MartinToVaught wrote:What was even the point of signing Primo in the first place? We got nothing out of it except some negative PR when it was announced. It's unbelievable how bad Frank is at every aspect of GMing.
Keep in mind, Jones was still suffering from mental health issues. Had Clippers signed him earlier, they would have had a migraine. A True Big 3 of Harden-George-Leonard, the Killer Kombat Ultimatum where it was championship or lose all their superstars to free agency, 2nd apron restraints. The Primo signing at the time tied to their outreach program, rehabilitate damaged goods and develop them into serviceable players through the Tim Duncan-esque Good Samaritan Spurs philosophy of Kawhi Leonard (ironic as Primo was a former Spur).
I don't know how good or bad Frank is, but it does seem to me that he's something of a slow learner, doesn't really grasp the moves they make until they actually hurt and is too late to fix them, and if he was to fix them he would need to prove that by cutting a player. If Jones was always on the radar but the mental health issues got in the way, then they decided to basically wait until the last day. In short, Clippers procrastinated.
The following is a rant:
We have here a team who loves to troll opponents by playing possum, being an eye-rolling disorderly annoyance. And they're doing this without players getting ejected from games (that's Lue's job). The San Antonio Spurs I know of - one of Tim Duncan, David Robinson and Gregg Popovich - played for the good of humanity with the most humble of perspectives, fighting for the greater good. Clippers are the tricksters, circus acts, comedians: more Penn & Teller than David Copperfield; Loki compared to Thor; the servant Puck to the King Of Avalon Lord Oberon (oh these entertainment/literary references). They don't do it because they're totally desperate, they just don't know any better, and for a franchise that has only known losing for so many years until the double 2-0 comeback in 2021, they're still learning how to behave like a real title contender.
I would have preferred a Clipper franchise who had their image tarnished by ejections of Paul George after their greatest 3-1 collapse in NBA history (should have been a Flagrant 2 back in one of those 2021 games to Nuggets years ago), followed by a career first for Kawhi Leonard - anything to say that the trade of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was a failure, must blow it up, rebuild and dwell in the lottery for 20 years or until they reclaim the throne of largest playoff drought in NBA history. Then, they atone for their failures and ejections by storming the league with one of the greatest winning streaks of all time, threatening the 33 straight wins set by Lakers - or one of their players beats a legendary record like 100 points from Wilt Chamberlain (also has a 55 rebound record), 30 assists by Scott Skiles, 17 blocks by Elmore Smith. Or, if you want something truly Herculean, the first team to ever win a series after being down 3-0. I wanted those, but instead I'm being played.
There's a lesson: nothing ever goes the way you want it to be scripted. Each person is their own quest they control, and when they are faced with adversity they must conquer them by their own terms, not by someone else's inconceivable grand standards.