Loading ...Art Thompson III of The Orange County Register is reporting that Elgin Baylor “is no longer performing his duties as the team’s vice president of basketball operations and general manager.”
“A NBA executive contacted Tuesday afternoon said he had been told that Baylor no longer was performing his job. Reportedly, legal representatives of the Clippers and Baylor are engaging in dialogue.
It is not known if Baylor resigned or was relieved of his duties. However, suspicion arose when the 74-year old Baylor was not at the Clippers’ new practice facility when training camp opened nor was he listed in any way in the team’s preseason media guide.”
Baylor was hired by the Clippers in 1986. Elgin’s tenure has produced only two winning seasons over the past twenty-two years and the Clippers have amassed 578 victories and 1153 losses with Baylor at the helm. Such ineptitude would be grounds for dismissal with most NBA franchises, but the Clippers are owned by the equally inept Donald Sterling. Sterling has been one of the cheapest owners in the history of professional sports.
Despite Sterling’s well-known cheap-skatery, the Clippers managed to turn things around in recent years. The Clippers matched offers to Elton Brand and Corey Maggette in 2003 and brought in Cuttino Mobley and Tim Thomas in subsequent seasons. Those investments paid dividends in 2005-2006 when the Clippers won a franchise record 47 games and advanced to the second round of the playoffs.
But the Clippers have been beset by injuries the past two seasons and have slid back to mediocrity. With former Clips Elton Brand in Philly and Corey Maggette in Golden State, Los Angeles’ other team appears primed for a lengthy rebuilding process. Hopefully Sterling will empower a GM capable of succeeding with a small payroll.
Now if only David Stern could figure out a way to get rid of Sterling…
Elgin Baylor’s Transaction History
Los Angeles Clippers Franchise History
