I've been a fan of the Los Angeles Clippers for the last 16 years, going back to my last year in elementary school. That was at the time that Larry Brown became the head coach. This was also the time that I really started to follow and understand sports more closely...just as a kid growing up, I just watched the games, but never really understood all the nuances.
Anyway, we know all the story of the ineptitude of the Clippers franchise, at least since Donald Sterling bought the team 27 years ago (while still in San Diego). We can all agree that Sterling does deserve blame (he's even admitted so in rare public instances), but I've always believed that Elgin Baylor should get equal or better blame for the team's misfortunes. Baylor has been the general manager for 22 years...only he can keep his job for as long as anyone else with the "resume" of success. However, the team has shown to be more active in player acquisition in the last few years, especially this offseason (all of which I credit to Mike Dunleavy). This summer alone, the Clips have acquired ten new players (either by free agency, trades, or drafting)...arugably the most active offseason in franchise history. I know that losing Elton Brand and (to a lesser extent) Corey Maggette dealt us a big blow, I say that the team recovered pretty well with Baron Davis signing, and followed by the other pieces added (Marcus Camby, Jason Williams, Ricky Davis, Eric Gordon, etc.). I'm not 100% sure how this new team will fare this year, but I think they'll be very interesting to watch.
Losing your two best players is bad for any team, but in the case of Maggette and Brand, they were here for a number of years (Maggette-8, Brand-7) and have only one playoff appearance to show for (thanks mostly to Sam Cassell) in that timeframe. Anybody who has seen Brand and Maggette play know that they're not the most dependable guys...Brand does tend to disappear in crucial moments of the game, and Maggette is the worst guy to have with the ball in his hands in crunch time.
Sorry for the long-winded response, but just offering my two-cents.
19-62 since they showed up, if you could call it that...in the Super Bowl.
