Clippers screwed.
ESPN’s Marc Stein is reporting that Elton Brand is expected to accept an offer to join the Philadelphia 76ers when contracts can officially be signed starting on Wednesday.
The signing would be a big blow to the Los Angeles Clippers who had hoped to pair Brand with Baron Davis who has verbally agreed to sign with the Clippers.
Even though the Clippers were expected to let Corey Maggette go, league sources have confirmed to HOOPSWORLD that Maggette will sign with the Golden State Warriors for more than the mid-level offers he was getting from the likes of San Antonio, Boston and Utah. One source said the deal is expected to be in the neighborhood of five years and $50 million.
The Clippers are now left with a couple of big holes to fill if the team has hopes of becoming the contender fans thought they might be with Davis and Brand, and one has to wonder if Davis might end up second guessing the verbal agreement he made.
The Clippers have some cap room to play with, but there is no one on the open market who can bring to the table what Brand did. Assuming Davis keeps his word and signs with the Clippers, it’s not like LA will be without talent on its roster. A starting lineup that includes Davis, Al Thornton and Chris Kaman will be formidable. That said, the Clips will likely have to add at least one more legitimate piece to be considered true playoff contenders.
For the Warriors, Maggette should fit in perfectly in Don Nelson’s up-tempo system. One of Mike Dunleavy’s biggest complaints about Maggette was his shot-selection and sometimes lackadaisical attitude on the defensive end of the floor. Both of those weaknesses will likely prove less problematic given the Warriors’ style of play.
NBA inside & other stuff 
Team loyalty is a JOKE. It’s all about the money. It’s always the money. Major league baseball is an even bigger joke since there’s no salary cap and the best players end up on the Yankees or Red Sox while the rest of the teams draft and develop some more of the future players for New York and Boston. Professional sports salaries are so far out of line that it’s ridiculous. Something someday has got to change that. Maybe a total economic collapse will be required to help us realize that we really don’t NEED these games and we will all survive quite nicely.