My Farewell

[Wammy Giveaway]

Guys, it's been real...

When I first came to RealGM around 2013, I was brand new to the world of sports. Being a Los Angeles native meant the Lakers was your one and only basketball team, especially if your first taste of superiority was finally getting a Game 7 win against the arch nemesis Boston Celtics with the help of the mercurial Ron Artest, who reminded me of Dennis Rodman who once played with Michael Jordan who did a movie with the Looney Tunes. In other words, it takes cartoons to get me engaged. One whole season of Lakers basketball began with a tale of dominance and supremacy, the golden goose of the league if you will. And it ended in a 2nd round sweep at the hands of the Dallas Mavericks, the picture of Andrew Bynum clotheslining J.J. Barea in the middle of a layup shot as the lasting memory of their failed season.

Then the lockout happened. And of course, the greatest veto in NBA history that helped turn around a perennial loser in the Los Angeles Clippers. The arrival of Chris Paul to the Laker's red-headed stepchild showed me that there was more to the Clipper's cursed history than meets the eye. Paired up with the no. 1 draft pick, the flyin' lion Blake Griffin, the dynamic duo ushered a Lob City crusade of actual relevancy for a clubhouse that has never experienced it before. The more I tuned in to the Clippers, the more I was interested in their past, their problems and their promise to being a much better franchise. For all the baby steps they took to catch up with Big Brother and the rest of the league, there was still flaws - injuries at the most inopportune of times, collapses that were catastrophic, scandals from within their own office that revealed hidden agendas, and their endless desire of wanting to be loved by a basketball world that hated them - flaws that made the Clippers more of an asset to be replaced by a more deserving clubhouse in the Seattle Supersonics. The same issues of the Lob City era continued on in the now failed Kawhi Leonard and Paul George era and Harden-George-Leonard Big 3 experiment. They would finally get to a conference finals eventually, but not without being forced to do a feat that no team had ever done before in the form of back-to-back 2-0 comebacks, fueled by the fear of a 3-0 automatic series loss. Then, in an ironic twist of poetic justice, their first conference finals debut was losing to the Phoenix Suns behind their former savior Chris Paul.

In the years I got to watch the Clippers grow up in front of my eyes, I got to see the most electrifying team to razzle-dazzle the crowd, stand up against their disgraced owner using an emotional Game 7 win against the dark horse juggernaut Golden State Warriors as their final statement, being saved by former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer with the added condition of never moving the Clippers out of Los Angeles, and hiring the great Jerry West to repair their disadvantaged franchise. Ignoring the double 3-1 collapses that occurred within a 5-year span, DeAndre Jordan joining the Mavericks before the silliest emoji war, the questionable Doc Rivers decisions culminating in the salvation of his son's career, the Clippers were one hell of a team that gave you the highest of highs, the lowest of lows, and a little bit of everything in between. They may be a cautionary tale now, but it will inspire stories to come, and hopefully a team in the future who will finally break out of their never-ending cycle of disappointment.

A story that I may not get to follow up on anymore.

I had planned to leave RealGM completely at the conclusion of the 2023-24 NBA season but family matters delayed my post. With my parents having left to Mexico in July for a month's vacation, me and my sister were tasked with cleaning the house to make room for new furniture. By the time they returned at around August, our parents realized there was more cleaning needed to be done, leaving me with little time. And this is going to continue on for the remainder of the year, so rather than wait until then I've decided to make this post now.

Was I leaving because the Clippers were going to suck? Not at all. For the past 20 plus years, I've been working on a lifelong project outside of sports that has been near and dear to my heart, and within the past few years the semblance of a light at the end of the tunnel grew to a sizeable point where I was going to need to devote some more time to see it through. I cannot disclose what this project is, but I can tell you that it is something very personal to me, leading me to make this decision.

Will I still get to follow the Clippers, absolutely. Early in my RealGM years I was doing a podcast series called Wammy Radio where I played the best of music, but I wanted to do more than just be a disc jockey. Getting involved in sports meant taking interviews, doing research, writing scripts and asking the right questions that had a real level of critical thinking... even if they had a conspiratorial tint to them. The Clippers Season Wrap Up series was my first foray into actual interviews, and they were a great starting point into branching out to other topics like music, art, anime, cartoons, video games and more. There are so many topics outside of sports that I would love to touch on in Wammy Radio, and none of this could have been possible without my experiences here. Whether I got exposure or not was never the question, it was the answer that always mattered to me: I learned a lot about being a journalist, and while there's a lot of things I need to improve on, I actually like it.

As for the future of the Clippers themselves, I still think there is potential for this unlucky franchise to finally catch a break but it takes time, and for a team that might be a few years behind it is only natural for that reclamation process to be of a slow burn. I keep seeing things like changing the front office, getting more loyal players, not getting jibbed by bad deals, but that's a matter of having good luck which the Clippers haven't honestly had due to bad karma made on the behalf of their previous disgraced owner. Sterling's desire to be loved, respected and worshiped like the Lakers seeped directly into his team's psyche and remains their great character weakness. If they are to become legitimate contenders, those feelings of hatred, bitterness and distrust need to be wiped away from their collective conscious completely. Having their own arena may help alleviate them of their disadvantaged schedule but it will not erase the 50 plus years of ineptitude, incompetence and ignorance - that is a mindset problem which must be solved a different way. I truly recommend the Clippers hire a general advisor who not only has the right interest in mind but can also push the right buttons to motivate the team to a prosperous future, even if it hurts them. Who knows: maybe the keys to their first championship begins with the Clippers being the first team in NBA history to come back from down 3-0 in a playoff series. They did come back from down 2-0 twice after all...

From here on out, there will be no new posts by me on this forum. I am not coming back. This RealGM account will be closed.

My final request on this board will be for the "Clippers Might Relocate... To Inglewood" thread locked. With the Intuit Dome now open for business, I feel there is no more need for that thread.

I will miss this place dearly. I want to thank each and every one of you for giving me this hospitality. Even if my approach to sports is mean spirited, I still care about this place and the overall future of the Clipper community. I wish the Clippers franchise well, and good luck. I know you will have your day in the sun. Just have faith.

Farewell everyone. Take care.

- Wammy Giveaway

[Dynamix]

Not going to lie, my initial thought was that you must live in a huge house if it can take up to 6 months to make room for some new furniture.

But in all seriousness, best of luck in your future endeavors.

[TrueLAfan]

Good luck in everything you're doing as you move forward--and thanks for your comments (mean spirited or not) over the years.

[Clemenza]

Wait, no more "The Clippers desperately want to be loved and respected like the Lakers" posts?

[nickhx2]

good luck and take care

[esqtvd]

Cheers, mate. You've become a good writer. Use it well.

[Scoundreldays]

Best of luck in your endeavors

[madmaxmedia]

Wait, no more "The Clippers desperately want to be loved and respected like the Lakers" posts?

...and need 2 more ejections to turn the season around!

Good luck Wammy in your future endeavors!

[playaloc916]

Wait, no more "The Clippers desperately want to be loved and respected like the Lakers" posts?

...and need 2 more ejections to turn the season around!

Good luck Wammy in your future endeavors!

Wait, I thought 2 more ejections meant the Clippers season is forfeited?? No more killer kombat revenge season?

Jokes aside, all the best Wammy, it's always a bit sad when a long time poster retires from RealGM.