Not The Best Farewell For Elgin Baylor

You have likely heard this news already, but I wanted to pass along the Clippers official statement as well as my thoughts.

It's a real shame that Elgin Baylor's career with the Clippers didn't end in a better fashion. While his moves as GM won't earn him a spot in the Hall of Fame, he was still a man worthy of going out with a bit more dignity.

The Clippers actually offered him another role with the team, albeit not in basketball operations, but Baylor's pride, seemingly, would not allow him to take it.

It's not exactly clear at this point what, if any, action Baylor plans to take in the future. Whatever it is, I just hope it doesn't overshadow his legacy as one of the best players in history.

The Los Angeles Clippers today announced that Head Coach Mike Dunleavy will assume the additional role of General Manager, replacing Vice President of Basketball Operations, Elgin Baylor.

In a related move, the team’s current Director of Player Personnel, Neil Olshey, will be elevated to the post of Assistant General Manager.

“We greatly appreciate Elgin’s efforts during his time with the Clippers, and we wish him the very best,” said Clippers’ Owner and Chairman of the Board Donald T. Sterling.

Referring to Dunleavy and Olshey respectively, Clippers President Andy Roeser said, “In Mike and Neil, we're fortunate to already have talented people in place to make this transition a seamless one. Going forward, we have high expectations for our team. From a basketball standpoint, these are the people we're counting on to make those expectations a reality."

Dunleavy welcomed the opportunity, saying, “I really appreciate the trust that the organization has placed in me. We’re ready and excited to move forward, and we think we’ll have a team which can be dynamic and exciting, certainly one with enough talent to be a force in the Western Conference.”

Baylor, an 11-time NBA All Star, joined the Clippers in 1986 as Vice President of Basketball Operations after a stellar 14-year playing career with the Los Angeles Lakers and a brief coaching stint with the New Orleans Jazz. He was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1976, chosen as one of the NBA’s “50 Greatest Players of All Time” during the league’s 50th Anniversary celebration in 1997, and was named the 2005-06 NBA Executive of the Year.

Dunleavy, entering his sixth year as Clippers’ Head Coach, has manned dual roles before: he was Vice President of Basketball Operations and Head Coach of the Milwaukee Bucks from 1992-93 through 1995-96.

Olshey, originally hired as Clippers’ Director of Player Development prior to the 2003-04 season, became an assistant coach on Dunleavy’s staff in 2004-05. He has been the team’s Director of Player Personnel for the past three seasons.

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CLIPPERS SIGN FREE AGENT GUARD JASON WILLIAMS

With three point guards now on the team, the Clippers are basically saying goodbye to Shaun Livingston.

They could still add another player to the roster, but probably not at the price Livingston's agent is seeking.

The Los Angeles Clippers today signed free agent guard Jason Williams, according to Vice President of Basketball Operations Elgin Baylor. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not announced.

A veteran of 10 NBA seasons, Williams joins the Clippers after playing the last three years for Miami, where he helped the Heat to the 2006 NBA Championship. Williams, 32, has played in 679 career regular season games and averaged 11.4 points, 6.3 assists and 2.4 rebounds for a total of three teams. The six-foot-one, 180 pound point guard has also started and played in 53 career playoff contests, averaging 9.8 points, 3.7 assists, 2.2 rebounds and 0.9 steals.

“Jason is an experienced and proven player,” Baylor said. “He is a terrific ball handler with great passing ability and court vision.”

Playing alongside new Clippers teammate Ricky Davis with the Heat last season, Williams averaged 8.8 points, 1.9 rebounds and 4.6 assists in 28.1 minutes while appearing in 67 games. The West Virginia native finished eighth in the league with a 3.37 assists per turnover ratio and 12th with a 0.91 steals per turnover ratio.

“We are excited to add Jason to our squad,” Clippers head coach Mike Dunleavy said. “He brings added veteran leadership and playoff experience to our backcourt.”

Drafted by the Sacramento Kings in 1998 following his junior year at the University of Florida, Williams was named to the 1999 NBA All-Rookie Team following an electrifying first season that saw him average 12.8 points and 6.0 assists. Over the next nine seasons, Williams has emerged as one of the most dependable point guards in the NBA, averaging double-figures in scoring and at least five assists per game in eight of his ten years in the league.

Williams moved to Memphis for the 2001-02 season and over the next four seasons became the Grizzlies all-time assists leader and all-time leader in three-point field goals attempted. Williams joined Miami prior to the 2005-06 season that ended with an NBA Championship.

The Clippers new-look roster now stands at 14 players as Los Angeles has revamped its roster by adding a total of 10 new faces for the 2008-09 season.

Below is an update of the Clippers off-season transactions:

June 26: Drafted G Eric Gordon from Indiana University with the 7th pick in the NBA Draft
June 26: Drafted C DeAndre Jordan from Texas A&M with the 35th pick in the NBA Draft
June 26: Acquired the draft rights to G Mike Taylor from Portland in exchange for a 2009 second Round NBA Draft pick.
June 30: Extended qualifying offers to F Nick Fazekas and F Marcus Williams
July 2: Signed G Eric Gordon
July 9: Renounced rights to free agents G Dan Dickau, G Shaun Livingston, F Boniface Ndong, G Smush Parker, F James Singleton
July 10: Signed free agent G Baron Davis
July 15: Acquired F/C Marcus Camby from Denver in exchange for Denver to have the option to exchange second round picks in 2010
July 15: Signed C DeAndre Jordan and G Mike Taylor
July 16: Withdrew qualifying offer to F Marcus Williams; Renounced rights to free agents F Quinton Ross and C Paul Davis
July 23: Acquired G Jason Hart from Utah in exchange for G Brevin Knight
July 28: Signed free agent G/F Ricky Davis
July 30: Waived F Josh Powell
July 31: Signed free agent F Brian Skinner
August 1: Withdrew qualifying offer to F Nick Fazekas
August 6: Acquired F Steve Novak from Houston in exchange for Houston to have the option to exchange second round picks in 2011
August 7: Signed free agent G Jason Williams

First Brand, Now Maggette

Quoting Chris Rock's character, "Bony T" in Boomerang, "First the Fat Boys break up, and now this!" Jonathan Abrams of the LA Times is reporting that in addition to losing Elton Brand to a surprise deal with the 76ers, Corey Maggette has agreed to a contact with the Golden State Warriors.

Recently, I had written how significant of a move it was for the Clippers to lure Baron Davis to Los Angeles, saying "Moves like this one don't usually happen for the Clippers. They happen to the Clippers. " And now it seems like it's deja vu all over again for Donald Sterling and company.

Call it karma, bad luck, or fate. The Clippers just can't seem to ever catch a break. And I mean ever!

From Danny Manning and Larry Brown to Shaun Livingston and Elton Brand, if something can go wrong for the Clippers it usually does. In the past, most of the misfortunes were the results of the organization's own mistakes. However, I don't think you can say that about this latest debacle.

Mike Dunleavy and Elgin Baylor were working under the belief that once they landed Davis, EB would agree to accept less money to play alongside Davis. They believed that because that's what sources tell me they were told by Brand and his agent, David Falk. Why would they think EB would go back on his word? He's never done it before.

However, when it comes to contract negotiations-- in sports or otherwise-- a deal is never done until it's done. But looking back on this latest episode of 'Damn, not again!', could this have happened to anyone but the Clippers?