I know this post is a couple days late, but I think its worth writing about anyways. So here’s the story. After verbally agreeing to a deal with the Los Angeles Clippers, Elton Brand turned the other way and signed a five-year deal worth approximately $80 million with the Philadelphia 76ers. This took the Clippersby shock and deeply hurt the organization, which has been crippled by bad luck and poor support for their entire history. Now the questions is: Did Brand betray the Clippers? Even more so, should players take home-town discounts or go to where the money is best?  Should players feel some responsibility to their teams or after the contracts expire, should they be completely separated from their former team? Is it a business or a game?

Brand is just one of many big time players who are expected to stay with their team for no apparent reason. Why should superstar players be attached to their particular team? In Brand’s case, it is different, because he had already agreed to a contract with the Clippers. The Clips seemed to have locked up Brand and felt content that they could finally compete in the tough Western Conference. Yet, Brand turned around and signed a lucrative deal with the 76ers. The Clippers weren’t offering maximum money to the big man, something they thought wouldn’t be the breaking point in the deal. They thought they were going to get a hometown discount and be able to keep Brand while also using some extra money to sign Baron Davis. Well they signed Davis, accommodating one of Brand’s wishes: to build a winning team. Now all Brand had to do was sign on the dotted line. Los Angeles wasn’t offering the maximum salary and though Brand seemed okay with that at first, he wasn’t okay with it in the end. So was it fair for Elton Brand to suddenly shock the Clippers and sign with the 76ers? Continue reading “Did Brand Betray The Clippers?” →