The underrated storyline here is Byron Scott potentially joining the Clippers and missing out on Chris Paul -- right after he missed out on LeBron in Cleveland.
A Chris Broussard story that hinges on Donald Sterling's words? This might be the black hole of the internet, a perfect storm of ineptitude.
Thanks to Clutchfans, whenever I hear a reference to Poo Poo Broussard, I think of that lovely photo of that double lazy-eyed, goofey-grinning doofus. Then again, if any of this is remotely true, how does someone as allegedly intelligent as Chris Paul not realize that saying I refuse to get involved in whether you retain our head coach basically amounts to a vote of no confidence?
Told ya Sterling was a piece of ****. If I had to give benefit of doubt it's going to Paul. Why in hell would you throw a franchise player under the bus like that. All he had to say was it's an organizational decision to move on. Fact of matter is Del Negro ain't cutting it despite record. Sterling has always been a rabid ignorant idiot draining the die hard Clipper fans. Not falling for the same crap he's been pulling for years. Real smart Sterling...
LOL, Donald Sterling doesn't really want to pay a max deal to Paul. As he demonstrated for years, he has successfully been able make money off the clippers by trimming overhead, being terrible, and collecting the clippers share of NBA revenue.
I agree that it was obviously poor form by Sterling to allow any doubt as to the motivation for firing Del Negro. I think he took the coward's way out (which is no surprise) when he should have accepted all the blame that might be coming from it. And all he'd really need to say is 'This is a team with Chris Paul and Blake Griffin. We should be contenders. Del Negro may have gotten a good regular season record, but he didn't get the job done in the post-season.' Imo, I don't think Del Negro is the real problem, I think it's higher up, starting with an owner who doesn't provide good leadership. But, I guess he won't fire himself. And I don't believe Chris Paul that he had nothing to do with it. And, I don't think he'll leave the Clippers over it either.
Every franchise player of Paul's caliber has some say on head coach. I'm positive he may have said he's not happy nor should he be with Del Negro but I'm not buying he only wants a black coach only stuff from media. Again...Sterling is an ignorant jack ass.
Paul should be proud that he was the only one man enough, smart enough, and hungry enough to perpetuate a move the team needed to make. A move no one in the organization would have the balls to make considering the team's mediocre yet satisfactory success under Del Negro.
Well to be honest his contract was up, the Clippers just didn't renew it. To blame Chris Paul for that is stupid. Now I hope Del Negro never gets another coaching job again.
Chris Paul hasnt forgot how he ended up in Clippers land.. They was trying to stop the Lakers WestCoast Version of the Big Three with Dwight & Kobe.. Now why stay put? He aint got no love for L.A. lol
I could be wrong, but this feels like a guy who legitimately wants out. It's very noteworthy that this leak came from Paul's side. If he plans to stay, it's best to keep the whole thing under wraps. Even if Paul is upset that Sterling put the blame on him, communicate that behind closed doors and keep a united front for public perception. Because the Clippers need further additions if they ever want to contend, and tension between the star and the front office isn't the best strategy to make that happen. Keep in mind that this wasn't exactly a hot button issue. VDN was fired almost a week ago and the whole thing had seemingly died down. Paul's team went out and found a reporter, on their own, to b**** to. Why? What would make the most sense to me is if he truly does plan on leaving. We know Paul is a brand guy (look at all his commercials), and LeBron and Dwight each took hits over the past three years for the way they handled their departures and gained reputations as coach killers. Paul doesn't want that. Nonetheless, the perception is out there that he "owes it" to the Clippers to stay (which is bizarre, but people keep saying this), based on his supposed role in personnel and coaching decisions. If he wants to fight that perception -- and really, he only needs to if he's seriously thinking about leaving -- it makes perfect sense to leak this "angry" story to the media and put some of the blame back on management.
Bad part about this is Paul could pull Dwight to play with him and the only team that can fit both without significant moves is Atlanta. If Morey could somehow work magic and nab BOTH guys it will be more impressive than the Heat trio offseason
What you say makes sense. But, I still feel like he's just looking to punish his bosses for their indiscretion with some bad press. They should be protecting his reputation, not throwing him under the bus. So, he's holding their feet to the fire a little. Complaining behind closed doors would only be effective if he could really make them afraid he was leaving, which maybe they wouldn't really be buying. If they know he's staying, complaining privately doesn't do much, but complaining publically does put a little heat on them. While if he really wanted to leave, he could just say so and there'd be 29 teams making pitches. He wouldn't need to beat around the bush.
The thing is, for Dwight, I doubt a CP3+Howard+Horford scenario would trump Harden+Howard+Parsons and the rest of the team/organization in Houston. Even if we go with the hypothetical that the Rockets can't clear room for both, which I don't believe (I think they can), I still think the Houston scenario is better. For starters, it's not in the East, which means less of a threat from LeBron. Second, Harden is five years younger than CP3 and without a history of knee problems. Third, the rest of the team (Lin, Beverley, Asik, etc.) is largely in place, whereas ATL would be starting from scratch. Fourth and most importantly, after everything Dwight's been through, I don't see him committing to an unproven organization. The Rockets have championship pedigree. Les Alexander has won titles and has proven he'll spend when the team is a contender. Morey is regarded as one of the best GMs in the league. Hakeem is a friend of Dwight's and has been in his ear. Atlanta has uncertainty all over the place and is historically an also-ran. The wheels have been in motion for months (and longer, in some ways) for Dwight to come here. Even if CP3 is desperate to leave LA and pitches the Atlanta proposal, I don't see it being enough to dissuade Dwight. P.S. Also worth noting that Georgia has a state income tax...
I just doubt the Clippers could be that confident to where closed-door complaints wouldn't be effective. It really is tough to see how they elevate that roster to a contending level, and everyone in the organization has to know it. I think they're hopeful that all the outside factors ($$$, market) will keep Paul, but my guess is that all sides understand that there's a very logical case to leave from a basketball standpoint. Just my guess, of course.
I'll leave the part about Morey alone. It won't happen. It would be j*zz-worthy if we nabbed either one of those guys. To get both would probably put me in the hospital: "This is Dave Ward. A gigantic hurricane may be bearing down on Houston. But we'll get to that. This next bit is too good to delay. It is extremely graphic. Small children should leave the room. "Apparently the testicles of a lifelong Rockets fan exploded---that's right, exploded---when he learned his team would sign both Chris Paul and Dwight Howard, not only setting up a dynasty team for his hometown but decimating the two Los Angeles franchises at the same time. "Now there's a twist to this story. We go now to Sonia Azad standing live outside the nerd's---er, victim's---room at Memorial Hermann in the Medical Center. "Yes, Dave, seems that fellow posters from a web site called 'Clutchfans' are donating beanbags, marbles, and hackeysacks to the man in the hospital, some with notes saying, 'Maybe the doctor can sew this on for you'. I visited with the man off-camera. He said, and I quote, 'Honey, you're not bad, but I'm holding out for Jennifer Reyna. Not that I can do anything about her now. Do you have my pain medication?' Unquote. I asked him for a thumbs up. Dave, I WILL say, he did extend a finger, but it was NOT, I repeat, NOT his thumb. Back to you, Dave."
