Despite modest success in recent years, the Clippers are by no means a respected NBA franchise. The decades they spent in the wilderness still cloud the team’s brand.
So you would think that Clipper executives would be trying to spruce up that brand with eye toward landing free agents next summer and further on down the road.
Sam Cassell was a good free agent signing, as evidenced by the way he has played for them, tough, intelligent, and fiery.
Query, then, what is going on in Clipperland today.
Sterling has said publicly that he refuses to buy-out Cassell. Oh, he’ll let Sam go play for the Celtics and win a championship, but the Alien will have to eat the entire $2 plus million remaining on his contract to do so.
Say what?
Does Donald Sterling understand that Sam’s agent represents other NBA stars, starting with Elton Brand? And when word of Sterling’s bargaining position travels around the NBA, do you think that will help or hurt the Clipjoint’s effort to land free agents in the future?
There is no reason to keep Cassell in Los Angeles. The Clippers are out of the playoffs, and Cassell is in the last year of his contract.
This is simply cheap and stupid behavior that is detrimental both to Sam Cassell and the Clippers franchise as a whole.
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