Re: Official POST-LOCKOUT Player Movement Thread (Trades, FAs, etc)
Here's a portion of Bill Simmons' article yesterday that seems fitting now:
Here's a portion of Bill Simmons' article yesterday that seems fitting now:
I thought New Orleans made out better than anyone else in last Thursday's three-teamer; if Stu Jackson disagreed, that makes me feel even better about that assessment. I also thought the Clippers' offer of Kaman, Aminu, Bledsoe and Minnesota's pick was a totally fair offer, especially after every other suitor had dropped out of the chase. Why should they have to give up Eric Gordon? You only trade for Paul if you want to contend; giving up the league's best under-30 shooting guard (Gordon) defeats the purpose of acquiring Paul in the first place. Wouldn't the Clippers contend immediately with Griffin, Paul, Gordon, DeAndre Jordan, Mo Williams, Caron Butler, Randy Foye and Chauncey Billups? If it doesn't work out, no biggie — the 2011-12 Clips would still be a playoff team with tradeable assets to boot, and it's not like anyone else is acquiring Paul. If I were running the Clips, I wouldn't let Stern and his henchmen break me.
Then again, these are the Clippers — the league's dumbest franchise for three decades and counting. If any team is capable of getting fleeced by its own commissioner, or dealing the no. 1 overall pick in consecutive years (a distinct possibility if this Paul trade goes through), it's a Clippers franchise that's been cursed for 35 solid years. And here's where we have to give Stern the benefit of the doubt. Maybe he's playing this one perfectly.
Maybe he blocked last week's three-teamer knowing there was a willing patsy (the Clippers) sitting in the weeds.
Maybe he remembered that no NBA franchise has ever traded for a superstar in his prime without also locking that superstar down long-term … but if a franchise were ever bucking that trend, it would be Donald Sterling's Clippers.
Maybe he knew that Sterling spent the past three-plus decades living in his buddy Jerry Buss' shadow as the much reviled owner of the Clippers — the black sheep of the L.A. sports scene since 1984, the whipping boy, the punch line — and would be delighted if his little-brother Clippers pulled off something that the big-brother Lakers couldn't pull off.
Maybe he realizes that, deep down, Sterling cares only about what he's getting (the best point guard alive) and not what he'd be giving up (promise, hope, potential, Ping-Pong balls … basically, all the crap he's been selling to Clipper fans these past 30 years).
Maybe Sterling cares only about keeping Griffin two years from now. Maybe he thinks Paul's presence will sway Griffin toward signing a lucrative extension next summer. Maybe he's only thinking, "Give me one of the most electric pairings in NBA history right now and we can figure out everything later." Maybe Stern is banking on this.
Maybe he envisions Sterling getting seduced by that one Zihuatanejo-esque moment in the distance: Paul dribbling 30 feet from the hoop in the last minute of a tight Lakers game, Griffin catching his eye, and suddenly, Griffin charging toward the basket as Paul lofts a pass toward the rim. The pass will be perfect, and only because Paul plays point guard about as perfectly as anyone ever played the position. Griffin will take care of the rest. Clipper fans will leap up and down, slap palms, scream incoherently toward the ceiling. The Lakers will call timeout and slink back to their bench. Griffin and Paul will point at each other, smile, laugh, and slap hands, the league's most electric new duo, the hottest ticket in town.
And when that sequence happens, believe me … nobody will care that the Clippers gutted their future to rent Chris Paul for 19 months, or that the league disgraced itself to get there.
Then again, these are the Clippers — the league's dumbest franchise for three decades and counting. If any team is capable of getting fleeced by its own commissioner, or dealing the no. 1 overall pick in consecutive years (a distinct possibility if this Paul trade goes through), it's a Clippers franchise that's been cursed for 35 solid years. And here's where we have to give Stern the benefit of the doubt. Maybe he's playing this one perfectly.
Maybe he blocked last week's three-teamer knowing there was a willing patsy (the Clippers) sitting in the weeds.
Maybe he remembered that no NBA franchise has ever traded for a superstar in his prime without also locking that superstar down long-term … but if a franchise were ever bucking that trend, it would be Donald Sterling's Clippers.
Maybe he knew that Sterling spent the past three-plus decades living in his buddy Jerry Buss' shadow as the much reviled owner of the Clippers — the black sheep of the L.A. sports scene since 1984, the whipping boy, the punch line — and would be delighted if his little-brother Clippers pulled off something that the big-brother Lakers couldn't pull off.
Maybe he realizes that, deep down, Sterling cares only about what he's getting (the best point guard alive) and not what he'd be giving up (promise, hope, potential, Ping-Pong balls … basically, all the crap he's been selling to Clipper fans these past 30 years).
Maybe Sterling cares only about keeping Griffin two years from now. Maybe he thinks Paul's presence will sway Griffin toward signing a lucrative extension next summer. Maybe he's only thinking, "Give me one of the most electric pairings in NBA history right now and we can figure out everything later." Maybe Stern is banking on this.
Maybe he envisions Sterling getting seduced by that one Zihuatanejo-esque moment in the distance: Paul dribbling 30 feet from the hoop in the last minute of a tight Lakers game, Griffin catching his eye, and suddenly, Griffin charging toward the basket as Paul lofts a pass toward the rim. The pass will be perfect, and only because Paul plays point guard about as perfectly as anyone ever played the position. Griffin will take care of the rest. Clipper fans will leap up and down, slap palms, scream incoherently toward the ceiling. The Lakers will call timeout and slink back to their bench. Griffin and Paul will point at each other, smile, laugh, and slap hands, the league's most electric new duo, the hottest ticket in town.
And when that sequence happens, believe me … nobody will care that the Clippers gutted their future to rent Chris Paul for 19 months, or that the league disgraced itself to get there.
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