That was the first thing that popped into my mind. One of the things that has undermined George Karl as a coach, is his tendency to try to send messages to his players through the press. (not to mention publicly throwing players under the bus when things go wrong) Carlesimo had the same inclination. It would take Damon about half a season to alienate the entire roster.
I wanted to point out you spelled "ruining" wrong, but I'm not sure the Clippers can be ruined anymore than they already are.
A backstabbing, egomaniacal, team killing, hack. PERFECT! I would guess that Damon has grown up some, has changed some, is possibly a better person than he was in his younger days. But, some of those traits he displayed will never leave him. And, when you are "growing" from such a small state (no pun intended), it will be a while before you are fully mature. He being given a shot in the NBA level coaching ranks tells us what about the world? If it is so obvious to so many fans that certain NBA talent - ummm - has little - how is it these guys keep getting jobs? Isiah, Baylor, Wallace. Now Damon gets a chance.
He also drafted Darko Milicic and traded Chauncy Billups for Allen Iverson. I think the bloom is off the Joe D rose.
Darko was a spectacular wiff (5 years ago) no doubt, but AI was a pretty obvious salary dump the day it happened. Without that move the Pistons are still an older team without the upside to beat Boston or Cleveland in the short term. Better to recognize reality and get their cap in order to (hopefully) contend again down the line then to kid yourself that the Billups Pistons were going to get over the top. That move also allowed his best young player Stuckey to take the reigns... at #15, he was a pretty decent selection don't you think?" Hell, signing Billups with a MLE wasn't a bad move either. I think Joe's 8 years as a GM have been pretty solid. 6 Eastern conference finals appearances, 2 finals appearances, 1 championship. It's my opinion he knows what he's talking about when he's talking NBA hoops STOMP
Sort of beat me to it. Arguably the most inept GM/executive in history working with perhaps the most inept franchise in sports history... ... I would have become a Clippers fan, immediately. The comedy gold it would provide would be worth it.
It's a philosophical conundrum for sure: Clippers suck. Thomas Sucks. Thomas + Clippers = ...? My guess is armageddon. Or, the return of pretty unicorns, rainbows with pots of gold, and perpetual peace on earth. Those are the only two options.
