For many years, being a Clippers fan meant that you lived a life devoid of expectations. The Clippers never tempted you with promises of achievement and all the accoutrements that went with it — fun rivalries, meaningful games that were televised nationally, a guarantee that if you showed up at the arena the place would be berserk. Being a Clippers fan offered a simple, almost acetic comfort, even if you knew nothing of consequence would ever happen while you were watching.
When word got out in mid-July 2003 that the Clippers put six years and $78 million on the table for Elton Brand, it was stunning. The largest contract in Clippers history hitherto was Erik Piatkowski’s five year/$15 million deal. Ten days after signing Brand, the organization doubled down and matched Utah’s offer sheet for Maggette. The Clippers were actually building something.
It’s hard to construct anything out in the open without generating expectations. After that summer, the DNA of the Clipper fan morphed irreversibly. The immunity to failure that had long been a feature of that wiring was gone, and new senses developed.
These unfamiliar conditions are fraught with the risk of disappointment — but you also get turned on to all kinds of new phenomena, like the state of being in love with your team’s play for, like, three or four weeks in a row! Over the past six years, mood swings — previously unknown to Clippers fans — became a part of life. The Naçion was overcome by euphoria in the spring of 2006, only to have their giddiness doused by the banal mediocrity of 2006-07, followed Brand’s injury the following summer.
The 2008-09 season sent Clippers fans into a slow burn, and much of that was born out of the heightened expectations formed in 2003. Expectations come with a cost — and that’s the possibility that reality won’t honor them. Would you rather pay the penalty of those expectations — a wretched 19-63 season from a band of entitled babies — or return to a life without them?
Something’s gone wrong. It happens. Plans go awry. Assigning blame isn’t all that useful. But what I do think is useful is acknowledging the failure, appraising it, then taking the necessary steps to reverse it. What concerns me about the Clippers are the self-imposed constraints they’ve created — acquisitions and contracts that have been discussed ad nauseum — that could prevent them from drawing up a blueprint to start over.
Rebuilding is difficult. It requires discipline, and a restraint from the impatient desire to win quickly. Sacramento is currently crappy — they owned the worst record in the NBA this season — but they have designs to improve. The organization has identified the talent it wants to build around, and appreciates that they still have holes to fill. That’s part of the life cycle of most NBA franchises. If the Kings make a smart hire at head coach, they’ll be on their way.
Will the Clippers ask themselves the difficult questions a franchise in their position must? Questions like, “Can an NBA team build anything real with Zach Randolph?” And, “Is it possible that a head coach, even one who is renowned for his preparation, might be in an unwinnable situation, fair or not?” Or, “Since we’re stuck with a mercurial star who still has redeemable qualities as a point guard somewhere in his game, what are the three best ways to maximize those qualities?” Some of these questions will prove unanswerable, and some of the answers unsatisfactory.
At the beginning of the decade the Clippers were an organization that tinkered, sometimes curiously, with possibility — and that was before they reconstitued what it meant to be a Clippers fan. Inquiry is a useful conduit for possibility, so long as the right questions are asked.
33 Responses
As cursed as MDSr.’s name is around the Nación, you can’t argue with the fact that when he was brought in, he actually changed the atmosphere of the club. He was the one who finally got Sterling to open the checkbook, and actually spend on players. Yes, he made mistakes (Korolev/Livingston), but he also did good for this organization. In his fist three years, he raised the numbers of wins every year, and we were a Sam Cassesll 8-second violation from the Western Conference finals. That being said, we DO NOT need a dramatic rebuilding effort. The simplest way to fix this franchise is to hire an offensively-minded coaching staff to get the best out of this group. I realize Dunleavy has 2 years left on his contract, but can’t he ride that out as GM? A coach like Eddie Jordan or anyone else willing to take a more laid-back approach could get 50 wins out of this time exactly as it’s constructed now, barring the major injuries that have plagued this franchise the last two years. We’ve all seen what Baron can do in an uptempo system, hell he even got 56 wins out of a Hornets team built similarly to our own. I can’t stress enough, the simplest way to change this team is to switch coaching systems…and Blake Griffin would be nice, too.
Posted on April 18th, 2009 at 10:39 am
MDSr didnt change shit. He was just the second real coach we’d ever hired. Elton Brand was the only reason Sterling started believing. Winning is addictive like that. To give that credit to Dunleavy is a tragedy. Dunleavy was hired to turn the corner 2 years AFTER acquiring Brand. It was Elton that was the heart and soul of this team and led to changes.
And I’d say this new “philosophy” began even slightly before that, in 1999 the year we drafted Lamar Odom and people actually started going to games. Then in the 2001 draft, we traded up for Brand to put Lamar and Elton together.
The dream ended when we let him leave and tried to replace him with Zach Randolph.
Dunleavy deserves NO credit for any of these changes, in fact, Elgin Baylor is the man who engineered it all and we just watched as he got stabbed in the back by our douchebag coach. Maybe Dunleavy deserves some credit for getting hired and begging DTS to PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE match the Elton offer, but other than that hes just been a walking bag of excuses and bad play calling. It wasnt Dunleavy’s brilliant leadership in 2006, but Sam Cassell’s ability to run a team and Elton’s work ethic that got us into the playoffs.
Stian Reply:
April 18th, 2009 at 8:10 pm
Dunleavy deserves no credit for anything good yet Elgin Baylor, the biggest hack GM in the history of the NBA, does?!
Put down the bong, stradamus!
bongstradamus Reply:
April 18th, 2009 at 8:29 pm
Elgin deserves the credit for bringing Elton to LA. It was Elgin that drafted Lamar Odom and traded for Corey Maggette and got Sam Cassell to sign. Elgin constructed the team that went to the playoffs, not Dunleavy. The only reason we got to the playoffs was because of the team being led by Elton Brand and Sam Cassell, not MDSr.
MDSr can take the credit for Korolev, Livingston, Mobely, Thomas, Kaman and of course Elton and Corey leaving. On the bright side, he also gets credit for acquiring Baron Davis, Zach Randolph and Marcus Camby and our robust 19-63 season.
But the 2006 team that competed, the team that inspired us, that was Elgin Baylors grand opus as a GM, all those peices finally coming together. Dunleavy doesnt deserve credit for that.
Gordon for President Reply:
April 19th, 2009 at 11:55 am
Any Clipper fan who regrets Maggette leaving doesn’t watch enough games. The guy was the WORST twenty point per game scorer I have ever seen. He never helped the team win, all he did was draw fouls to pad his stats. Don’t forget the one season we were good in 05-06 he was hurt the entire year, including the play-offs, until he came back and “saved” the Phoenix series for us. I was beyond happy when he went to the Warriors; my worst nightmare is a Baron-Maggette swap in the off-season.
bongstradamus Reply:
April 20th, 2009 at 11:20 am
Regardless of our personal feelings for Maggette, the fact remains that this team largely remained in obscurity until Corey and Elton arrived. They are pretty much the two players who made the last 6 years even possible. As far as team history, we need to remember how important they were to that small era of occasionally winning which we are painfully aware; has ended.
Posted on April 18th, 2009 at 12:11 pm
I want MDSr. gone as much as the next man, but give me a break. Elgin Baylor designed that team? Dunleavy has been the GM ever since he was hired as Coach. He brought in Sam Cassell for Marko Jaric (though I give more credit to McHale for being such an idiot be suckered into that). MDSr. not only got Sterling to match for Brand and He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named, he also signed Cuttino Mobley to the biggest Free-Agent deal we’ve ever had. You also can’t really blame him for bringing in Tim Thomas, dude was an assassin in the play-offs for Phoenix, too bad he was a bust. He nabbed Marcus Camby for the OPTION to trade second-round picks, and got Novak again for nothing. Bottom line, Dunleavy has made good moves based on talent, the problem lies with his inability to coach it. Bringing in Baron Davis was, and is, a good move, we just need a voice on the bench that can harness every player’s strengths.
A new owner would also be great, don’t get me started on Sterling’s desire to run his team like a “plantation”.
FireDunleavy .com Reply:
April 18th, 2009 at 1:20 pm
Wow, you said he got sterling to open the pocket book?
Clippers are number 29 in salaries this year:
http://hoopshype.com/salaries.htm
There is also a league minimum. Staples Center also probably tells him to spend more money.
From what I thought, Dunleavy was doing most of the GM work, but Baylor engineered the Cassell trade, but even if you give Dunleavy credit for that, it doesn’t compare to all his blunders and bad coaching.
EB had a career year, and Cassel was allowed to run the offense. But they lost to a Suns team with 7 players.
Call him a genious for that if you want, but look what happened the 3 years after. Doesn’t make the playoffs with almost the same team he had the year before and benches their 2nd leading scorer. Then 23 and 19 wins crying about injuries.
Can’t blame him for Mobley and TT? Mobley was a panic move after Kobe didn’t sign and got paid way to much. It’s the GM’s job to evaluate talent, so you can blame him for TT.
Now Clippers are stuck with Randolph, another panic move because Dunleavy thought the Clippers could still make the playoffs.
Even if you loved him before, he should be fired for the last 3 years.
Kirbs Reply:
April 25th, 2009 at 8:07 pm
For F###SAKE go back and look at the box scores they played with more than 7 each game.
Posted on April 18th, 2009 at 12:47 pm
Absolutely he should be fired, if he had class he would resign. I’m not defending him, he definitely should go. With that said, in his first years here, he had the franchise going in a respectable direction. And yes, he most certainly got Sterling to pay, and keep paying even after what happened in 07-08. Baron for $65 milli is a far cry from Rick Brunson being the starter… That Suns team may have had 7 players, but did you all of sudden forget those same 7 Suns stormed back from a 1-3 hole to the Lakers? You can’t say he made a mistake with Tim Thomas, if we didn’t sign him, someone else would have. Hell if the Lakers hadn’t gotten Radmanovich, he most likely would have gone there. I realize Mobley was a back-up plan after Kobe and Ray Allen, but I still liked what Cat brought to the table, veteran leadership, good defense, and decent shooting. Randolph isn’t a bad move either, his defense is horrible, but the man has a sweet stroke. I’ll trade instant offense for spotty D at best if we can just get a small forward who can carry some of that load. Our weakest position is the 3. Shore up that spot with Tayshaun Prince or Josh Howard (in exchange for Camby and/or Thornton) and with a new coach, we should be a decent if not good team.
Gordon for President Reply:
April 18th, 2009 at 5:00 pm
My main point is we don’t need to go through a rebuilding phase…it’d be much simpler (and faster) just to change coaching philosophies (if what Dunleavy runs can even be called a philosophy…)
Posted on April 18th, 2009 at 4:46 pm
Dunleavy’s record is spotty at best as a GM. This is largely because Dunleavy is also the coach and coach Dunleavy, desperate for talent, made GM Dunleavy make some desperate moves. Primarily Z-bo and Tim Thomas. These were his downfall.
Mobley was a slight overpay and Korolev an out and out mistake. Ricky Davis an utter disaster, except he didn’t cost us much.
He also made some great moves. Camby, Cassell and Livingston (who I think would have become a top point guard if not for his injury). Novak was a solid pick up.
He did fairly well in the draft, although Thornton, Gordon and Jordan more or less just fell in his lap. Taylor was a nice pickup. Makes up for Korolev anyway.
I’m convinced if he were GM only, and looking out for the best interest of the franchise for the next five years, rather than trying to set coach Dunleavy up for the playoffs this year, he would have never made the gamble on Z-bo, which was one of his three unforgiveable disasters as GM.
The second was losing Brand by negotiating with him behind his agent’s back. If he hadn’t screwed that up, he wouldn’t have gone after Z-bo.
The third, of course, is Baron. But at the time he did it, MOST thought it was a terrific coup for the franchise. A major free-agent signing, still only 29 years old. Little did Dunleavy or anyone else know that Baron had lost interest in being a great NBA player. Little did anyone know that he was content to be out of shape and stay out of shape and not give his best effort. No one expected him to age so quickly, be unable to finish at the rim or keep anyone in front of him. In one season, Baron went from 28 to 38. In short, no one expected him to be the dog he became. I’ll give Dunleavy a pass on this one, because most others would have done the same thing.
So, in my opinion, Dunleavy can be a passable to good GM, while clearly being a disaster as a coach.
To me, the answer seems obvious. Bump him up to GM, while hiring a promising new coach at a reasonable price tag… This wouldn’t inflate the payroll too much and would give the Clippers a chance to improve or even compete for next season.
Because of all the money owed Z-bo and Randolph, there really won’t be any takers for either of them, so no way to do a major overhaul in the short term. We have to make a move or two this summer; Camby for a younger player or a draft pick, and get lucky in the draft, landing either Griffin or Rubio… And start building for the future around Gordon and Griffin/Rubio and hope that Jordan and Taylor improve a great deal so that we can compete without Baron or Z-bo, who are both losers we would be much better off without.
Of course, if Dunleavy comes back as coach, next season could be another like this one.
Posted on April 18th, 2009 at 5:50 pm
Sam, you make great points. I agree with pretty much everything you said, except for two things. Baron is dogging it because of a crappy coach who’s been unwilling to compromise his approach to maximize his “star’s” talent. As for EB, I’m glad he screwed that one up. Let Philly be saddled with his even more untradeable contract. Brand never had any intention of staying anyway, he begged Sterling not to match the Miami offer sheet in 2003.
Sam Mays Reply:
April 18th, 2009 at 8:51 pm
I don’t know about Baron. To me it’s an indication of character, or lack of it. Anyone who would dog it to get rid of a coach (and I know it gets done) is not someone I’d want on my team. As Baron is getting older, he seems to be unwilling to do what aging players must do, work harder on their bodies to prolong their careers.
For Brand, yeah I’d agree with you. He pissed me off, but man, he worked hard all the time. It didn’t matter who was coaching or what the team’s record was. Once on the court, he was a true pro, unlike Baron… I think Z-bo works fairly hard on the court, but to be a great pro, you have to prep off court too, and Z-bo clearly isn’t much interested in doing that.
Gordon for President Reply:
April 19th, 2009 at 11:50 am
Yes, Brand was the consummate pro. Even if he didn’t want to be here those five years, he did work hard every game. That all went out the window when he lied to the team and the fans. It also pissed me off when all he would say about the situation was “We asked for some things” over and over. What does that even mean? I’m over it though, glad he’s gone. His pro career as a meaningful 20-10 starter are long over…
Posted on April 18th, 2009 at 6:19 pm
The whole organization needs an overhaul, Dunleavy especially but we need to get rid of Andy Roeser just as much. Let’s never forget that Elton and Corey really tried hard to leave the Clippers when they signed their Miami and Utah contracts making them frontloaded to scare off the Clippers from matching (like Odom did) because they wanted out of town. Sam Cassell was pissed that he got traded here, mainly because he knows he’s more valuable than Marko Jaric but partly because it is the Clippers organization. The only two we can take credit for from that starting line-up in the play-offs is Kaman, who has struggled this year, and Mobley, who was the first big Clippers signing of a free agent (add Livingston to the Clippers good draft choice as the 6th man). We are a franchise that picked Korolev, Randy Woods, Marco, and Olowakandi (#1?, wtf?).
I love the Clippers from the day I was born to the day I will die, they are like family where you can’t choose your own family, sometimes you hate them, but in the end you want them to be the best they can be. Sterling stinks, yes, but I’ve been in their war rooms on draft day and he doesn’t make basketball calls. Elgin did that. I remember when we picked Piatkowski. Sterling doesn’t think white kids can play and he wanted Wesley Person, but Elgin loved Pike and we picked him (made me happy too). Sterling does what he’s told cause he’s a real estate guy and he got the Clips for dirt cheap, as long as he’s above the red-line when he sells them he’ll be happy. It’s not all his fault, he’s just stupid when it comes to basketball but wanted fame so he got it by owning a team.
Fire Roeser chants need to start next year, he tells Sterling what to do and he doesn’t know basketball worth a dime either, just real estate too. With a family member you have to love like the Clippers, you can always hate the evil shitheads that steer them in the wrong direction and hopefully we can get Roeser and Dunleavy out of their lives… doubtful but hopeful. We need a conservatorship over the Clips like Britney Spears has on her. At least she was able to make a comeback, with Roeser and Dunleavy in charge, there’s no hope.
Posted on April 19th, 2009 at 9:07 am
I saw the answer to all the Clippers problems on TV last night. His name is John Wall… He’s only a senior in high school, but if he entered the draft this year, he’d be the first or second player picked… This kid is a 6’3″ LeBron in that he’s a man among boys out there, playing two levels ahead of everyone else. And this was an all-star game.
To get him, we need to keep this team together and stinking. Dunleavy must come back as coach to kill the player’s motivation for another year. Baron and Zach, who are untradeable, should be encouraged to continue eating their way out of the league… With Dunleavy coming back, they shouldn’t be hard to convince. Depression makes people eat. Of course if one or both could be traded for a draft pick, do so immediately… Camby needs to go for a raw prospect with upside. Draft a power forward this year, hopefully, Griffin… Kaman can go or stay or, preferably miss 50 games due to injury. Thus, he should definitely be encouraged to play for Germany… Let Taylor, Gordon, Thornton and Jordan continue to develop slowly. No need to win games next year. In fact, it would be a good idea to keep the victory total to around 15 or less… 2009/2010 would be seen as a downpayment on a brilliant future…
The key, of course, is winning John Wall in the lottery. 25% chance, but I’m willing to try. He’d be worth it… The final piece of the puzzle… So in 2010/11 you have 1. John Wall backed up by Taylor. 2. Eric Gordon backed up by Taylor and a journeyman shooter/defender, 3. Unknown, perhaps the Camby trade prospect backed up by Thornton, or vice versa… 4. This year’s top draft pick. 5. Kaman backed up by Jordan, or vice versa…
That’s a team that can go places because Wall is going to be the next major superstar in the league, at a level with LeBron, Wade and Kobe… He’s that good.
Chris. Reply:
April 19th, 2009 at 1:22 pm
while i like your suggestion, as always the ball drops for other and not the Clippers, Washington won the tie-breaker (of course) and has a 17.8% chance to our 17.7% chance. Hey, hopefully that’s God saying losing will be good for us, but I’m betting Washington now gets the 1 pick and we end up with the 4 pick, the Clips have no good luck.
Sam Mays Reply:
April 19th, 2009 at 8:40 pm
Basically, we need to get incredibly lucky to make up for our overwhelming ineptitude. Win two lotteries in a row… That’s as good a plan as I can come up with; one chance in hell. If we leave it to the Clipper braintrust we have no chance at all.
Posted on April 19th, 2009 at 10:52 am
Anyone watching the Lakers game. As usual, you look at the Lakers and they call a fould on you. No wonder the rest of the league hates the Lakers. What’s up with Sterns toadys?
Posted on April 19th, 2009 at 1:19 pm
My main point is we don’t need to go through a rebuilding phase”
Get a clue man! As it is this team doesnt have much of anything Built.
Tell me one player we have whos been solid all year besides Gordon.
Seriously this team needs a major rehaul
eastie Rich Reply:
April 19th, 2009 at 1:55 pm
It will never happen, but I say keep EJ, DJ and MT and bring up the rest from the NBADL. That team would hustle because they’d play like their careers depend on it. Which it would, that would be fun to watch.
o.k. I said it would never happen, but that team would be much better than our present one.
bongstradamus Reply:
April 20th, 2009 at 11:29 am
We raid the NBDL every year. How do you think we ever get 15 players on our roster? I dont think I can count how many point guards we’ve pulled up from the depths of a sub-league throughout our history. For awhile, every year we had a new point guard that came from a sub-league. McInnis, Hudson, Boykins were three that actually made it to bigger and better. Then we raided europe for Jaric. Rodriguez, Taylor, Collins, Dickau. Geez, I think I can keep going. Theres been so many.
In fact that might be kinda fun, making a running list of CBA and NBDL players the Clippers have pilfered throughout the years. I think we could make a separate list of draft busts too.
eastie Rich Reply:
April 20th, 2009 at 3:41 pm
That would make for an ineresting list, but with all the roster chanes would really take some effort.
All I’m saying, is why pay guys tens of millions of $ to play like they could care less? I would bet we’d could do better with NBADL players and not be tied up financially forever.
If I’m going to go to Staples and watch the team get blown out, wouldn’t it be easer to take if the team wasn’t committed to paying Zbo, BD and Kaman?
Posted on April 19th, 2009 at 1:24 pm
What happened to that pick we had from Minny?
Beard The Curse Reply:
April 19th, 2009 at 2:42 pm
nevermind. it’s top 10 protected til 2011.
Posted on April 19th, 2009 at 2:41 pm
but i really really hope we get lucky and select a franchise player
such as derreck rose …lebron
that more than an our usual bust pics
Posted on April 19th, 2009 at 7:02 pm
I see a weak spot at Backup PG and a starting SF. We also need help at G/F defending the perimeter. Al Thornton isn’t multi-dimensional as Maggette is. We need Al as our sixth man and a true Small Forward.
Look at our 2006 Roster
PG: Sam Cassell/ Shaun Livingston
SG: Cuttino Mobley/ Quinton Ross
SF: Corey Maggette/ Vladmir Radmonovic
PF: Elton Brand/ Walter McCarty
SF: Chris Kaman/ Zejko Rebraca
Our 2009 Roster and Present
PG: Baron Davis/ Mike Taylor
SG: Eric Gordon/ Fred Jones
SF: Al Thornton/ Ricky Davis/ Mardy Collins
PF: Zach Randolph/ Marcus Camby
C: Chris Kaman/ DeAndre Jordan
I see a real need at Starting Small Forward Al Thornton isn’t starting quality material he doesn’t have what it takes to be a NBA Superstar like Kobe. Al Thorton is the least productive Starting Small Forward in the NBA but he’s gettin better. Another need is backup point guard this is when we need to draft Rubio while we have a chance he’s our future this prevents us in getting more point guards in saves us money for the long run. We do not need to draft no more big men our top priority is Blake Griffin or Rubio if we do not get them two we need Harden. We need to keep what we got and whip our team into shape with great conditioning to help us get ready for next season.
Posted on April 19th, 2009 at 8:15 pm
The present roster is weaker at every position with the probable exception of the 2, which was more-or less a wash… 1. Baron is a loser and a dog, showing none of the leadership of Cassell. Big advantage Cassell 2. Mobley was a solid vet. Gordon a very promising rookie. Close to even 3. Maggette was significantly better than Thornton. Big advantage Maggette 4. Z-bo can’t hold Brand’s jock. Huge advantage Brand 5. Kaman is Kaman, except the new Kaman never plays. Huge advantage 2006 Kaman… And Livinston was better than any bench player we currently have.
Posted on April 20th, 2009 at 7:55 am
I agree, rebuilding is the way to go. When a team properly rebuilds, they can be enjoyable to watch almost right away (see OKC). If we are lucky and get a player like Griffin or Rubio this year, trade for a few extra picks in 2010 (which looks like a great draft), develop and play our young guys, we could make an impact very quickly. The current team, at best, will sneak into the playoffs and that is only if things go perfectly.
As far as Dunleavy, i have a few thoughts. 1) trading for better talent does not necessarily improve the team. i.e. chemistry is important and we have NONE 2) sometimes, the team just needs a change of pace, that is why there is a coaching carousel every couple years. 3) pick players who fit your coaching style.
Starting the official John Wall in 2010 campaign.
Posted on April 20th, 2009 at 1:55 pm
The only rebuilding I believe in is what the Celtics did.
You have 3 more years with Gordon, probably 4. He’d be a college junior next year. You are only going to get 1-2 years with Gordon playing at a high level. Thorton can leave a year earlier. They’re not going to stay if the Clippers are constantly rebuilding.
So you want to rebuild and maybe in 2011-2012 season they’d be a good team? By 2014 they’d could make a run at a title?
Posted on April 20th, 2009 at 3:55 pm
as opposed to what? winning 20 games for each of the next 6 years, yes, that is exactly what i want.
Posted on April 22nd, 2009 at 10:20 am
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