With plenty of superstar players taking less money in the past and now especially in this current free agency, I suppose it's worth discussing (especially given a boring Summer League) whether the Clippers' pair of superstars should have taken less money while staying with the team.
It seems that in the current era, a team doesn't just need a pair of superstars, it needs its superstars to basically take a little (or in Dirk's case a a lot) less money in order to help the team round out its roster with good/great supporting cast players. CP3 and Blake however took their respective max contracts. As highlighted in this past free agency, the consequence essentially has been the Clippers being left with the MLE and hypothetical S&Ts as their only options.
In my view, I think Blake/CP3 couldn't have taken less to stay with the Clippers if only because of Sterling's presence as the team's (previous) owner. The talk wouldn't have been about them putting the team first, but just about Sterling being a stingy owner cutting corners on payroll for even stars. That said, I feel like it should've been still discussed (and it wasn't). There's no question that Blake/CP3 earned every dime they signed for (and probably deserve more), but the issue is being competitive for a title. In that circumstance, I feel like taking less is unavoidable.
This segways I think into the related topic of DeAndre Jordan. I think the Clippers have to seriously consider requesting him to take less for the sake of the team. It's not going to be a question of him deserving more, but it'll definitely be a matter of the team staying competitive. Doc needs to pull a Pat Riley and convince DJ that being a lifelong Clipper + helping a winning culture is worth sacrificing a few million a year. Granted, CP3/Blake nothing taking any pay cuts will hurt this plea, but it has got to happen.