the circumstances around the departure of Clippers VP of basketball operations and GM Elgin Baylor are coming to light. the Clippers really gave him the shaft and didn't even inform the players of his exit. it took a columnist from the Orange County Register to point out that he wasn't listed in the media guide on media day. the team skirted around the question and finally came out with the fact that he is no longer with the team. http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5i0H_iA1A_0wlYyrI0xXPetZWroKg granted, the franchise is and has been an embarrassment, save for one season in which they outlasted their next door neighbor Lakers. baylor and his lawyers are exploring options... http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/sports_blog/2008/10/elgin-baylor-up.html article on how the players didn't know he was leaving
I think it was about time....the Clippers have always been the trash can of the NBA. Exhibit A - http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/8654664/8-bad-picks
Not that I sympathize with Baylor. He's been a terrible GM for too long. But the way he left looks to be a pretty classless act on the Clippers' part.
I don't know what to think of Baylor. While I *think* he's a horrible GM, it's really hard to tell considering that he works for Sterling. I mean, you pretty much have to be a freaking genius to succeed in that environment.
I don't think he has been a good GM either apart from making some good decisions but I feel he is the fall guy for the Elton Brand debacle.
Come on Baylor had a hell of a run, 20 years as a GM with a losing record. In this league you get fired if you don't win in a given year let alone with a record that Baylor had. His drafts were terrible, the guy was no judge of talent. He was not treated unfairly, just because he was a legend as a player doesn't mean he should be treated with kid gloves.
i thought baylor was shafted. the clippers have been a terrible team most of the years he was there that is true, but alot has to do with sterling who was always unwilling to pay his players and never tried to get anyone himself. its kind of hard for a GM to make any move for any player when the players' agent knows that the player has no real financial security playing in LA. even rookies would bolt because there would be no reasonable extension coming from the owner. their drafts havent been that bad at all...outside of the kandi debacle--they did screw that one up, livingston was becomning a solid PG before his injury. they had a bit of bad luck. its no coincidence that only after sterling was willing to open his pocketbook a little that the clippers went from being the nba ceiling dwellars year in and year out to being a competitive team in the stacked west. wont matter who the new GM is its will always be about sterling and how much he is willing to make the clippers a legit team. Makes me glad and appreciate that we have Les Alexander as an owner.
While I think Baylor was probably sub-par as a GM, I still think most of the blame should go to Donald Sterling. He's obviously one of the worst (if not THE worst) owners in all of sports, and he does nothing to endear himself to fans, players, or management. I read an article a while ago about he always advertises about his big homeless shelter that he's building, but then if you go to the actual physical address, there is nothing there. He just seems like a horrible person.
I tend to agree with this...Great player, horrible GM. Granted, the way it was handled was piss poor...
they should move to Seattle and make them the Super Sonics. I don't like the fact our old foes got moved to Oklahoma.
I disagree..."Before losing his job Tuesday, Elgin Baylor presided over 21 Clippers drafts with almost no success. He had nine top-five overall picks and came away with just one All-Star (Danny Manning)." You've gotta be either cheap or stupid to allow your GM to make bad move after horrible move. Well, hell maybe both.
I understand that Sterling gets some blame, but Baylor gets the lion's share. Regardless of what Sterling was willing to do with the payroll, Baylor had a ton of draft picks, mostly high ones, and he missed almost all the time. Sterling can't be blamed for the fact that the team never assembled a good core of young players.
Bill Simmons wrote a great, positive article for Elgin after he got fired. It's a great read and it pays long overdue respect for Baylor and his contributions to basketball. You can still read it on espn.com.
