s gone East. Sure Josh Smith might be available if the right amount of money’s on the table, but they need someone down low (not Zach Randolph, please!). The best guy they can get is Emeka Okafor. So, I’ve come up with 5 ways they can nab him from the Bobcats.

5. Learn from the Elton Brand mistake. In order to get Elton Brand, the Sixers cleared cap space by trading Rodney Carney and Calvin Booth for a draft pick. Maybe they could deal Tim Thomas and some no name player. This would let them offer Emeka more than $10-12 million a year.

4. Offer large scale community outreach to Nigeria. The Clips would need to make Emeka feel really comfortable in LA and offering help to his parents’ homeland may be a way to do it. Kind of like how Baron Davis wants to help LA kids; maybe a special Clippers-only basketball without borders? They have to be willing to offer things outside of the box and in large scale.

3. Get an offensively gifted big man to work with him. I’m thinking something similar to the Kareem Abdul Jabbar-Andrew Bynum duo. Let’s face it, Emeka needs the most help on the offensive end. He’s got a career average of 14.3 PPG and his best offensive season was his rookie year (15.1 PPG). If only Wilt Chamberlain were around, he could really help him. I would bet there’s a good coach or former player who could work with the big men.

2. Let Mike Dunleavy get him every thing he wants-in a hurry. This is almost the same thing as learning from the Elton Brand mistake. After listening to some interviews from Dunleavy, I think he was basically the GM in the Brand negotiations. He got him what he needed, but it didn’t happen quick enough. Clippers owner Donald Sterling needs to always answer Mike’s calls and act. Since the Bobcats can match offers, the first offer has to be the best.

1. Make September 28th Emeka Okafor day! What can you give an NBA player? They seem to have everything, money, women, the whole nine yards. Declaring Emeka’s birthday a LA wide holiday would be hard to do, but a nice way to get him in LA!

Of course, none of this will happen unless there is a lot of money involved. I think they need to pay him $13-15 million a year to ensure that. As a team, I think Emeka gives them a greatly needed defensive presence. He probably plays D just as well, if not better than Elton Brand. I can envision a sweet block from Okafor leading to a nice outlet pass to Baron Davis who alley oops it to back to Okafor. Things could be looking up, Clippers’ fans!