Every interview I've watched or listened to has Elton Brand stating emphatically "It wasn't about the money." Clearly that is TRUE because he left a lot of money on the table to go to Philly instead of Golden State which was offering him a more financially lucrative deal (about $2M/yr more). So let's talk about that. What could it have been about, if not the money? He says that he felt "disrespected by the Clippers". So HOW did they "disrespect" him, you ask? I'll get to that theory in a minute.
I started the rumor that Brand was demanding 1) Guaranteed/Up-front Money AND/OR 2) A No-Trade Clause in his contract and I stand by it because it makes total sense. Now, anyone who knows about the Clippers knows about Donald Sterling and his renowned unwillingness to let go of two things: MONEY and POWER. Unfortunately, it appears that Elton went for the jugular in asking for BOTH. Was this the demise of the contract negotiations? I don't know. But I DO believe that one of those things was a factor and also was the way he used to buy himself time knowing that he was NEVER EVER going to get those demands out of Scrooge Sterling. First of all, he spent SEVENTY GAMES on the bench last season and hasn't earned that kind of "demand power" due to his diminished capacity and secondly because, let's face it, HE'S NOT KOBE BRYANT.... And the only person in the NBA with a no-trade clause IS KOBE. For Brand to have demanded that as a rider to his contract is not only absurd but INCREDIBLY BALLSY. The fact that Donald Sterling and the Clippers Organization was not going to be agree to those demands was what I believe perceived to be "disrespectful" to his so-called star quality. I'm just going to say this. He hasn't brought the Clippers any Championships and has no right to be demanding things like that when he can't bring it home single-handedly some nights the way people like Kobe, Lebron, or KG do on a REGULAR BASIS. That's all I'm gonna say about dat.
Also, now let's also address the so-called "charity move" Elton made by opting out of his contract so that the Clippers could free up some money to go and "get him some help", most likely in the way of a point guard. IF the rumors that I heard swirling long before he "so graciously" agreed to opt out are TRUE, he ACTUALLY didn't need to opt out AT ALL in the FIRST PLACE. My little birdies tell me that the Clippers had NO INTENTION of signing Shaun Livingston because he was a liability.....So his money was already in the kitty. Also, they were not planning on pursuing Corey Maggette and thus, his money was up for grabs as well. So let's do the math: That leaves roughly $14.2M for next season's payroll (in addition to what they already had opening up). That being said, considering they went out and got Da Boom Dizzle for $13m/yr, JUST LIKE ELTON ASKED, they still had $1.2+ leftover to throw into Elton's kitty. Elton STOOD to make $16,440,000 next yr if he'd had exercised his option and stayed with the Clips. INSTEAD, he chose to go to Philly for $15,959,000/yr (a half million less). CONCEIVABLY, considering the choices the Clippers MADE, they could've afforded to give him the $16.4m his option allowed for AND another $1.2m for a total of about $17.6m. So clearly it's not about the money.
Mike Dunleavy went on the record this morning on ESPN Radio saying that David Falk was trying to strong-arm the Clippers for $120M. Donald Sterling, responded by basically saying "Considering that injury, which could be career-threatening, I'm hesitant to be throwing around that much money. Let him play out the rest of his contract this season and if he proves himself and he's worth it, I have NO PROBLEM GIVING HIM THE MONEY." (I consider that to be a fair deal... you?) .....So Dunleavy relays this to Brand and Falk. THEN, Elton tells Dunleavy on the SIDE "Coach, my intention is to be here. It's always been to be here. If you can get Baron and get me $75m, I'll come back". So he sends that info along to Sterling and BossMan says "Ok, done deal". From that point on, Dunleavy suddenly couldn't get his texts, emails or phone calls returned.
SO WHY DID HE F**K OVER HIS BOY, BARON DAVIS, BY LETTING HIM LEAVE ALOTTTTTTT OF MONEY ON THE TABLE TO COME TO HIS (NOW WORTHLESS) TEAM ..... AND WHY DID HE LIE TO THE CLIPPERS?
Here's my take: He never had any intention of staying with the Clippers and he simply strung them along to buy time to find himself, what he considered to be a "CONTENDER TEAM" that would offer him somewhere in the same ballpark as the money he would get with the LAC but give him the opportunity to get some bling before his career went bust. But why would he burn his buddy and tell him to come to L.A. and "let's make magic" and then bone out at the last minute, burn the team, his friend and his reputation all because he THINKS he's going to have a better situation and a better shot at a title in Philly? One never knows but we DO know that Falk is the PuppetMaster here and everyone knows about the axe he has to grind with the Clippers for passing over Mike Bibby (his client) as the #1 pick "way back when".
I'm going to say this. I think Elton made one of the worst mistakes ever in abandoning Baron Davis, who I believe is one of the best point guards in the LEAGUE let alone the Western Conference. He thinks he's going to be find greener pastures and a shiny ring at the end of that rainbow but I think all he's going to find is a lot of regret and disappointment in his decision. I think he and Baron Davis could have made the team of the future (and definitely would have been a strong contender for the NOTORIOUSLY BRUTAL Western Conference Playoffs) if he had stuck around. I also think that he was very petty in trying to tie in those stupid little demands but like I said, I think it was all smoke and mirrors and even if Sterling HAD agreed to that, he'd STILL have jumped ship. This whole thing is more confusing than trying to understand a Czechoslovakian TRAIN SCHEDULE but I'm definitely on Team Dunleavy with this one.
Now here is where the rubber meets the road and the reason I wrote this in the first place. I don't care about Philly... and I don't care about the Clippers (sorry Johanna). But I DO LIKE BARON DAVIS and am really happy to see him in a better situation than the underappreciated nonsense he was subjected to up north (I know you agree with me Kath & Renee). HOWEVER, now that they have no Elton, no Maggette, a rookie shooting guard and a white boy playing center, the Clippers are kind of back at square one .... UNLESSSSSSS, they do, what I would consider a "Two Can Play At That Game" move by offering Andre Iguodala (who I ALSO think is an under-utilized player) an "offer he can't refuse" and poaching him for the Clippers. Many believe that Iggy was a big part of the reason he decided to go to Philly. Sources have said that Elton Brand believes he is the "missing link" to getting the 76ers over the hump in the Playoffs and putting themselves in contention for "That #1 Spot" in the East vs the Celtics. Somehow I don't see him being that "over the hump" kinda of addition that will make it happen, but that's a story for another time. The Clippers now OFFICIALLY have plenty of money to make it happen (Might I suggest $4.2m/yr?) and it would BURN PHILLY'S HOPES of putting together their version of the Dream Team to take on the Big Bad Boston Three Party.
My last suggestions would be to go grab 7 footer Mikki Moore (since it looks like the Dark Side Duo of him and Artest's days in SAC are numbered) for about $6m (maybe 7?), snag Robert Horry for backup at $4m, then grab Carl Landry from the Rockets for about $3m, move him to SF Then see if you can snag Mo Evans from ORL ... by then you'll be about $20m deep and you SHOULD have a fairly stacked squad in case of death or injury. Everyone loves Baron Davis. He's like Mikey Likes It. With lucrative offers and players that make sense together, there's no telling the kind of dynasty that could be created around B-Dizzle and the Lakers may end up having to share the Staples Center spotlight next season.
I started the rumor that Brand was demanding 1) Guaranteed/Up-front Money AND/OR 2) A No-Trade Clause in his contract and I stand by it because it makes total sense. Now, anyone who knows about the Clippers knows about Donald Sterling and his renowned unwillingness to let go of two things: MONEY and POWER. Unfortunately, it appears that Elton went for the jugular in asking for BOTH. Was this the demise of the contract negotiations? I don't know. But I DO believe that one of those things was a factor and also was the way he used to buy himself time knowing that he was NEVER EVER going to get those demands out of Scrooge Sterling. First of all, he spent SEVENTY GAMES on the bench last season and hasn't earned that kind of "demand power" due to his diminished capacity and secondly because, let's face it, HE'S NOT KOBE BRYANT.... And the only person in the NBA with a no-trade clause IS KOBE. For Brand to have demanded that as a rider to his contract is not only absurd but INCREDIBLY BALLSY. The fact that Donald Sterling and the Clippers Organization was not going to be agree to those demands was what I believe perceived to be "disrespectful" to his so-called star quality. I'm just going to say this. He hasn't brought the Clippers any Championships and has no right to be demanding things like that when he can't bring it home single-handedly some nights the way people like Kobe, Lebron, or KG do on a REGULAR BASIS. That's all I'm gonna say about dat.
Also, now let's also address the so-called "charity move" Elton made by opting out of his contract so that the Clippers could free up some money to go and "get him some help", most likely in the way of a point guard. IF the rumors that I heard swirling long before he "so graciously" agreed to opt out are TRUE, he ACTUALLY didn't need to opt out AT ALL in the FIRST PLACE. My little birdies tell me that the Clippers had NO INTENTION of signing Shaun Livingston because he was a liability.....So his money was already in the kitty. Also, they were not planning on pursuing Corey Maggette and thus, his money was up for grabs as well. So let's do the math: That leaves roughly $14.2M for next season's payroll (in addition to what they already had opening up). That being said, considering they went out and got Da Boom Dizzle for $13m/yr, JUST LIKE ELTON ASKED, they still had $1.2+ leftover to throw into Elton's kitty. Elton STOOD to make $16,440,000 next yr if he'd had exercised his option and stayed with the Clips. INSTEAD, he chose to go to Philly for $15,959,000/yr (a half million less). CONCEIVABLY, considering the choices the Clippers MADE, they could've afforded to give him the $16.4m his option allowed for AND another $1.2m for a total of about $17.6m. So clearly it's not about the money.
Mike Dunleavy went on the record this morning on ESPN Radio saying that David Falk was trying to strong-arm the Clippers for $120M. Donald Sterling, responded by basically saying "Considering that injury, which could be career-threatening, I'm hesitant to be throwing around that much money. Let him play out the rest of his contract this season and if he proves himself and he's worth it, I have NO PROBLEM GIVING HIM THE MONEY." (I consider that to be a fair deal... you?) .....So Dunleavy relays this to Brand and Falk. THEN, Elton tells Dunleavy on the SIDE "Coach, my intention is to be here. It's always been to be here. If you can get Baron and get me $75m, I'll come back". So he sends that info along to Sterling and BossMan says "Ok, done deal". From that point on, Dunleavy suddenly couldn't get his texts, emails or phone calls returned.
SO WHY DID HE F**K OVER HIS BOY, BARON DAVIS, BY LETTING HIM LEAVE ALOTTTTTTT OF MONEY ON THE TABLE TO COME TO HIS (NOW WORTHLESS) TEAM ..... AND WHY DID HE LIE TO THE CLIPPERS?
Here's my take: He never had any intention of staying with the Clippers and he simply strung them along to buy time to find himself, what he considered to be a "CONTENDER TEAM" that would offer him somewhere in the same ballpark as the money he would get with the LAC but give him the opportunity to get some bling before his career went bust. But why would he burn his buddy and tell him to come to L.A. and "let's make magic" and then bone out at the last minute, burn the team, his friend and his reputation all because he THINKS he's going to have a better situation and a better shot at a title in Philly? One never knows but we DO know that Falk is the PuppetMaster here and everyone knows about the axe he has to grind with the Clippers for passing over Mike Bibby (his client) as the #1 pick "way back when".
I'm going to say this. I think Elton made one of the worst mistakes ever in abandoning Baron Davis, who I believe is one of the best point guards in the LEAGUE let alone the Western Conference. He thinks he's going to be find greener pastures and a shiny ring at the end of that rainbow but I think all he's going to find is a lot of regret and disappointment in his decision. I think he and Baron Davis could have made the team of the future (and definitely would have been a strong contender for the NOTORIOUSLY BRUTAL Western Conference Playoffs) if he had stuck around. I also think that he was very petty in trying to tie in those stupid little demands but like I said, I think it was all smoke and mirrors and even if Sterling HAD agreed to that, he'd STILL have jumped ship. This whole thing is more confusing than trying to understand a Czechoslovakian TRAIN SCHEDULE but I'm definitely on Team Dunleavy with this one.
Now here is where the rubber meets the road and the reason I wrote this in the first place. I don't care about Philly... and I don't care about the Clippers (sorry Johanna). But I DO LIKE BARON DAVIS and am really happy to see him in a better situation than the underappreciated nonsense he was subjected to up north (I know you agree with me Kath & Renee). HOWEVER, now that they have no Elton, no Maggette, a rookie shooting guard and a white boy playing center, the Clippers are kind of back at square one .... UNLESSSSSSS, they do, what I would consider a "Two Can Play At That Game" move by offering Andre Iguodala (who I ALSO think is an under-utilized player) an "offer he can't refuse" and poaching him for the Clippers. Many believe that Iggy was a big part of the reason he decided to go to Philly. Sources have said that Elton Brand believes he is the "missing link" to getting the 76ers over the hump in the Playoffs and putting themselves in contention for "That #1 Spot" in the East vs the Celtics. Somehow I don't see him being that "over the hump" kinda of addition that will make it happen, but that's a story for another time. The Clippers now OFFICIALLY have plenty of money to make it happen (Might I suggest $4.2m/yr?) and it would BURN PHILLY'S HOPES of putting together their version of the Dream Team to take on the Big Bad Boston Three Party.
My last suggestions would be to go grab 7 footer Mikki Moore (since it looks like the Dark Side Duo of him and Artest's days in SAC are numbered) for about $6m (maybe 7?), snag Robert Horry for backup at $4m, then grab Carl Landry from the Rockets for about $3m, move him to SF Then see if you can snag Mo Evans from ORL ... by then you'll be about $20m deep and you SHOULD have a fairly stacked squad in case of death or injury. Everyone loves Baron Davis. He's like Mikey Likes It. With lucrative offers and players that make sense together, there's no telling the kind of dynasty that could be created around B-Dizzle and the Lakers may end up having to share the Staples Center spotlight next season.
