Get Ready for a Long August
by ClipperSteve
on Jul 21, 2008 11:35 PM PDT
in News
You citizens probably don't want to hear it, but I'm trying to resist making any big, sweeping posts for the time being. For one thing, we've still got the Kelenna Azubuike offer sheet up in the air, and we'll know more about that soon enough. If the Warriors decline to match, then the top nine guys on the team will be pretty much set, with only minimum salary players around them - so it may be time to dig into the roster at that time. But if the Warriors decide to retain Buike, then the Clips still have $3M to throw around, and the dance continues.
But pretty soon, the music is going to stop, and we're going to have a solid eight weeks or so with no Clipper news. Kaman in the Olympics. MBFGC in the Olympics. That's going to have to tide us over. And then even that will be over, and there will truly be nothing. September is the worst. The WORST. Last September we were reduced to the drama that was Jared Jordan versus Guillermo Diaz - and neither of those guys even made the team. (Although this post about Kaman, before he was Kaman 2.0, is kind of interesting.)
But the next eight weeks are going to be excruciatingly slow, especially when compared to the whirlwind of the last four weeks. The draft, an incredibly busy free agency period, summer league - it's been just incredible. Too bad they couldn't space these things out a little more across the summer for us.
So I'm letting the dust settle a little, letting some ideas germinate, and maybe I'll even save a few big ideas for the dog days of August and September. You certainly haven't heard the last from me on l'affaire Brand, and I'm sure I'll have some thoughts on the now-complete Clipper career of Corey Maggette at some point.
But not yet. Or else I'll never make it to training camp.
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Ya
You don’t want to “speculate” on the Brand (non)-betrayal until we “get more information”. :)
Looking forward to your season schedule breakdown once it’s released. One game is getting circled in red, that’s for certain.
by supac on Jul 22, 2008 1:20 AM PDT 0 recs
at this point...
I don’t even view it as a betrayal, I view it as a GODSEND. We will have so many more opportunities now come 2010, we never won with him, so now let’s see how we do without him. I am more excited about this season then any of the previous 6 that I have had season tickets to.
"Lets get one thing straight, the only reason you are conscious right now is because I don't feel like carrying you." - Jack Bauer
"Consequences, Schmonsequences, as long as I'm rich." - Daffy Duck
by Badd on
Jul 22, 2008 9:32 AM PDT
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So true
EB defecting has opened so many new doors for the Clips.
They were about to tie up a lot of money in a player who is very productive statistically, but not a proven winner.
Now, the Clippers are ready to compete now, and bring in a star in 2010. Amare may opt out that year. Bosh will be available. Those are just the PF’s.
F-Elton!
by mikey p on
Jul 22, 2008 10:19 AM PDT
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Think LA-Philly will make the ESPN schedule?
It will be interesting to see who is on national TV more – LAC or Philly? Philly is East, made the playoffs last season and a ‘traditional’ power. But Baron is a higher wattage star.
The Clippers! The (second) Best NBA Team in LA!
by ClipperSteve on Jul 22, 2008 7:34 AM PDT 0 recs
I say it's a mortal lock
Brand & Baron Davis have been by far the biggest stories this off-season, so I don’t see how ESPN doesn’t go for the highly anticipated LAC/Philly matchup. The NBA has proven over the years to like this type of drama, insisting we watch The Lakers & The Heat over and over again.
I’d give the nod to the Clippers given more national TV coverage this year…it’s a bigger market and as surprising as it’s been, we’ve almost dominated the offseason news so far.
by ghost_ride on
Jul 22, 2008 10:32 AM PDT
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Get to work on the book
Since you’ve got all this time on your hands, CS, you should be able to have the better part of a draft of the FElton book by Labor Day.
I was working out the outline for the first few chapters in my head this morning. Let me see if I remember. I’m going to use the B name instead of FElton since, you know, it’s almost kind of a professional thing.
1. The Worst Team in Sports. The SI cover and moment.
2. The Brand trade. How and why.
3. Pre-Clippers EB. The man and the player.
4. The First Season: the 01-02 Clippers.
5. Clipper Fans: the story of Clipper Steve. Some background.
6. Other notable Clippers: Lamar Odom, Olowokancer, Corey Maggette
7. 1st Climax: Brand-Odom-Richardson-Miles-Maggette.
8. Clipper Steve starts writing e-mails. Alvin Gentry.
9. Andre Miller. Season of discontent.
10. Clippers match Miami (Brand) and Utah (Maggette) offers.
11. A coach and change of culture: arrival of Dunleavy.
12. First Dunleavy seasons. Steady progress.
13. Wilcox-Kaman: signs of Dunleavy stress. Livingston.
14. Dunleavy challenges Brand to improve. Brand’s character.
15. Coverage of the Clippers. Blogging.
16. “The immortal 05-06 season”: Sam Cassell and others.
17. Birth of Clips Nation: fans and blog.
16. Big cracks: 06-07. Maggette debacle. Livingston.
17. 07 Summer disaster: the Brand injury.
18. 08. Kaman 2.0, buyouts, and tanking.
19. Journalism: the death of newspapers.
20. L’affaire Brand. Highs and lows. The true story is told.
On sale at Staples on opening day. Discounted signed copies for those who bring FElton jerseys for a very special bonfire.
by citizen zhiv on Jul 22, 2008 11:43 AM PDT 0 recs
Didn't Brand and Odom
use the Clippers negotiating with Olowokandi as a reason to stay with the Clippers versus leaving? I mean didn’t they use whether he would get a contract as their reason to stay or not? (I never understood that reasoning on either Brand or Odom’s part if that was the case.)
No mistakes in the tango, darling. Not like life. It's simple. That's what makes the tango so great. If you make a mistake, and get tangled, you tango on
by pookeyguru on
Jul 24, 2008 10:24 AM PDT
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They were both RFAs, along with Maggette
The Clippers did make a big offer (65 mil) to Olowokandi, but he turned it down. The fact he didn’t take it is definitely in the top 5 of good things ever to happen to the franchise, and it was probably in the top 3 before the Baron Davis signing. You know your team is pretty funky when one of the best things that ever happened to them is that their #1 draft pick turned down a big offer.
So yes, it did show that the Clips might actually spend some money to have one of their better players stay on the team.
It was quite a year, actually. Kandi took the qualifying offer, trying to play his way into the big bucks. Sort of I guess. Brand, Odom, and Maggette were all RFAs. And Andre Miller was in the last year of his deal, so he and Kandi were both slated to be UFAs at the end of the season. And Alvin Gentry was the coach, and let’s just say he wasn’t as sophisticated about salary issues and personnel as Dunleavy seems to be.
Brand and Maggette were signed to offer sheets by Miami and Utah, respectively. To the surprise of a whole lot of skeptics, the Clippers matched those offers. Miami found a bunch of money by accident at the last minute and made a big offer to Odom. It seemed to be too much money and the Clips passed on that one. Miller signed with Denver—I don’t know if the Clips even made him an offer. And I can’t remember exactly what happened with Kandi, except that the whole thing was just horrible and ridiculous. And I think that, since all of these other deals (except Odom’s) are wrapping up, he would just be finishing up his deal, right? Maybe last year.
That’s the time that came just after the good old bad old days.
by citizen zhiv on
Jul 24, 2008 12:37 PM PDT
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Yeah I never knew Kandi got an offer let alone one that big
What was he thinking? Wow, CZ that’s, umm, something else. Thanks for the info and flashback.
No mistakes in the tango, darling. Not like life. It's simple. That's what makes the tango so great. If you make a mistake, and get tangled, you tango on
by pookeyguru on
Jul 24, 2008 1:03 PM PDT
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Horrible!
That truly would’ve been horrible if Kandi took that contract! We would’ve been screwed!
by CLiPPz WeRD 42 on
Jul 25, 2008 9:13 AM PDT
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F-ELTON JERSEY
THAT’S A LITTLE HARSH FOR MY EX-FAVORITE CLIPPER. BUT I WAS THINKING ABOUT RIPPING HIS NAME OFF AND PUTTING LIAR! OR NO-INTEGRITY. ANY SUGGESTIONS ON WHAT TO PUT? BENEDICT BRAND?
by FEARTHECLIPS on Jul 22, 2008 4:12 PM PDT 0 recs
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