Post by [*S*] HABANERO on Jul 3, 2008 1:07:21 GMT -5
www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-plaschke2-2008jul02,1,6663941.column
Admit it, you thought the shaken owner would crumble.
You thought Donald Sterling would look around the smoking remains of his once-lavish Clippers team -- two best players leaving, coach steaming, star guard limping -- and he would quit.
No more money. No more effort. No more Mr. Rich Guy.
Admit it, you thought that this summer, the Clippers were going back to Square One.
Instead, on the most glorious July Tuesday in franchise history, they have leaped to Seed Seven.
Baron Davis? Are you kidding me?
One of the toughest point guards in a point-guard league, bought for $65 million by a team desperately in need of a point guard?
One of the coolest Los Angeles kids, with connections from hellholes to Hollywood, returning home in hip glasses and a nasty crossover?
A former UCLA Bruin, who knows Magic Johnson as well as he knows the Eight Clap, coming back to hang out with Adam Sandler?
Baron Davis? To the Clippers?
It's like the homecoming king returning nine years later to refurbish the faded corner diner.
It's like the valedictorian returning to pump a little life into the library.
It's really neat, is what it is, the Clippers' Sterling showing he is serious not only about creating a buzz, but also creating a Buss.
I remember seeing Sterling sitting near the court at an NBA playoff game this spring -- a Lakers playoff game.
I had never seen him there before and I thought, has he totally given up?
The one spending spree of his career netted only two rounds of the playoffs two seasons ago.
He had lost his beloved kid guard Shaun Livingston to a horrible injury. He had endured a public feud with Coach Mike Dunleavy. His best players were on the verge of bolting.
I saw him watching the Lakers and I thought, has he really changed sides?
Turns out, he wasn't watching them, he was studying them.
If Pau Gasol can fall into the Lakers' lap, well, apparently Baron Davis can come floating down to the Clippers.
Admit it, you thought the shaken owner would crumble.
You thought Donald Sterling would look around the smoking remains of his once-lavish Clippers team -- two best players leaving, coach steaming, star guard limping -- and he would quit.
No more money. No more effort. No more Mr. Rich Guy.
Admit it, you thought that this summer, the Clippers were going back to Square One.
Instead, on the most glorious July Tuesday in franchise history, they have leaped to Seed Seven.
Baron Davis? Are you kidding me?
One of the toughest point guards in a point-guard league, bought for $65 million by a team desperately in need of a point guard?
One of the coolest Los Angeles kids, with connections from hellholes to Hollywood, returning home in hip glasses and a nasty crossover?
A former UCLA Bruin, who knows Magic Johnson as well as he knows the Eight Clap, coming back to hang out with Adam Sandler?
Baron Davis? To the Clippers?
It's like the homecoming king returning nine years later to refurbish the faded corner diner.
It's like the valedictorian returning to pump a little life into the library.
It's really neat, is what it is, the Clippers' Sterling showing he is serious not only about creating a buzz, but also creating a Buss.
I remember seeing Sterling sitting near the court at an NBA playoff game this spring -- a Lakers playoff game.
I had never seen him there before and I thought, has he totally given up?
The one spending spree of his career netted only two rounds of the playoffs two seasons ago.
He had lost his beloved kid guard Shaun Livingston to a horrible injury. He had endured a public feud with Coach Mike Dunleavy. His best players were on the verge of bolting.
I saw him watching the Lakers and I thought, has he really changed sides?
Turns out, he wasn't watching them, he was studying them.
If Pau Gasol can fall into the Lakers' lap, well, apparently Baron Davis can come floating down to the Clippers.