Elton Brand: When Dollars Are Involved, Intentions Mean Little

I saw this coming. 

After Baron Davis signed on with the Clippers and two days passed without any word out of the Brand camp as to whether he was going to re-sign with the team or not, I figured something was up. 

Everyone knew Golden State had a lot of money to throw around, as did Memphis and Philadelphia. 

Yet, because Brand had initially made clear his intentions of returning, articles had quickly been written on major sports websites, including this one, about how the Clippers were on their way to becoming a playoff team in the Western Conference. 

The combination of Davis and Brand along with Mobley, Thornton and Kaman would bring back a run reminiscent to the Clippers impact in the 2006 playoffs.  Success around the corner was a foregone conclusion in the minds of many. 

Then the news broke last night about Brand agreeing in principle to a deal with the Sixers. 

"What??"

A couple of hours later, Maggette agreed to a deal with the Warriors.

In the span of a week, Clippers fans had their sights rise to climbing up the playoff ladder, only be to be dashed down to trying to keep their head above water in an ultra-competitive conference.  There is only one way that I can describe what Clippers’ fans and management have to be feeling right now—stunned.

A lot of writers and journalists are going to bash Elton Brand, tagging him with names like “Sellout” or “Betrayer” and so on and so forth.  It’s easy to do that, and to a degree understandable. 

After all, he did say that he wanted to take a pay cut in order to make the team competitive.  He was the one that called Baron Davis and asked him to come join him in L.A.  He was the one who was publically envious of the Boston Celtics, and how the three stars made sacrifices both financially and on the court in order to achieve a common goal. 

All indications pointed to Brand re-signing shortly after Davis joined the club.

However, we cannot forget a simple fact that applies to the vast majority of human beings in any walk of life.  When there is money involved, large amounts at that, you can never be certain that a decision will be made one way or the other. 

I have no doubt in my mind that Brand’s intent was to rejoin the club.  He has been nothing but a class-act his entire career.  But how many times do we have to see this story play out before we realize that money is the ultimate influence on a person’s decision—often times, more than success of a team. 

Elton Brand left for Philadelphia because he saw an opportunity to get big bucks, as well as make the playoffs.  Even with Davis in L.A., many were skeptical about the Clippers getting anything higher than the eighth seed, myself included. 

Pairing himself with Iguodala, Andre Miller, Thaddeus Young and Samuel Dalembert makes the Sixers a very relevant team.  Everyone saw how they gave Detroit problems this past year in the playoffs, despite lacking the one critical component—power forward.  Now they have a power forward, and a great one at that. 

A city on the East Coast is celebrating today, a celebration they didn't see coming. Meanwhile, a city on the West Coast will look on enviously thinking about what could have been.

Part of me feels bad for the Clippers, and their attempt to move up in the rankings, only to be knocked even lower than before.  However, you can never forget that at the end of the day, this is a business.  

Also keep in mind that things always find a way to come back full circle—always.  Donald Sterling, owner of the Clippers, squeezed every dollar and cent out of the franchise for decades at the expense of team success.  He didn’t go after big names, didn’t pay the big bucks, and was not committed to putting out a winning product. 

He spurned the fans and the players.

Now, it’s his turn to feel the burn.