The Reason why Brand left the Clippers

[GuyverX]

Was it put to him as take it or leave it? If so then who are you mad at today?

Nope, there was no real take it or leave it deal. According to the Clippers, the only ultimatum was opting out or not opting out. Elton Brand and David Falk are still scumbags.

[madmaxmedia]

Phillyboy, there's no need to go on. There are fans here that are going to be naturally disappointed in EB for a long time. It's no big deal, let it go and enjoy your new team.

I'm sure there are people in NoCal who didn't like BDiddy leaving to come here. But I'm not going to bother telling them they shouldn't have any bad feelings about it or whatever.

[sfam]

Just some thoughts from a Wizards fan. First off, I really feel for you all. That really sucks losing Brand like that, especially right after getting a talent like Baron Davis. That said, the way the Clippers handled the Brand negotiations makes me think the Wizards really took the right approach with Arenas. They offered him MORE than he was worth and then asked Gil to consider taking less.

I think most feel Arenas is probably only worth around 95-100 mil, but we are FAR better off as a franchise having him for 116 mil than not at all. The situation is similar with Brand in that both players are marquee players who are coming off of serious injuries. Both players supposedly will heal almost completely (at least that's the hope). In retrospect, regardless of the Faulk nonsense, I think had the Clippers "high-balled" Brand, meaning if they offered him as much as possible and then asked him to consider less in order to build more pieces, Brand probably would have stayed. Especially when a player is recently injured, the whole "respect me" thing probably plays a bigger role for them than it should. I gotta think Arenas probably would have walked as well had the Wizards offered him his value, even if they increased it later.

But again, I gotta think fans of any team other than Phili (and perhaps Golden State) look at this and think this whole thing just sucks.

[concrete]

lol.

You have the owner trying to be a scrooge and give Falk a "take it or leave it" offer.

You have the Quasi-GM / Coach trying to make verbal deals that are illegal .

You have a player who shouldn't have been negotiating deals and now has his character questioned.

You have a power Agent who as agents do work in their best interest.

Not sure how this is Brand's fault...the coach doesn't sign the contract the owner does. If the contract came across as unacceptable then you can't fault Brand and you can't fault Dunleavy. Their agreement is not part of the rules of the game. Dunleavy should have had the contract in writing, signed sealed and delivered.

[Dinty]

Reason why he left:

1) The franchise is cursed and it the laughing stock of the NBA. He only been to one playoffs since joining the clippers.

2) The franchise tried to low-ball their best player and get spurned by it. Serve them right.

3) Fans are pricks. They don't deserve Brand, or a winning franchise. Enjoy decades more of the lottery.

Did you guys notice something. Alot of good players start out as clippers and left that hellhole to go to a better franchise and they became even better players. I don't blame Brand, because like every competitor, he just wants to win. He not going to get it here. He been losing so much as a clipper, that his view on the franchise turn sour.

I DON'T BLAME BRAND!

[ghostmno]

Sixer fan here, but this is going to be a realist post. The clippers dropped the ball and that's all there is too it! Brand was your superstar franchise player, and instead of wining and dining him and throwing him a nice big fat payday for his blood sweat and tears he put into the organization..they said.. gee.. let's uh wait and see how this salary cap thing works out and then we'll shoot the young fella a number and see if he likes it! Like the man said up there the wizards didn't dick around with agent zero, they went to bat and got him to ride the wizards thing out until the end hopefully. If i am not mistaken, the 76ers extended AI before he even hit the market, because that's the kind of things you do for your franchise marque player! I could go on and on with this but the bottom line is, the clippers blew this one.

[freshie2]

This situation is really bad for the Clippers, but the hatred for Brand is kind of funny. You have an NBA man of the year (multiple times) being blamed while the scum of the earth (pro athlete agent - Falk) and a historically inept franchise (Clippers) really being the key players in what happened. In the end, it's Brand's decision, but I don't think anyone will know the truth other than there was either really bad communication. I can see Falk putting it to any NBA franchise, and I can see the Clippers blowing a slam dunk situation like this as well...those are the entities that should be scorned by the Clipper fan base. From an outsider's perspective, the Clippers ownership/leadership really is to blame. This should have never gotten to this point. Even if Falk wanted $120 million, why would they only offer in the $70's?

When Davis signed there, I thought you were going to be serious contenders, but the Clipper management ultimately proved to be too consistent and somehow blew another one.

[sully00]

It wasn't the player, the agent, the coach or the GM.

How the hell can the owner not be available to decide whether or not your franchise player can have an option on his discount contract? This is Elton Friggin Brand NBA all star super duper stand up dude pick up the phone.

I feel for all Clipper fans but this guys franchise should have been ripped two decades ago he is a disgrace.

[dockingsched]

8:00pm
- elton asks for the language to be changed and for the option

- mike dunleavy says he'll take care of it and if he needs anything else.

- no response from brand

9:00am

- mike dunleavy tells brand everything is taken care of.

- no response from brand.

[kombayn]

To say Elton Brand did nothing wrong is naive on people's part. Dunleavy bent-over backwards for Brand and in the end he wanted more money, good riddance to him and I hope he stays injury prone for the rest of his career, Karma's a bitch.

[GuyverX]

It wasn't the player, the agent, the coach or the GM.

How the hell can the owner not be available to decide whether or not your franchise player can have an option on his discount contract? This is Elton Friggin Brand NBA all star super duper stand up dude pick up the phone.

I feel for all Clipper fans but this guys franchise should have been ripped two decades ago he is a disgrace.

Sterling gave Dunleavy a blank check to sign Brand. Like Dunleavy said, Brand didn't need to talk to Sterling. Brand is just lying through his teeth when he said if he had talked to Sterling, he'd probably still be a Clipper. The guy had his mind set on skipping town when he opted out. It's absolutely ridiculous that they couldn't even get in touch with a player whom they've payed 10+ million a year for a whole week. To quote Dunleavy, "he didn't want to be found."

[BubbaTee]

Did you guys notice something. Alot of good players start out as clippers and left that hellhole to go to a better franchise and they became even better players. I don't blame Brand, because like every competitor, he just wants to win. He not going to get it here. He been losing so much as a clipper, that his view on the franchise turn sour.

Such as?

Mo Taylor? Derek Anderson? Miles? Jaric? Olowokandi? Simmons? Ely? Ferry? Lamond Murray?

Seriously, who are all these ex-Clippers who are going on to massive success elsewhere?

[Clip34life]

Hmmm. I would say very few ex-Clippers went on to be great successes, most of them became overpaid, the Clips didn't match and they ended up being an albatross contract for that team. I can only speak recently but three come readily to mind

1. Miles (Portland way overpaid, he has a bad attitude [which he didn't have with the Clippers interestingly enough], and became a fat ass).
2. Q Rich (Knicks fans are dying to get rid of him but there are no takers, he has become a chucker [another guy who loved playing for the Clippers and was a better player on that team than any other]
3. Bobby Simmons (Sucks on Milwaukee, super overpaid [Mike Dunleavy got him that contract by giving him a role he could do well and one he could put points on])
4. Olowokandi (put up big numbers with the Clips, fell of the face of the earth afterwards, can't even get the min. to play anywhere [I may lose all credibility for saying this but if Kandi had any heart, I mean any heart at all, he could have been one of the best centers of all time] )
5. Vladimir Radmanovic (Please just go the Lakers board and ask them their opinion of Vlad, make sure to pack your umbrella for the ensuing sh*t storm)

As far as the "successes" go:

1. Odom (played no better, if not worse since leaving the Clippers [he is currently being dangled as trade bait and is not well liked on the Lakers board])
2. Andre Miller (Played well as a rook in Cleveland, mediocre for the rest of his career until the second half of Philly's season last year [incidentally he destroyed their drafting position by winning a few games for them, not saying that's bad but I'm just saying...])
3. Earl Boykins/Eddie House (bounced around the league as scrub players, got their big break on the Clippers)

So as you can see, the Clippers have done quite well for themselves in terms of retaining good talent at an affordable price. Kaman's contract is affordable, Maggz had a good contract, Brand had a good one. All our big time players have had pretty good contracts. It's our role players, Mobley and Thomas, who were overpaid, but with that 2010 cap space even their contracts are valuable, not to mention Marcus Camby.

The Clippers organization is on the rise. We have made bold moves, we're the center of attention in the basketball world during the offseason, we have finished constructing a state of the art 20 million dollar practice facility, we have a great arena in the Staples Center, and as always we're in LA. That and we have a leader from the city who can galvanize the community and an owner finally willing to spend. I don't feel that this place is a a hell hole, but you are definitely an a@@hole.

[jdmrac3r]

So as you can see, the Clippers have done quite well for themselves in terms of retaining good talent at an affordable price. Kaman's contract is affordable, Maggz had a good contract, Brand had a good one. All our big time players have had pretty good contracts. It's our role players, Mobley and Thomas, who were overpaid, but with that 2010 cap space even their contracts are valuable, not to mention Marcus Camby.

The Clippers organization is on the rise. We have made bold moves, we're the center of attention in the basketball world during the offseason, we have finished constructing a state of the art 20 million dollar practice facility, we have a great arena in the Staples Center, and as always we're in LA. That and we have a leader from the city who can galvanize the community and an owner finally willing to spend. I don't feel that this place is a a hell hole, but you are definitely an a@@hole.

I wouldn't give FO that much credit. The clippers in the lottery almost every year and they draft a dud. I think if they were able to draft better they would be a very good team. If they draft better players they would be able to retain those player they drafted right. shaun livingston for example.

[loflin3hree5ive]

I definitely give the Clippers FO a lot of credit. They are putting a competitive team on the floor while still leaving themselves a lot of financial flexibility. The Clippers FO also stresses defense in all the acquisitions they make. This year will be a stepping stone for the Clippers. They will probably make the playoffs easily. If they don't, it will be because of injury woes. But seriously, watch out when Thornton enters his junior year and Gordon is sophomore year. The Clippers will be legitimate title contenders when their two young guys grow into their games. Dunleavy was so close to making the Blazers champions. Coach is hungry to get the Clippers to where no team of his has been before.

Let me add, I believe Elton's departure rested on the assumption that Clippers fans would blame management for letting EB get away. Never in a million years do I believe Elton expected this kind of backlash from Clippers fans as a result of him leaving. Sterling, Baylor and Dunleavy should be very proud of themselves. Screw Elton. Go Clippers! Dunleavy for President. Screw any draft mistakes they've made in the past. The past two drafts they've had will make up for their bad decisions in the past. Mark my words.

[steverock]

Sterling's too cheap.

[BubbaTee]

Sterling's too cheap.

Yeah, so cheap he bought Camby from Denver.

I think you took a wrong turn at Albuquerque. The Memphis Grizzlies forum is that way ---->