Quixem Ramirez wrote:Maybe the Los Angeles Clippers did the San Antonio Spurs a favor by eliminating them in the first-round last year. Losing in the first round allowed the franchise to decompress in mid-May and re-evaluate the team. It also allowed the older guys to rest and save the wear and tear on their bodies.
Maybe the early exit led the Spurs brass to make a more concerted push for LaMarcus Aldridge. With Duncan and Ginobili in uncertain territory, and the mileage on Parker's legs, the Big Three are no longer able to carry a contending team for an entire season. Placing the entire burden on Kawhi Leonard would not be ideal. To hear Parker tell it, the Spurs were "all-in" this offseason. It was either land Aldridge or reboot in a different direction without Duncan, Ginobili and possibly Danny Green, who might opt for the money in this scenario. San Antonio was playing the highest stakes game of poker imaginable and we didn't even know it.
I agree in the most part that teams can help other teams become better. But when it comes to the Clippers, all they seem to do is help others at the cost of ruining their future. I went on a seven-part tweet rant of sorts when I replied to the original author (and if you're reading this Quixem, if I offended you in any way, I apologize). Here's my reply in its entirely:
Wammy Giveaway wrote:Just read your Spurs-Clippers article. For the most part, I agree in that on special occasions, teams can help others. However, the Clippers have a bad habit of helping other teams at the expense of their own progress, Sterling or no Sterling. For example, the Warrior's rise to dominance is all on the Clippers. They didn't take them seriously in 2012-13. Clippers did it again by overlooking the Rockets, culminating in a 3-1 collapse. Their negligence gifted the Dubs a ring. Now the Clippers are claiming last year's title was theirs all along, and if the Dubs wanted it, they had to beat them first. I'm glad the Spurs are thriving, but I'm disappointed in that the Clipper's bad attitude has only made the league better. What worries me is that by the time Clippers realize it, it will have been too late. And they will be forced to rebuild.
What I'm saying here is that the Clippers were okay with giving up on their future to help another team's future. At the time, they were ruled by the evil Donald Sterling. Sterling only cared about himself: owning the Clippers and running the franchise to however he sees fit, and only when there were dollars to be had. Sterling agreed to help Dr. Jerry Buss purchase the Lakers in 1979 only because he was getting something back that would embiggen his empire. That idea of being a good Samaritan has been the Clipper's role ever since Sterling was owner.
The Clippers aren't realizing this right now, but they should. When they lost the season series to Golden State in the 2012-13 season, they were punished with punching the Warrior's ticket into the playoffs. When the Clippers collapsed to the Rockets in Game 6, not only were they punished with a Game 7, the Clippers punished themselves in Game 7 by coming out flat, basically punching the Rocket's ticket into the conference finals. The Clippers don't care - they just want their pain to end. They are following in the footsteps of their owner.
And what makes this even worse is the attitude they've absorbed from their coach Doc Rivers and his laissez-faire arrogant spoiled-like demeanor, contributing to their karma and self-punishments. I don't want to use this word because it's really dark, but I have no other choice here: the Clippers have a habit of mutilating themselves in hopes that the next game will be better. They want to be perfect so badly because of how they were mistreated under the old regime. And if they have to give up their assets, their future because it's for the good of the other team, they'll be okay with that. They can always dream, can they?
They can't go on like this.