Until their 2010 first-round draft choice inevitably blows out his ACL before scoring a single point, we will not blog about our beloved Los Angeles Clippers again. But we couldn’t let this dismal season pass without dredging up an anecdote that sums up the franchise’s eternal woes in about as concise a package imaginable. It comes from a decade-old Los Angeles Times column, in which a former Clippers coach recounts the big boss’s ridiculously skinflint ways:
“I’ll never forget [owner Donald Sterling] would say, ‘Why do we have to buy their socks?’ And I’m like, ‘That’s just the way it is.’
“It was like that all the time. It was all about trying to save money. And this was one of the richest owners in the NBA at the time.”
It’s probably worth noting here that Sterling underpays his eye candy, too. And it seems he’s also allergic to paying for indefinite articles.
(Image via Paul Gravett’s great interview with Carl Banks)
Brian Moore // Apr 6, 2010 at 10:16 am
The sad part is that ridiculous attention to the costs and benefits of each facet of running a professional sports team seems like a good idea — take Billy Beane’s A’s. So long as it’s not stupid attention… socks? Really??
Brendan I. Koerner // Apr 6, 2010 at 11:04 am
@Brian Moore: Excellent point. More can be done with less, but that requires talent and leadership at the top. But the Clips have never had that–our philosophy has basically been “Let’s stockpile some high draft picks and see what happens.” There’s been no vision at the top as to how to build the team, just lots of patchwork fixes and tweaks. Alas, I have zero hope that our new GM will prove any better than his predecessors. This first line of his LAT bio kills me:
http://articles.latimes.com/2010/mar/10/sports/la-sp-clippers-20100311
Brian Moore // Apr 6, 2010 at 11:17 am
Haha, oh god, you are right:
“Neil Olshey’s long and winding path from fledgling actor in New York to new general manager of the Clippers was one of those road trips guided by a series of fortunate coincidences and conversations.”
I am so sorry. đ Basketball is the one thing that Cleveland’s got going for it right now.
Brendan I. Koerner // Apr 6, 2010 at 11:47 am
@Brian Moore: Watching Big Z hoist the championship trophy in front of the Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame is gonna be sweet for y’all.