EB's Messy Breakup w/ LAC

[noah]

Man, Dunleavy just won't let this go....

I keep seeing him cry about Elton Brand on ESPN, on the radio, etc... He just refuses to take the high road here.... Is this starting to bother anyone else? 

Frankly, EB seems like a really good guy, as far as professional athletes are concerned... Watching the media portray him as a snake-oil-salesman is starting to rankle me.  I agree with Barkley in that Brand didn't do anything wrong.  He made the best decision for himself and his family.  He was a free agent. 

I'm just starting to wonder whether this stuff could become an actual distraction at some point... Thoughts?

[pointguard86]

first the clips had their chance with elton and they didn't take full advantage of it.  mike dunleavy should stop talking about he had a verbal agreement with elton and all that.  fand that shouldn't have happened in the first place, any sort of negotiation should be thru his agent.  for me EB's already with the sixers and he can't do anything about it.  he sounds like a spurned lover so he should just shut it.

[jemagee]

Are these new clips or the same clips over and over, i haven't seen anything on dunleavy since two days ago that isn't just the same footage from when he was on KSPN...

it's the clippers, no one cares

[tk76-]

It will all blow over- and it will only resurface when we play the Clips 2X/year.  Personally, I'll be more focussed on watching Thad abuse Thornton in those games.

[noah]

It will all blow over- and it will only resurface when we play the Clips 2X/year.  Personally, I'll be more focussed on watching Thad abuse Thornton in those games.

good point.  It's weird how we've somehow got this burgeoning rivalry with the Clippers now, though.

[TheGuiltyParty]

It will all blow over- and it will only resurface when we play the Clips 2X/year.  Personally, I'll be more focussed on watching Thad abuse Thornton in those games.

Cha-ching. Seriously, who cares about the Clippers and Dunleavy bitching? Obviously something went horribly wrong with them or else Brand would:

A) Be a Clipper
B) Not have brought up his problems with them at his press conference

We got Brand. There's nothing for me to be bothered with other than the fact that we don't have a reliable shooter who can hit from outside of 16 feet.

[tk76-]

We got Brand. There's nothing for me to be bothered with other than the fact that we don't have a reliable shooter who can hit from outside of 16 feet.

I'm interested to see Young's improved jumper this year.  Watching him effortless drain a three in yesterday's game, I want to see how he does this summer.

I probably am being irrationally optimistic- but I see Thad and Iguodala as being as effective from the outside as RJ and VC.  Those guys were good shooters but not pure shooters.  I see the same sort of producttion from Thad and Iguodala within the next 18 months.

[jemagee]

Alright, so I know this image isn't perfect, i'm still learning photoshop, but if you want brand and miller in 'sixer uniforms' feel free to use thi.

[WayOutWest]

Did any of you catch Brand on ESPN radio bascially saying everything Dunleavy is bitching about is correct?

Brand is free to do whatever he wants but he mislead the Clippers, he told the Clippers give me 75 Million so you can got out and get some FA talent and I'll be a Clipper.  Dunleavy said he'd take it to the owner and he came back with exactly what Brand wanted.  Then you get a demand for a 120 million dollar contract and everything goes south from there.  Clippers are not to blame for anything in regards to this fiasco, that is my only beef with this story, people are saying it was the Clippers fault, it clearly was not according to Brand.

Good luck with Brand, he's a class act and hard worker.

[tk76-]

Did any of you catch Brand on ESPN radio bascially saying everything Dunleavy is bitching about is correct?

Brand is free to do whatever he wants but he mislead the Clippers, he told the Clippers give me 75 Million so you can got out and get some FA talent and I'll be a Clipper.  Dunleavy said he'd take it to the owner and he came back with exactly what Brand wanted.  Then you get a demand for a 120 million dollar contract and everything goes south from there.  Clippers are not to blame for anything in regards to this fiasco, that is my only beef with this story, people are saying it was the Clippers fault, it clearly was not according to Brand.

Good luck with Brand, he's a class act and hard worker.

I'm sure there were mistakes made on both sides.  That's pretty much par for the course for NBA FA negotiations.  Its a business- and one that historically the Clippers have been horrible at.

Philly teams have come out on the short end of similar stories many times.  You just take the results and move forward.  Fans opinions about the player will be solely dependent on which team they root for, and not on whether someone deserves blame.

Phil. Inquirer story on Philly's poor record of losing FA's:
http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/20080713_Bob_Ford__Peter_Luukko_s_impact_on_Philadelphia_sports.html

Phil Sheridan: Sorry, L.A., but you get no sympathy from Philly

By Phil Sheridan

Inquirer Sports Columnist
The great player.

The dysfunctional franchise.

The ugly breakup.

The change of scenery.

Philadelphia is all-too-familiar with this all-too-common tale. This is the city that watched Reggie White, Keith Jackson and Seth Joyner leave the Eagles to escape from former owner Norman Braman. This is the city that watched Charles Barkley and then Allen Iverson reach their expiration dates as contented members of the 76ers.

This is the city that watched Curt Schilling and Scott Rolen talk their way out of Phillies uniforms and on to World Series winners, that watched J.D. Drew do the same without ever actually putting on a Phillies uniform.

This is the city that exulted over the arrival of Eric Lindros, then exhaled, exhausted, at his exit.

Most recently, and perhaps most traumatically, there was the whole episode with that petulant Eagles wide receiver. What was his name again?

We've been dumped by Hall of Famers and all-stars and MVPs.

And so the lovely people of Los Angeles will just have to excuse us if we welcome Elton Brand to town without a second thought or a trace of guilt.

For once, we're benefiting from the breakup rather than feeling all broken up. For once, we're on the receiving end of the roster upgrade rather than the receiving end of the gut punch.

Out in the City of Angels, there is much angst and anger over the way Brand left the woebegone Clippers to sign with the Sixers. Clips coach Mike Dunleavy went all "CSI: Los Angeles" at a news conference this week, using text messages and marked-up documents to make the case that Brand and his agent, David Falk, left the Clippers in the lurch.

Three time zones to the east, Brand and Falk told reporters here that the Clippers had alienated their franchise player during negotiations. First, Dunleavy offered what Falk termed an "ultimatum" - a take-it-or-leave-it contract. Then, adding insult, Dunleavy supposedly made it known that Clippers owner Donald Sterling would be equally happy to learn that Brand had declined the offer.

There's no telling where the truth is. Dunleavy is an NBA veteran whose word deserves to be respected. Brand is, by all accounts and certainly by first impression, a terrific and all-around delightful chap.

On the flip side, there is Sterling, who has a Braman-esque reputation as an owner. And there is Falk, a power broker whose entry into the Wachovia Center's Hall of Fame room was marked by a distinct whiff of sulfur.

Is it possible the Clippers were overconfident that Brand would take whatever deal they offered once they signed his friend Baron Davis? It is.

Is it possible Falk manipulated the situation to stick it to the Clippers? It is.

Is it possible Brand made a tough decision, leaving a franchise where he was The Man to come back East, and overdid it a bit when asked to justify it? It is.

For what it's worth, Brand seemed sincere. Something in his negotiation with the Clippers made him believe that he was relieved of any responsibility to re-sign with the team. Whether that something was an error or oversight by the Clippers, or a Jedi mind trick by Falk, is unknowable.

Blaming the agent isn't just easy, it's usually accurate. Ask Drew Rosenhaus.

Is it possible Sixers fans don't give a hoot or a holler about the sordid details? Oh, yes, it is very possible.

They are still waiting for thank-you cards from the Phoenix Suns, who got Barkley for three guys named Moe. (Or was that three guys who played for Doug Moe?)

Philadelphia fans still bear the scars of watching Reggie carry the Lombardi Trophy around Lambeau Field, of Schilling's bloody-sock heroics for the bloody Sox, of seeing No. 81 with the star on his helmet run under Tony Romo passes.

If anyone from Green Bay or Boston or Dallas ever formally apologized to Philadelphia, I missed it.

After all, it isn't as if the Sixers actively undermined the Clippers. They were going about their business, hiring a limousine to take Josh Smith around town, when Brand made the somewhat-surprising decision to opt out of his contract. It wasn't until things broke down between Brand and the Clippers (or Falk and the Clippers) that the Sixers saw their opening.

That's when Ed Stefanski and his staff started moving furniture and contracts around to free up as much cap space as possible to lure Brand. It was this effort - what Brand and Falk dubbed "the Phillymax" offer - that persuaded Brand to come to Philadelphia and anchor the Sixers.

For once, it was the Philadelphia team that swooped in and took advantage of someone else's woes.

For once, Philadelphia was the destination instead of the departure point.

Sorry, L.A., but we'll take it.

[sixersftw]

I'm sure there were mistakes made on both sides.  That's pretty much par for the course for NBA FA negotiations.  Its a business- and one that historically the Clippers have been horrible at.

I thought the clippers were superb in the actually business end, If you look at purely financially?  I've always heard that his cheapness, which has led to poor teams historically, also allows him to make quite a bit of money.  He just loses at the business of winning. (not a very profitable business till you get on a certain level)

[jemagee]

Yes, the clippers are usually one of (if not the) most profitable teams in the league, but as tk said, it's FA negotiations, and if you think about it, the clippers don't have a lot of recent experience with unrestricted free agents of the magnitude of brand and davis...if you think about it it's no surprise that they messed it up, it's like the first time a child walks, they take a step and fall flat on their face...the clippers were in unchartered territory trying to sign TWO big name UFAs...i can't remember the last time they did that (hell i was shocked when they announced baron davis)

[tk76-]

Inspired by Melty over at Philiphans:

A summation Of Dunleavy on the EB situation :

Before:



After:





It's over... Stop crying



Get over it, its in the past.

[Reality]

^^ good, but you need to have the progression end at the Lord of the Rings* creature.

*or whatever movie that thing came from.

Or maybe the smallest one just after where Dumbleavy cools off and returns to normal.