As everyone familiar with the situation knew, the Los Angeles Clippers' negotiations with Cassell had hit a snag. Donald Sterling was willing to let Cassell out of his contract, but only if he forfeited the remaining $1.7m left on his contract.
Trying to get Sterling over the hump, Elgion Baylor and others expressed concern about how much effort Cassell, who had missed four games because of a sprained right wrist, would put forth if the Clippers forced him to play out the season in LA.
More importantly, Cassell’s agent David Falk made clear that by taking a hard stance on the Cassell negotiations the Clippers might hurt negotiations with forward Elton Brand, who can opt out of his contract after this season and is also represented by Falk, the LA Times is reporting today.
Miraculously, Mr. Sterling came to his senses, though he didn’t have the cajones to announce the settlement himself. He left that task to Baylor.
"After weighing all of the options and after conversations with Sam we believe this is the best solution for this team," said Baylor, vice president of basketball operations. "We know and appreciate the many contributions Sam made during the last three years, and we wish him nothing but the best."
People laughed when Falk set a deadline for Sterling to pony up Cassell’s walking papers. What leverage, they asked, did Falk have for making demands on Sterling, given that his client was under a binding legal contract?
Well, we now know the answer.
Falk played the Brand card.
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