Warriors make 5 year, 90 million dollar offer to Brand

Brand would be a nice pickup. He seemed to have played pretty well at the end of last season despite being injured and not really having much time to prepare. He's a 20-10 guy who is usually among the leaders in blocks. I think an Ellis/Harrington/Brand attack would be very versatile and fun to watch. There would just definitely need to be a stronger PG or more of a passing SG.

If the team doesn't get Brand, then I am assuming that we will be back in rebuilding mode.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Run BJM @ Jul 2 2008, 03:31 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Here's something interesting I just read about. To make the Baron deal go through the Clips have to renounce Mags and Brand, sign Brand to a lower annual salary, and then they'll have enough cap to officially sign Baron. By offering this huge deal to Brand, the Clips will be forced to match/beat this offer (or else let him go) thus not allowing them enough cap room to sign Baron to the deal they agreed on. The Clips would have to S&T with us. So this move effectively is another classic Nellie poker move. The Clips thought they had us beat but now Nellie is making sure we either land Brand or at least get something for Baron instead of letting him walk for free.

And as a bonus the Clippers commit like 160 mils to two 29 year olds with questionable injury problems for the next 5/6 years respectively.</div>

They want Maggette, too, who will turn 30 this year. Who can we take from the Clips -- Thornton? We'll probably have to take huge filler back though. I love to get Gordon, but he's probably untouchable.

 

Brilliant move by the Warriors. Brand tore his achilles but he's a solid guy who does not rely solely on his quickness. This really jerks the Clippers because they've got to redo Brand and Baron now.

 

I still suspect Brand pre-approved the Baron acquistion, agreeing to terms with the Clips beforehand, and won't bolt for more $. Hopefully I'm wrong because I would love to see Brand a Warrior, but I doubt it. I hope Mullin knows what he is doing.

 

At most this would prove is that Brand was the selling point. If Brand takes less money to stay which he likely will, more power to him, it shows that he wants to win, I can respect that.

*Edit: Editing out bad info! BALEETED!

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Zhone @ Jul 2 2008, 03:53 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>If Brand takes less money to stay which he likely will, more power to him, it shows that he wants to win, I can respect that.</div>

Hopefully it will prove collusion too

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Kensaku @ Jul 2 2008, 06:56 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Zhone @ Jul 2 2008, 03:53 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>If Brand takes less money to stay which he likely will, more power to him, it shows that he wants to win, I can respect that.</div>

Hopefully it will prove collusion too
</div>


I wonder if there's any possibility the Clips will have to hand over a draft pick like the niners had to give the Bears.

 

SOURCE

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>The Elton Brand Update -- Not expecting anything to happen today

From Janny Hu.


OK, here's the latest on the Warriors chase of Elton Brand: Golden State has offered him a five-year deal worth $90 million, which is right around the maximum allowed, and more importantly, is about $15 MILLION MORE THAN THE CLIPPERS CAN OFFER.


Why? Because in order to sign Baron Davis to his five-year, $65 million deal, the Clippers will have to renounce their rights to both Brand and Corey Maggette. Which means the Clips will become subject to the same salary cap constraints as any other team. Which means they cannot add a sixth year onto Brand's deal. Which means that five years at about $75 million is roughly their limit.


Basically, the Clips had about $27 million worth of cap space to work with once Magette and Brand opted out of their contracts Monday. According to multiple league sources, that was to be divided between Baron and Brand, with Brand coming away with a little more of the split than Baron.


Now? Baron is headed to L.A. ... And Brand has both the Clippers and Warriors playing a waiting game. So stay tuned.</div>

 

I would love Brand. He has more value than any point guard IMO. Plus, it would get back at the Clippers for their move and Baron Davis for his "betrayal". Actually, Baron Davis is probably not the bad guy if he already had known something like the Warriors didn't have him in their future plans. But, it looks bad because he was saying he was going to stay in, but he did the opposite.

Jrich will probably be the only warrior that actually gets some love, because Baron and the other warriors were pretty unpopular for how they exited or for how much they demanded and couldn't deliver.

Plus, isn't what Baron did illegal? Seems kind of strange he'd opt out under such circumstances and the Clippers already got something ready for him.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Custodianrules2 @ Jul 2 2008, 09:12 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Plus, isn't what Baron did illegal? Seems kind of strange he'd opt out under such circumstances and the Clippers already got something ready for him.</div>

It's possible, but hard to prove. The only real signs were some comments he made about going home (which weren't directly related to his basketball career, but moreso that he was buying a home down there to do more film stuff) and his known desire to go home. The tampering rule exists to prevent any players contacting about availablity while that player is still under contract. However if both were free agents, they could talk to each other as much as they wanted. Basically what opened the door was Maggette opting out, though. (In the end we can all blame Maggette?) If Baron learned that Maggette opted out, without any other contact with the team or other players, that would be perfectly fine (since it only raised the possibility of going to the Clips). Anything further, like the Clips contacting him directly or any negotiations would be tampering.

Most likely scenario involves no direct tampering, but we'll never know:
1. Agent informs him of Clippers/Maggette opt out and possibility of about $10 in cap room, this was easily forseeable
2. Baron opts out, assuming he will land either with Clippers or back with W's if that doesn't work out, since the W's have plenty of cap space and he feels he has the upper hand in negotiations either way
3. Clippers ended up working out, and Baron talks to Brand or vice versa (free to do so now both as FA, and Baron of course free to talk with any team as FA)
4. Clippers sign Baron, and are free still to talk with Brand about his decision

 

Okay, I got it. Thanks for the clarification, Zhone. Man, it's a definitely shocking in a way, but not totally surprising. I'm actually excited we get to address the issue of our team once and for all. We need to improve many things, most notably is the way we play defense and how we play the halfcourt game. If we don't control the tempo we're severely disadvantaged so we need to adjust to different tempos. We just can't go through another year of getting stuck going smaller and smaller and playing no defense and not being able to score inside the paint when we need to. I think the year we made the playoffs, we played with a little more size and aggressiveness on the defensive end. I would like to see the return of that. When I found out Biedrins went from 245 to 230 or 220 lbs, I felt his progress was going backwards. For one, he's an aggressive, physical player, so I'd say get him physical enough to compete rather than lighter, quicker, faster where he just can't bang. It would definitely help his defensive game and we absolute need defense at the center position or we might as well go back to Murphy or Zarko at C. At Biedrins' weight he should be playing a power forward. We'll see what Nelson does, though.

 

Do you guys think we could get Brand? I could see him making his decision by tomorrow. I can't wait because our offer is so much more than the Clippers' offer. How sweet would it be if he signed with us after Baron left. Then Baron would be in an even worse spot than he originally was in with us.

Ellis
Belinelli
Jackson
Brand
Biedrins

That lineup looks strong, especially with Harrington, Wright, and Randolph coming of off the bench. I don't know if Nellie would play Brand or Andris as the starting center. Brand is tougher, while Biedrins isn't strong enough to be as effective as the center for now. I would love for him to hit the gym this offseason and gain a few pounds of muscle. We could use him as a low post presence instead of just a pick and roll/cutting scorer.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Legacy @ Jul 3 2008, 01:22 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Do you guys think we could get Brand? I could see him making his decision by tomorrow. I can't wait because our offer is so much more than the Clippers' offer. How sweet would it be if he signed with us after Baron left. Then Baron would be in an even worse spot than he originally was in with us.

Ellis
Belinelli
Jackson
Brand
Biedrins

That lineup looks strong, especially with Harrington, Wright, and Randolph coming of off the bench. I don't know if Nellie would play Brand or Andris as the starting center. Brand is tougher, while Biedrins isn't strong enough to be as effective as the center for now. I would love for him to hit the gym this offseason and gain a few pounds of muscle. We could use him as a low post presence instead of just a pick and roll/cutting scorer.</div>

I think it would be awesome, and I agree that line-up is intriguing. Belinelli can handle well and that makes up for Mona's so-so PG skills. But I still don't see Monta being a true PG. I think we need to find a tough PG to allow Monta to play the 2. If we got Brand, resigned Az, and then traded Harrington for Heinrich, then this would be interesting:

Heinrich / CJWatson
Monta / Belinelli
Jax / Azibuike / Randolph
Brand / Wright / Hendrix
Beans / Perovic

Alas, I HIGHLY doubt Brand leaves the Clips. He's one of the few players in the league I could actually see taking less money for the sake of the team. He and Baron are friends, plus they have the same agent. There must have been open communication about this situation. I think it's wishful thinking for GS fans to think Brand will bite at Mullin's sneaky move. But hey, that's what makes this process fun -- who knows?!

 

Actually about the agent thing, I know I said it earlier but I was wrong. Brand is represented by David Falk (FAME) and Davis by Todd Ramasar (Life Sports Management). I read it somewhere that they were supposedly under the same agency but that's not even the case; I never checked on it until reading more about Brand and realized it wasn't the same guy. Falk is a much bigger name. Thus I blame bad reporting (though I was probably reading a fan's post and not a real reporter's thoughts) and my oversights. D'oh!

Kawakami blames David Falk alone. Davis and Brand are also friends, though. But the agent thing is definitely wrong and my mistake.

 

If we actually get Brand, Baron is screwed.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Zhone @ Jul 3 2008, 01:56 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Actually about the agent thing, I know I said it earlier but I was wrong. Brand is represented by David Falk (FAME) and Davis by Todd Ramasar (Life Sports Management). I read it somewhere that they were supposedly under the same agency but that's not even the case; I never checked on it until reading more about Brand and realized it wasn't the same guy. Falk is a much bigger name. Thus I blame bad reporting (though I was probably reading a fan's post and not a real reporter's thoughts) and my oversights. D'oh!

Kawakami blames David Falk alone. Davis and Brand are also friends, though. But the agent thing is definitely wrong and my mistake.</div>

Huh -- yeah, I thought I read that in the ESPN write-up, too. But I just checked it, and you're right. That change things, for sure. Falk knows that if Brand gets paid more money, than so does he... maybe he'll convince Brand to take the nearly $20 extra mils. This update just hit ESPN:

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>Brand leaning toward Clippers but Warriors' offer hefty

By Marc Stein
ESPN.com
(Archive)

Updated: July 3, 2008, 2:35 AM ET


The Los Angeles Clippers will have to wait at least one more day -- and maybe longer -- to know for sure that they'll be able to unveil their dream pairing of Baron Davis and Elton Brand next season.

That's because the Golden State Warriors have responded to losing Davis to the Clippers by giving Brand a lucrative alternative to consider, urging him to relocate to Northern California by taking their five-year contract offer worth an estimated $90 million.

Strong indications persist that Brand will stay in L.A., largely because he explained his decision to opt out of the final year of his previous contract Monday by saying he was trying to give the Clippers some financial flexibility to strengthen the team around him. But Brand is apparently still considering Golden State's rich proposal.

It was initially expected that Brand might verbally commit to re-signing with the Clippers on Wednesday, one day after Davis told the Clippers he was accepting their five-year offer worth an estimated $65 million to go back home to Los Angeles. Brand instead flew to Washington to consult face-to-face with agent David Falk while Golden State was poised to give him a deal possibly $20 million richer than what the Clippers can offer.

Sources close to the situation told ESPN.com on Wednesday night that the most likely scenario remains Brand re-signing with L.A. and ultimately teaming with Davis no matter what the Warriors present. One source said that Brand, during negotiations on a contract extension in June, specifically told Clippers management that Davis was the player he hoped they'd pursue if he became available in free agency.

Yet sources also said late Wednesday that the magnitude of Golden State's offer forced Brand to give it a serious look and has Clippers officials privately concerned that their fantasy scenario could collapse, with no decision from Brand guaranteed before the July 4 holiday.

The saga began Monday when Brand unexpectedly walked away from next season's $16.4 million salary to become an unrestricted free agent. Brand immediately announced that his "intention is to stay" with the Clippers. Falk told ESPN.com that they wanted to "afford the Clippers roster flexibility over the next nine days" to solidify the team around Brand and eventually sign a contract -- presumably with a slight pay cut -- that would enable Brand to "finish his career with the Clippers."

Brand's decision to opt out, coupled with a similar move by high-scoring swingman Corey Maggette, suddenly created a scenario where L.A. could have more than $25 million for next season to split on Brand and Davis, provided that Brand was willing to re-sign at a discount. Davis quickly gave a verbal commitment to the Clippers when his own decision to opt out Monday -- forfeiting next season's $17.8 million with the Warriors -- failed to bring Golden State back to the negotiating table.

ESPN.com reported early Wednesday morning that the Warriors responded to Davis' decision to opt out by making a lucrative offer to Brand -- after a similarly lucrative offer to Washington Wizards guard Gilbert Arenas -- as opposed to resuming talks with Davis. The sides were far apart on negotiations for a contract extension leading into free agency.

"I'm sure a lot of people were surprised yesterday when Baron opted out, but it was done with the idea that the Warriors would come back with something else," Davis' agent Todd Ramasar told ESPN.com on Tuesday. "We still expected a discussion for Baron to remain a Warrior.

"He had a great run with the Warriors. That had become home for him. ... [But] this is about having the best team in place, especially at this point in his career. Baron just wants to win. He has a chance to do something special with the Clippers and come back home."

Free agents and teams were allowed to reach verbal agreements on new contracts as of 12:01 a.m. Tuesday morning, but no signings or trades can be finalized before July 9. That's when the NBA will lift its annual moratorium on roster moves which is needed to compute the salary cap for the following season.

Davis' promise to sign with the Clippers makes him by far the most marquee free-agent signing in the club's quarter-century in Los Angeles under the stewardship of owner Donald Sterling. The closest thing to a big-name free agent signed away from another team in the Sterling Era is Cuttino Mobley, lured from Orlando to Hollywood by a five-year deal worth $42 million in 2005.

There are a number of reasons Brand likely won't leave the Clippers. He has a longstanding friendship with Davis, Golden State's young roster now lacks a proven point guard and Falk said Monday that Brand has been inspired to make the talent around him a top priority given what happened in Boston this season with Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen.

It was not immediately known whether the Clippers will be able to manufacture another move or two that enables them to increase their offer to Brand while keeping Davis at his established figures.

"He's sort of the face of that team and he wants to try to get it back to where they were a couple years ago when they almost got to the conference finals," Falk said Monday, adding that Brand became a free agent with the intent to "maximize his opportunity to be on a serious contender."</div>

Hmm...