Those teams now officially suck less than this year's edition of the Nets, who lost their 18th straight and broke the record shared by the Clippers and the Heat. Barry Petchesky live blogged the game for some reason, and it turned out to be something like live blogging the Hindenburg. I'm not sure what's sadder: the 49 points the Nets surrendered to the Mavs in the second quarter or this exchange between Nets interim sap Tom Barrise and a fan:

He reached out and blurted, "Tom … Tom …" and clenched Barrise's fist and appeared to be as serious about this moment as any in his life, when he blurted these words straight from his broken Nets heart.

"One and 17 tonight, coach!" he said, and held on for a moment and repeated himself.

"One and 17!"

One day, the Nets will win a game, and perhaps they will feel about their accomplishment as former Heat guard Rory Sparrow did about his team's first victory in 1988 (over the Clippers, naturally). He calls it "the game I'll never forget." And there is hope yet that the Nets will not suck as hard as the NBA's all-time leader in suck, the 1972-73 76ers, who won nine games in all. Reports Kevin Pelton of Basketball Prospectus:

First, let's try to establish what a streak like this really says about a team. Dean Oliver considered the issue in a chapter of his seminal Basketball on Paper devoted to winning and losing streaks. Oliver showed that a team with a 20-game losing streak at any point in an NBA season has a 19 percent shot of finishing the year with 21 wins or more. So while an 18-game streak is certainly a bad sign, it's hardly proof the 1972-73 Philadelphia 76ers' 9-73 record is in grave jeopardy.

Honorable mentions: Wisconsin, of course. And Illinois, too, because, holy shit, did you watch that game? A 23-point a comeback? Led by two freshmen and a guy who moves like something out of a Boris Karloff movie? Oskee fucking wow-wow.

UPDATE: There's a video, too.

Image via LA Weekly

NBA: Discipline Team Owner for Housing Discrimination [Tenants Together]

The settlement is said to be the largest of its kind. Dan Wetzel rightly wonders why more people aren't talking about Sterling. Maybe it's because there's just so much to talk about that no one knows where to begin:

• In 2003, 19 tenants and the Housing Rights Center filed a housing discrimination lawsuit against Sterling, one of the biggest landowners in Los Angeles. (That case, too, was settled.) According to depositions given by one of Sterling's property supervisors and obtained by ESPN The Magazine's Peter Keating, Sterling didn't like renting to black people ("they smell"), Mexican-Americans ("just sit around and smoke and drink all day") and people with children ("brats"), though he did like Koreans because "they will take whatever conditions I give them and still pay the rent." (The property supervisor, Sumner Davenport, sued Sterling for sexual harassment. She lost.)

• When a tenant asked to be compensated for water damage in her flooded apartment, Sterling allegedly told Davenport, "Just evict the bitch."

• According to former general manger Elgin Baylor, Sterling envisioned a "Southern Plantation type structure" for the Clippers, one in which, as he allegedly put it to Baylor, "poor black boys from the South" played for a white head coach.

• Sterling bought the Clippers in 1981 for $13 million. The franchise is now valued at $300 million. On his watch, the Clippers have lost 50 games in a season 20 times. Long ago, Sterling realized — correctly — that an owner could turn a tidy and effortless profit under the NBA's revenue-sharing system merely by losing cheaply and relying on the league's ever-fattening coffers.

• The NBA once fined Sterling $10,000 for suggesting the Clippers tank to help their draft position.

• As reported here, Sterling's scorekeepers in the late 1990s routinely and dramatically undercounted the Clippers' assist totals. Deliberate or not, the effect was to depress the value of the team's own players.

• According to Franz Lidz in Sports Illustrated, Sterling would refuse to add players even after injuries left the roster at the league minimum of eight. "The Clippers came close to forfeiting a game after forward Michael Brooks had oral surgery," Lidz wrote. "Brooks had to suit up, and he actually played, though his jaw was as swollen as Sterling's ego."

• Sterling once welshed on a $1,000 prize for a free-throw shooting contest, forcing the winner, a lawyer and season ticketholder named Michael Spilger, to sue. More than a year later, according to Lidz, Spilger got his money.

• During his first season as owner, according to Sports Illustrated, Sterling reportedly wanted to save money by jettisoning the team trainer. He asked coach Paul Silas if he would mind taping up players before games.

• According to Sports Illustrated: "Sterling is also said to have proposed to trim the team budget for his second season by slashing training-camp expenses from more than $50,000 to about $100, scouting from more than $20,000 to about $1,000, advertising from more than $200,000 to less than $9,000 and medical expenses from about $10,000 to $100."

• Sterling would solicit "hostesses" for private parties and Clippers events, one of whom told ESPN The Magazine: "Working for Donald Sterling was the most demoralizing, dehumanizing experience of my life. He asked me for seminude photos and made it clear he wanted more."

• A former employee sued Sterling for sexual harassment in 1996. According to testimony obtained by ESPN The Magazine, Sterling would order her to find massage therapists, saying, "I want someone who will, you know, let me put it in or who [will] suck on it." The case was settled.

• In 2003, Sterling acknowledged paying a woman named Alexandra Castro $500 every time "she provided sex." He testified: "It was purely sex for money, money for sex, sex for money, money for sex." He would call her honey, but for decidedly unromantic reasons. "I'm a very flowery man," he said. "If you are having sex with a woman you are paying for, you always call her honey because you can't remember her name."

And that's just a partial list. Remember Sterling the next time someone projects his private demographic terrors on all the "thugs" in the NBA. In his time as the Clippers' owner, he has behaved far more repulsively than any wayward player ever suspended by David Stern; if Sterling were a small forward, he'd be looking for a run in Minsk right about now. But he's an owner and a wealthy real-estate magnate, and for those reasons and no other, a league so concerned about its public image that it tells its players how to dress will happily overlook the fact that Donald T. Sterling is a cheap, whoring bigot.

L.A. Clippers' Sterling Settles Housing Bias Lawsuit [Bloomberg]
Uncontested: The life of Donald Sterling [ESPN The Magazine]
Up And Down In Beverly Hills [Sports Illustrated]

We know about the Redskins soap opera that has riveted everyone in the D.C. era, except Dan Snyder. Fan are upset. Security at FedEx field is upset because they now how have discipline the upset fans even though they'd rather just stand still and do nothing and that just makes everyone even more grumpy. Now some genius has found the solution to banned signs—a sign of humanity where folks in the upper deck can spell out "Fire Snyder" simply by wearing the right color t-shirt. If they can decode this seating chart first. I don't see how this possibly fails.

They aren't alone however. Browns fans are actually fighting with each other over the best way to voice their displeasure with the team's "rebuilding" process. A group of "Dawg Pound" residents are planning to arrive late to the Monday night game against the Ravens in two weeks, which will surely hurt Phil Dawson's feelings. Meanwhile other Cleveland fans counter with the ridiculous argument that you can't reverse a decade of failure in 7 games. This is not the time to be calm and rational, folks.

But it's not just NFL fans who are pumping up the emo music. Some Colorado students are urging everyone to wear powder blue to Folsom Field on Saturday in honor of one of the worst eras—and uniform choices—in Buffaloes history. Although, I'm not sure why they need the reminder when everyone is well aware that this current team is awful. This "statement" will surely rock academia to its foundations and possibly make CU administrators cancel the football program altogether. It's the only way to be sure.

And of course, Louisville's quixotic quest to humiliate head football coach Steve Kragthrope silently marches on. Shame is not a weapon when your opponent has none.

Or if football isn't your game, maybe write a strongly worded letter to the NBA reminding them that one of their oldest and least successful owners is also a racist jackass. Why should football fans have all the fun?

A FedEx Field Sign Snyder Can't Ban [Fire Snyder Sign, via FamousDC]
Browns Fans' Stand Against Dawg Pound Mike's Nov. 16 Protest [Cleveland Frowns]
Browns fans: Don't protest [Read and React]
Fed-up CU Buffs fans plan powder-blue protest at Folsom [Colorado Daily]
Bag Krag [Bag Krag]
Sterling suit seems to fit NBA just fine [Yahoo]

•It's supposed to count for nothing, but no. 25 Syracuse lost to the Division II Le Moyne Dolphins, and I'd be shocked if voters don't take this into account the next time they do the polls. While the Orange haven't lost to a DII school in modern history, they did lose to Drexel two years ago, which might be worse.

•The brief Edgerrin James era in Seattle has mercifully come to an end. I was going to lead with this story, but I honestly don't think he's touched the ball enough to be photographed in a Seahawks uniform.

•Dave Bing easily won four more years as mayor of Detroit. Though "won" might not be the right word.

•Dan Snyder apologized to fans for the Redskins' terrible season. He had also planned to erect signs around the city to the same effect, but those were unfortunately confiscated.

•The NBA is down to three undefeated teams: the Celtics, Suns and Nuggets, while the Nets, Pacers and Warriors remain winless. Now I know early success isn't necessarily indicative of future performance, but I'm gonna say, yeah, this is pretty much how things are going to go.

•Clippers owner Donald Sterling paid $2.7 million to settle a housing discrimination lawsuit. He had originally offered Marcus Camby's expiring contract to help the victimized homeowners get under the salary cap, but that was rejected.

•Via Outside The Boxscore, we have a creative ad from a San Diego bail bonds company, noting the Raiders were in town:

Sports memorabilia blogger Andrew Long certainly thought so. So he met up with Griffin at an organized autograph session and presented him with a delicious sandwich. Griffin graciously signed both halves and then Long devoured one, believing that Blake's lifeforce, transferred via bread, will bestow upon him mysterious rebounding abilities and a slightly less-awkward way with the ladies. (That totally works. I saw it in "District 9.") The other half is now on eBay, so if you want to believe, go right ahead and pay legal tender for an autographed sandwich. Extra mustard not included.

One warning though: Griffin now plays for the Los Angeles Clippers, so you would have to assume that their energy would transfer as well. I don't envy the crippling intestinal disorder sure to await anyone who take a bite out of that thing.

BLAKE GRIFFIN'S POWER [Packs To the People, via Slanch]

The laptop allegedly contains photos and videos that "depict, among other things, a variety of private images of our client, his associates and his colleagues." Colleagues, that's cute. Who knows what the images actually contain, but his lawyers obviously know something we don't because they've already approached a certain website that they suspect might be interested in that type of thing. (No, not us. How disappointing.) They sent a letter to The Smoking Gun, warning them that if they buy or publish any Baron Davis contraband they will be in BIG trouble.

So says attorney William J. Briggs, II. So remember, kids, if someone tries to sell you some Baron Davis porn, just walk away. It's (probably) not worth it.

NBA Star Warns Over Stolen Laptop [The Smoking Gun]

Now that the obvious pick is out of the way we can get to the interesting stuff. Where will Ricky Rubio land? Will Amar'e be traded? Who will be the last man sitting in the green room? How many euphemisms for "long" can the ESPN analysts craft between them? When will Stuart Scott make me regret doing this? How many times will Jay Bilas deride Rubio and Brandon Jennings? As for my guesses: Sacramento, Yes, Beaker, eleventy, 10 minutes ago, and way too many.

Please follow along throughout the night as I guide you through the majestic evening that is the NBA Draft. Before we move forward here are a few things you should know about me and the biases I bring to the table...

• I am an unabashed fan of the Washington Wizards, and a regular attendee at the Verizon Center as AJ thoughtfully displayed below. I really wanted them to draft Tyreke Evans, but I'm cool with the trade. Speaking of Les Boulez, the Wizznutzz are live-tweeting from the Mothering Hut, so go ahead and follow them.
• I attended the University of Pittsburgh and I'm rather passionate about their basketball program.
• I think Hasheem Thabeet is a pussy (see above).
• I also attended the University of Arizona (sort of) and I remain adamant that Salim Stoudamire is not only the best shooter on the planet, but a damn fine neighbor to boot. That being said, you won't hear me hyping up Chase Budinger at any point this evening.

I'll be live posting through the first 10 selections before we transition into a more traditional live blog format until I pass out.

Getty Image via Yahoo!

Baylor's served 22 years with the franchise and is an LA icon, after all. Well, let's get right to the ugliness.

Baylor, whose career as an NBA executive was as spectacularly mediocre as his playing career was great, filed an employment discrimination lawsuit against the NBA, the Clippers, owner Donald Sterling and club president Andy Roeser in Los Angeles Superior Court on Wednesday. And his recent quotes on the matter are rather jarring. From TMZ:

Baylor claims the team has "egregious salary disparities" based on race. Baylor claims he was told to "induce African American players to join the Clippers, despite the Clippers' reputation of being unwilling to fairly treat and compensate African American players." Baylor says the owner, Donald Sterling, has a "pervasive and ongoing racist attitude."

Baylor cites the case of NBA player Danny Manning, where Sterling allegedly said, "I'm offering a lot of money for a poor Black kid." The suit claims Sterling repeatedly referred to the team as "poor Black kids" and "he wanted a White coach directing the Clippers." Baylor says he personally got stiffed, only being paid $350,000 a year since 2003, when a "Caucasian head coach was given a 4 year, 22 million dollar contract."

Here's the best part. The suit says, "At all relevant times mentioned here, Mr. Baylor was an African American male over the age of 40."

Baylor, the Clippers' former general manager and executive vice president, was released by the Clippers during the offseason in a dispute over his contract.

The lawsuit also maintains Baylor was "discriminated against and unceremoniously released from his position with the team on account of his age and his race." Clippers general counsel Robert H. Platt said "I can categorically state that the Clippers always treated Elgin fairly throughout his long tenure with the team. Prior to his decision to leave the team last October, Elgin never raised any claims of unfair treatment.

"It's hard to believe that he would now make these ridiculous claims after the organization stood by him during 22 years and only three playoff appearances. It would be hard to find any sports team that has demonstrated greater loyalty to its general manager."

And that's the weird part: If the Clippers under Sterling embraced a racist "vision of a Southern Plantation type structure," as the lawsuit states, then why did it take Baylor so long to speak up? But just when you start to figure that Baylor is a nut, you remember that Sterling has been involved in a couple of other lawsuits involving discrimination. In one, the real estate magnate was sued by the U.S. Dept. of Justice for discriminating against black tenants in one of his apartment complexes.

• Elgin Baylor fun facts: His high school grades were so poor that no college would accept him, and he was working in a furniture store until a friend got him a scholarship at the College of Idaho, where he also played football. But the head coach was fired and Baylor lost his scholarship, and then played for Westside Ford, a Seattle AAU team, while establishing eligibility at Seattle University. He was the Lakers' No. 1 draft pick in 1958 and became an 11-time All-Star.

Eligin Baylor-Clippers Lawsuit Update [Los Angeles Times]
Longtime Clippers Executive Elgin Baylor Files Lawsuit Against Team, Owner Sterling And NBA [Los Angeles Daily News]
Lakers Legend Claims Clippers Steered By Racist [TMZ]
Elgin Baylor-Clippers Lawsuit: Another Update [Los Angeles Times]

When last we saw them: Finished 23-59, dead last in the Pacific Division and 12th overall in the West.

Innies: Baron Davis, DeAndre Jordan, Eric Gordon, Jason Hart, Marcus Camby, Mike Taylor, Ricky Davis

Outties: Brevin Knight, Corey Maggette, Josh Powell, Elton Brand, Quinton Ross, Ruben Patterson, Shaun Livingston, Smush Parker

The Good: They acquired Baron Davis in this summer's free agent giveaway, and B-Diddy seems pretty stoked to play in his hometown. Davis is a PG who's strong, fast, can score and dish, and is willing and able to take over in clutch situations. They also stole Marcus Camby away from the Nuggets for pretty much nothing. (The right to swap second-round draft picks? For a former Defensive Player of the Year? Really?!) Chris Kaman is dominant on the boards and can bully his way into the paint for easy (though rather ugly) buckets. Al Thornton played the second half of last season like he was living off a diet of Gamma Rays and radioactive spider bites, and trust me, he's going to get nothing but better. Seriously, that Camby/Kaman/Thornton front line should be pretty imposing. Cuttino Mobley, Tim Thomas, Ricky Davis are bucket fillers. They actually managed to nab a couple exciting kids in this year's draft: combo guard Eric Gordon and forward DeAndre Jordan. Elgin Failure is finally out as GM. (Note: He was only a bad GM; as a player, Elgin was legen...wait for it...dary.) When you win only 23 games the previous season, there should be nowhere to go but up. Although they are the Clippers, so maybe you should scratch that last statement.

The Bad: Elton Brand defected to the Philadelphia 76ers, and, frankly, there's no replacing what he brought to the team. Corey Maggette bolted after what was, essentially, a career season. That's a 22 PPG hit for the Clips. I guess they think Ricky "I'm all about me, me and me" Davis is going to replace those points. [Insert maniacal laugher here] Baron Davis should be one of the best PGs in the league - maybe even an All-Timer - but his ability to stay focused, motivated and healthy have always been in question. And now that he's surrounded by his family, childhood buddies and college pals? That's going to help things? Plus, dude got fat during the offseason and has been using the Jenny Craig diet to get in shape. On the advice of Queen Latifah. I am being deadly serious. They finally ousted Baylor, and then replaced him with...coach Mike Dunleavy? Great idea. Just ask the Milwaukee Bucks how that turned out for them. And Dunleavy, who's about as stable as the world economy, is supposed to bring all the new parts and get them working well with the old parts. Huh.

Fun Facts: The Clippers began in 1970 as the Buffalo Braves, a team with a rather inexplicable logo. Their D-League counterpart is the Anaheim Arsenal. They Clippers have been in Los Angeles for 24 years. In that time, they have appeared in the playoffs four times (1992, 1993, 1997 and 2006) and have won a total of 11 games. Seven of those wins were in '06. This history of playoff futility makes them the oldest current NBA team never to make it to the NBA Finals. On March 1, 2006 the Clippers held the New Orleans Hornets to an NBA record low 16 points in the second half of play. Since the introduction of the shot clock, no point total for a half had been lower than 19. So...you know...yay, Clippers!

Videotastic extra: Hip 2 Clip, baby. Hip 2 Clip.

So the Denver Nuggets traded the only guy on their roster who sometimes kinda-sorta plays defense — Marcus Camby, the 2007 Defensive Player of the Year — to the Los Angeles Clippers for...wait, what was that again? The option to exchange second-round picks with the Clips in 2010 and a $10 million trade exception that they probably won't even use?

Wow.

According to Nuggets vice president of player personnel Rex Chapman: "We felt like we needed to shake things up and do something a little bit radical to be able to create flexibility going forward."

If by "radical" he means "strip a team that barely made the playoffs and got bounced in the first round of one of its premier talents for absolutely nothing in return," then he's right. The move was totally radical. It's kind of like how the Empire left that gaping exhaust vent in the Death Star. Only the hole in the Nuggets' interior defense is going to be much bigger than a womp rat.

Of course, it was a money thing, plain and simple. Mark Warkentien, Denver's vice president of basketball operations, said the trade gives the Nuggets — who, according to HoopsHype, have the league's ninth highest payroll ($68,906,392) even without Camby's salary — future financial flexibility. "It's not a checkers move. It's a chess move. Chess is a tougher game to understand, you've got to wait longer to see the results of the move."

I think he confused the Bugayev Attack with Wolferts Gambit. And he also seems to have misunderstood one critical point: One of his key pieces — the Queen in this analogy, I guess — probably isn't going to hold up that much longer. Allen Iverson is 33 going on 80. I mean, has Warkentien ever watched Iverson play? Has he seen his list of injuries? By the time Warkentien gets to see the results of this move, the Nuggets medical staff might have to scoop what's left of A.I. into a sandwich bag and ship it to his next of kin. (Unless of course they've designed an unstoppable robot body to put Iverson's brain into. That would be awesome.)

But hey, maybe I'm overreacting. I'm sure Nene' will have a career year and more than make up for Camby's absence. Excuse me a second. (Bwahahahahah!) Okay. I'm back.

Anyway, Chapman hasn't said for sure that the Nuggets won't make another move before the 2008-09 season starts. "It's a fluid situation. Are we going to continue to look for ways to improve the team? Absolutely. We felt like the right trade came along at the right time. We felt like we needed to strike while the iron was hot. We're not going to make a bad deal. We're not satisfied with winning 50 games or getting to the playoffs. Our goal is to win a championship. We felt like we needed to shake things up and be able to have flexibility going forward to put a championship team on the court."

Did anyone else notice the seven or eight blatent contradictions in that quote?

And if you think that the Clippers "won" this trade with their En passant move, think again. The "other" L.A. team now boasts non-complimentary twin towers. I mean, isn't Marcus Camby just a better version of Chris Kaman? They both rebound and play defense — although Kaman is more of a banger while Camby likes is a shot-blocking paratrooper — but neither of them have a polished offensive game. Can you see Baron Davis running the pick-and-roll with either of these guys? Or dishing it to them on the fast break? Can they fast break?

But little things like "facts" won't keep Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy from humping his clipboard in freakish delight. "I love this acquisition for the current makeup of our team. We are getting a consummate pro who is maybe the best team defender in the league and who has 60 playoff games under his belt."

And that's the sad state of Clipperdom: The mere fact that he's played 60 playoff games with other teams makes Camby one of the greatest Clippers of all-time. You know, Greg Ostertag appeared in 89 playoff games. Why not give him a call, Mike?

Boy, that escalated quickly. Wasn't it just last week when the sports pundits and the soundbite intelligentsia were all speculating that former Los Angeles Clipper, and free agent whale, Elton Brand, would "probably" ignore the lavish offer sheet from the Golden State Warriors because "he loves L.A." so much and he's very "loyal." Right.

And then, out of nowhere, Sixers' general manager Ed Stefanski goes out and takes a dry eraser to the team's salary cap and then (reportedly) five years, $82 -million later, the Sixers are now looking awful pretty in the Celtic Conference.

I am shocked. This isn't the type of free agent scenario that usually happens to this city. Philadelphia's not big on sandbagging. Either we covet somebody aggressively and openly and overpay for their services — or we get the door politely closed in our face. But this? This deal kind of popped up out of nowhere, and wasn't even taken that seriously up until a couple days ago. Josh Smith seemed a likely candidate. Elton Brand? Just another name thrown around to keep pushing the Sixers' feel-good momentum caboose. Smith would've been nice; this is friggin' sweet.

Report: Brand Has Verbal Agreement With 76ers [Sports By Brooks]

Sixers reach verbal agreement with Elton Brand [Philly.com]
Elton Brand agrees to go to the 76ers...[LA Times]

Your bionic eyes are not malfunctioning. You read that correctly.

Although it can't become official until July 9th - the first day NBA teams can officially complete free-agent deals and trades after the league-wide moratorium on roster moves is lifted — Boom-Dizzle and his mighty beard are headed for Clipperland.

Said Davis: "It's tough, but you have to do what's best, You have to do what's fair. I'm happy with where I'm going. A big reason is because of the impact and the things that I can do going forward. I knew I could have done them here and created all kinds of good things and positive things in the community, and ultimately, me going home helps me make an impact on young kids."

Blah, blah, blah. Kids, schmids. The biggest reason for B-Diddy's change of heart is the impact on his wallet: The Clippers are offering him a five-year, $65 million deal. And that kind of guaranteed, long-term security is tough to pass up. Especially for a player who, in the past, has displayed all the durability of a delicate stained glass window. And the fact of the matter is, the Warriors weren't willing to offer him that security.

This is how Davis' agent Todd Ramasar put it: "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. 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."

Baron just wants to win...yeah, right. Look, I may have flunked second grade math, but even I know this: Nobody who wants to win chooses to play for the Los Angeles Clippers. That would be saying you went on Fear Factor and ate sheep testicles because you want to be President.

Here are the immediate implications of Baron's decision: First, the Clippers are much more likely to re-sign Elton Brand, who has stated he won't commit to more time in hell without some "established help." However, that would mean the end of the Corey Maggette Era in L.A., because the Clippers don't have the moolah to sign Davis, Brand and Maggette...and Maggette would definitely be the odd man out in that scenario.

The Warriors, meanwhile, are going to become much, much worse. They extended a five-year, $100 million contract offer to Gilbert Arenas. But Washington can offer Agent Zero more years and more zeros, so you can probably expect him to stay put, particularly since Antawn Jamison just agreed to a $50 million contract extension with the Wizards and said: "With Gilbert coming back and Gilbert being 100 percent healthy, we are one of the most dangerous teams in the NBA." Sure sounds like Antawn knows something we don't know.

Despite his newfound financial freedom, Davis is all emotional about leaving the city he helped bring back from the dead. "If it wasn't for the Bay Area, I don't know where I would be. When I came from New Orleans, I was injured. I didn't know if I would ever be able to really reclaim any type of basketball prowess, and from the time I walked to that table against the Detroit Pistons (for the first game), I always knew that I could accomplish anything here. I wanted to be here for a long time. I still consider this home. The fans have done nothing but encourage, congratulate and support everything that I've ever done. I just took what was best for me." Who ever knew that becoming a Clipper was the "best thing" for anybody.

Other random notes: It looks like Chris Paul is going to sign an extension with the Hornets, for anywhere from three to five years and for $60 million to more than $80 million. The Sacramento Kings are going to hold on to Beno Udrih for five years at the full mid-level exception. And Brent Barry opted out of his contract with the Spurs...destination unknown.