Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Lay Off Elton Brand


Over the past day I've heard a lot of talk of how Elton Brand is this greedy guy who just took the money from Philadelphia and abandoned all of the fans he should have been loyal to in Los Angeles. With Baron Davis signing, everyone assumed that Brand would resign with the Clippers, making LAC a reasonable team out west. But now that he signed with the Sixers, after opting out of his contract, Clippers fans want his head on a platter.

Give me a break. Who among us wouldn't take a new job in another city if it offered significantly better pay and better opportunities? And what loyalty had Brand previously shown the Clips? In 2003, only two years after being traded to LA, Brand signed with the Heat for $82 million. Because he was a restricted free agent, the Clippers were allowed to match the contract, and did, forcing Brand back to LA. I'm not sure what people mean when they say he loved LA. He opted out of his contract, he'd previously signed with another team before being required to go back, he was hurt for all of last year. Sounds exactly like someone who'd want a change of scenery.

I can't blame Brand for going to Philly. The same way I can't blame Baron Davis for going to LA. The Clippers fans didn't seem to have an issue with Davis jumping ship from Golden State.

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