Comments on: The Manifesto

By: womd

womd — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 09:30:34 +0000

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By: zhiv

zhiv — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 18:27:29 +0000

Thanks for the nod, KA–we’re all big fans over at ClipsNation, as I hope you know.

I spent a minute thinking about Eastie’s comment, and I think it might be a distinction between new Clipper fans and old Clipper fans. Again, this is not to apologize for Dunleavy and the current state of the team. 15 wins is horrible. But don’t underestimate the ability of DTS to own and control one of the very worst franchises in the history of sports. “New Clipper fans” might have started to follow the team with the drafting of Odom and Baylor’s trade for Brand. It’s possible to see the climax of this surge as the original hiring of Dunleavy, who turned the Clips into a semi-respectable NBA franchise. I won’t belabor that point, but “old Clipper fans,” from previous epochs, will remember teams that had no hope whatsoever of competing and making the playoffs. They had a starter or two that was generally overvalued, perhaps a big man project, a decent backup starting at PG, and a bunch of occasionally intriguing stiffs. The Clips have suffered more than their share of catastrophic injuries, but teams led by Ron Harper or Danny Manning were never truly competitive even before those “stars” were injured, and Charles Smith or Loy Vaught were never at the same level as Elton Brand. And it’s worth mentioning that it was Dunleavy who challenged Brand to a higher level of fitness and play that led to his MVP-level 05-06 season.

The NBA and the Western Conference have changed in the meantime, and they continue evolving. At this point the Clippers have a team that seems quite competitive on paper, but they’ve been unable to get that team onto the court. Now imagine a team that trades Kaman, Camby, and Baron Davis, that doesn’t sign Al Thornton. You’re giving up players and getting back draft picks–but let’s add that you’re drafting poorly, as the Clippers used to. Korolev at 12 isn’t the end of the world, though it would be nice to have Granger, since the Clips have Thornton and seem to be in very good shape with Gordon. But you have to imagine a team that wouldn’t have drafted either of those guys. As tricky as Thornton is, the Clips could have easily passed on him, and they could have Gallinari instead of Gordon, for instance.

There’s an assumption that DTS would replace Dunleavy with some one competent, with a reasonable, intelligent plan. I happen to doubt that. I think he would get some one cheap and passive, as he did in the past, and the Clips would wallow in mediocrity and futility. Other teams would take their good players away and develop them, and they would make short-sighted, one-sided trades that benefit other teams. Stuff like that happened routinely to the Clippers in the old days. It could happen again.

Lots of coaches could easily do much better with the talent on hand and get more wins. The injury trouble is maddening. The best course at the moment is to play out the last month with a full roster, to see if Dunleavy can get some good games out of Kaman-Randolph-Camby-Gordon-Thornton-Davis-Taylor, etc. From there, I actually trust Dunleavy as GM to hire a good coach to replace himself. More than I trust the approach of wiping the slate clean.

By: Plus15

Plus15 — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 04:24:47 +0000

Hi Clipper Fans,
I’m a long time Clipper fan and after fourteen years a retired season ticket owner. I’ve been watching and wondering about Donald Sterling for a long, long time. Donald Sterling does not attend Clipper games because he’s a basketball or even Clipper fan. Donald Sterling bought the Clippers for $12 million dollars and today as stinky as the team always is the Clippers are reportedly worth over $300 million dollars and the Clippers have never won best of anything in NBA competition other then the Clipper Girls, really. Nonetheless at every game Donald is acknowledged by those folks surrounding his seats as though he’s Dr. Buss and those people aren’t basketball fans either they are rich man fans and aspiring real estate moguls basking in his aura and hoping for the great man to acknowledge them. The Sterling hissy fit coincided with his fans celebrating Donald’s business accumen as one of the few NBA owners who didn’t need financial help from the league, for Donald the basketball equivilent of the team a win away from the finals. So now he’s noticed he’s hot but the teams not. I can assure you of one thing on night he flipped out during halftime or shortly after someone Donald envies or someone he hates heckled Donald T. gave him some sh*t and that’s why he suddenly lost it. It was personal, someone called him out and embarrassed him.

During the off season Donald will have to make changes to sell tickets. The best target is Dunleavy out of at least one job, hopefully coach. Then the problems really begin because as always Donald T. Sterling knows nothing about basketball so he talks to anybody and everybody no matter how little they also know. He has always been subject to the advice of the last person he talked to and his own massive basketball stupid ego. He has never shown any ability to pick and make a deal and a relationship with the right coach.
The report to Donald from Roesser after the ticketholder meeting – they want him to fire Dunleavy also could have set him off since if he took it seriously it meant he’d have to pay Dunleavy off.

Sterling doesn’t give a damn what we think.

By: jermaine o neal

jermaine o neal — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 03:31:10 +0000

He kept me on the bench for 4 years..

By: Kevin

Kevin — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 23:05:46 +0000

Great evaluator of talent? Are we talking about the same guy who took Yaroslav Korolev over Danny Granger?

By: eastie rich

eastie rich — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 22:47:53 +0000

neil, I know what your saying. But it’s not easy for everyone to shell out $ for season tickets (o.k. maybe I’m just talking about myself). That’s why they let you pay in installments. Like I said, I’ll cut them some slack if they pass those savings on to us next year. Do you think they will?

I’m not so sure. & how about fielding a team that people would pay to watch?

By: eastie rich

eastie rich — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 22:09:30 +0000

ACD, I’m with you. How can you even turn them in for half when the team is selling them for 1/4?

By: TNT57

TNT57 — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 21:34:12 +0000

I have 2 words for you…YAROSLAV KORALEV. Yikes.

By: acd

acd — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 21:15:35 +0000

Poor donald sterling. He is in for a huge surprise next year when he reads the season ticket renewal report. He may actually lose money! That may be a good thing because he might decide to sell the team! Seriously…if he’s so pissed about how things are going I suggest he gets rid of the entire front office, coach, trainer, staff… Like gary oldman in “the professional”, EVERYOOOOOOONE! What does he have to lose? And yes, I also feel bad for my sales rep… I don’t envy his position. Our emotions and cash depend on the product and potential on the court– but his livelihood depends on it. He is the ultimate appeaser who is always trying to calm me down. Clippers reps are like the ugly girls in high school trying to get a prom date. Lakers reps are the hot girls trying to get guys to stop calling them. Its just a shitty situation. Eve our own kevin a. I’m sure he doesn’t get a hard on for writing a story about how the clipps loafed a 20 point defeat to the horribly bad memphis grizzlies. I simply don’t know how to defend this organization anymore. Courtside tonight to see clips vs indiana? You’ll have to drag me off the couch. If I could turn them in for half of what I paid I,d do it in a second. Fuck me.

By: neiljphx

neiljphx — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 21:06:56 +0000

I saw that and they can justify it by the economy crashing. I can’t trip over that because alot has changed in every walk of life since I went in over $4k last year for the pair.
But even economy aside…if it was still pre-crash, I couldn’t see getting that pair again. And can’t even really see moving up to the 200′s as the right move either.
I’ll just pick and choose some games off stubhub depending on when I’m in town or what the kids want and call it at that.