Originally posted by <b>JOHNNY_BRAVisimO</b>!
now thats the post of someone BLINDLY defending a natoriously cheap owner, its fine and dandy if you wont overpay for mediocrity if you have visions of building a championship calibur squad, but for the entire exsistance of the clippers, there was no vision of championships
overpaying for mediocre talent and paying to keep a winning team are different things, and sterling has yet to prove he is willing to dish out the paychecks, the clippers are known for having the crappiest facilities and making their NBA players practice in the YMCA
its blind and stupid IMHO to think sterling didnt pay to keep those other teams together because he didnt want to strive for mediocrity, because like i just stated, he was never building or even envisioning to build a championship calibur team which would give him a legit reason for not ""overpaying for mediocrity""
It's neither blind nor stupid my friend.
I do understand that Sterling has never put out the money to keep the team together.
What you fail to acknowledge is that Sterling has never had players that have deserved the money they've asked for.
Why has this team never had visions of a championship? Because of poor drafting. Randy Woods, Elmore Spencer, Bo Kimble, etc. This team hasn't been bad because they let good players walk - That can't be true, since they haven't let anyone great walk. It's been poor because they haven't been able to add any valuable young talent when they draft. And years ago, that's how you had to build, was via the draft. And with the team blowing it year after year, there was no chance of the team winning.
The Clippers offered Mo Taylor $50mill to stay. how is that cheap? Mo wanted the MAX, and the Clips refused. That is not being cheap. That is being smart. The team offered him money that he was worth, and that was a buttload of money. It's not their fault Taylor is a fool and thought higher of himself.
Sterling put the team in the hands of Baylor - He told Baylor he'd re-sign the players that Elg felt should be re-signed at market value. Elg said to let those players(Mo and DA) go and we'll try and rebuild.
Has Sterling and Co. ever ponied up the money to keep the team together? Certainly not.
But, has he ever had players worth paying huge deals to? No.
Should he OVERPAY drastically to keep a team together? Certainly not.
Everything has changed in the past few years. The team is finally drafting well. Lamar Odom, Darius Miles, Q RIchardson, etc. Then they turned a couple good deals to get other players(in one, shipping out Miles obviously).
All that's left is for STerling to keep the team together.
Will he? Nobody knows for sure.
But, it is ridiculous to judge him on his past, since in his past, he has always made the SMART move. He's never been in a situation where he has had players that are worth the money they are asking for, therefore, you cannot judge him on it.
I do believe Sterling will shell out the money to keep the guys. Yes, Im putting faith into the man, when he hasn't exactly proven to deserve it.
If Sterling were so cheap, why would he deal a guy on his rookie contract for a player that is a proven all star, and that is up for FA in a year(Elton Brand)?
Why would he then the next year, turn around and trade another guy on his rookie contract, who happens to be one of the most popular players in the league(he brings in a ton of money, and is paid cheap), for a guy who is up for FA now(Miles for Miller)?
If Sterling wasn't ready to pay guys, he would not have made these deals. These deals mean as much to signing players as anything he has done in the past.
If Sterling breaks this team up, believe me, I will be the first to unload on the guy.
But Im not gonna criticize the guy just because the media and misinformed fans do.
