We never thought we'd write this, but if you wanna be cool, become a member of the Los Angeles Clippers. Yeah, they never win anything and their fan base would rather wear grocery bags on their heads than be picked out of a crowd. We searched for articles about them in the local papers and we couldn't find anything since the draft. But look at them, people. They don't stink! Elton Brand wants to be here! We're going to write something positive about the Clippers because, frankly, they deserve it. See if you can follow along without laughing.

	Odom is part of what might be a solid Clipper future.

So as we continue our 2001 Summer Spotlight Series, here's the deal with the Clippers.

The good: Last season the Clippers were a decent team because they had talent. Immature talent, to be sure, as the brutal record in close games and overtime affairs proves, but talented enough to probably be playoff-worthy in the East. Lamar Odom is on the verge of being a special player, Jeff McInnis and Michael Olowokandi are more than serviceable, and Darius Miles might be a star this season.

But decent, you ask? Well, 31 wins might be a six-week run for the other L.A. squad, but for Donald Sterling's horribly run bunch, this is OK when you win 17 games most years. However, people forget, the Clips did make the playoffs not too long ago, when Bill Fitch took a team led by Loy Vaught and Malik Sealy to a 36-46 mark and a first-round sweep at the hands of the Finals-bound Jazz. Larry Brown also got them to the playoffs twice in the '90s. The Mavs, for comparison, hadn't made any playoff appearances since 1989. But the Clips had some brutal seasons, and with the mismanagement and free agent flocking of anyone worth something, they got the tag of worst franchise in sports.

That might change now, as the group of talented non-legal drinkers added a certified veteran, 22-year-old Elton Brand, on draft night. The Clippers were crying out for a power forward (especially one with experience), even though as a team they were No. 10 in the league in rebounding. Brand shouldn't get 20 and 10 like he did with the Bulls, because unlike the Bulls this Clipper team has other players, but he fills a huge need on and off the court. And who would've thought the Clips would make a smart trade? Of course, watch Tyson Chandler become a superstar...

Now players want to stay. It started a few years back when gunner Eric Piatkowski actually chose to re-sign. Olowokandi is rumored to be thinking that way now. Miles, the highest-drafted high schooler before this summer, and Odom, might even want to stay. Danny Manning, if you could see us now.

	THE FACTS
	2000-01 record: 31-51, 6th in Pacific, 12th in West Playoffs: none Team leaders: Odom, 17.2 ppg; 7.8 rpg; McInnis 5.5 apg Team stats (NBA rank): Points, 92.5 (21st); Rebs, 42.9 (10th); FG %, .448 (11th) Current rotation: Olowokandi C; Brand PF; Odom SF; Miles SG; McInnis PG; Maggette 6th man Spot in Summer Power Rankings: No. 19

The bad: Of course, if this team was that good, then it would've won more than 31 games. The Clippers played with the big boys on more than a few nights, crushing the Lakers in a January game and taking the Kings to OT twice before losing. The Clips were 3-10 in overtime games.

Part of that -- a big part, really -- is inexperience. Miles, for example, was so wild last season, coach Alvin Gentry didn't know whether to start him or, in some cases, play him minimal minutes at all. Miles needs work on his passing and shooting. He has no problem dunking, as he will prove in the All-Star weekend dunk contest for years to come.

Olowokandi, despite being the only Clipper to suit up for every game, didn't show up for every game. How a 7-footer with ability can continue to not reach double digits in scoring or rebounding consistently is a mystery, but the thought is that Brand's appearance will make the Candy man better. Call it Clipper hope.

The ugly: What might be the ugliest thing is just the name Clippers. People regard the organization as a joke. Nobody comes to watch them, home or away. Maybe it's the arena, but only the Lakers were worse from the free throw line. However, take the Shaq albatross away and the Lakers were Rick Barry-like. Almost none of the Clips can hit freebies (thus the close losses). The Clips also weren't strong from 3-point land (ranked 23rd) or in handling the ball (worst assist-turnover ratio by a lot).

But if the team is exciting to watch and Sterling's brutal rep can get a break, maybe the Clips will be viewed differently. A few more wins wouldn't hurt.

The future: The Clippers are not a playoff team yet; let's get that out of the way up front. In the loaded West, it's pretty obvious where seven of the likely playoff teams play. The Rockets are better and the Wolves are still good, and then come the Clips, Sonics and Nuggets. But the theory that you need a big center to make the playoffs is wrong. You just need talent. The Wolves, for example, have the great Kevin Garnett, a good point guard and some spare parts. The Clippers have Odom, Brand and Miles, and that's not bad. And Olowokandi and McInnis, who pretty much came from nowhere to usurp rookie Keyon Dooling's job, aren't bad. Corey Maggette and Piatkowski each scored in double figures last year. And they're back!

We give you Odom's words after hearing about the Brand trade: "I'm itching to start again. I want it now -- there's another team in LA. We are going to fight this year, that's for sure. We won 15 games my rookie year, and 31 last year. I'm looking at 45 to 50 this season. We aren't going to sell ourselves short."

So, they're relatively deep, have some big names, a good coach, share a building with the two-time champs, and seem to be on the upswing. Might we see Clippers fans coming out from nowhere this season? The true test, of course, isn't really what happens this season, but when Odom, Olowokandi and others can leave town. Hey, this might get interesting after all.

So we ask you this question about the Clippers: Somewhere between this season, a few years from now and never, how many years before this is a playoff team?

Check out the file to the right for selected responses.

Eric Karabell is ESPN.com's NBA editor.