Clippers with Brand loyalty?

Tag : Iron Staples

For the second time in his career, Brand has two teams makingmultimillion-dollar bids for his services.
There was no definitive word during the NBA's quiet holiday weekendpinpointing precisely when Elton Brand will do what pretty much everyone around the league expects him todo and verbally commit to re-signing with the Los Angeles Clippers .
One source close to the process said Sunday night that Brand'sdecision should be public knowledge within the "next 24 to 48hours." Another suggests that the Clippers have known since themiddle of the past week that they would have to wait until afterJuly 4 to confirm Brand's intentions.
Common sense, meanwhile, says this saga isn't likely to stray muchbeyond Wednesday, which is the first day NBA teams can officiallyannounce signings and complete trades after the annual leaguewidemoratorium on roster moves is lifted.
Teams will actually know Tuesday night, via official leaguememorandum, exactly what next season's salary cap will be, whichwill finally provide the Clippers and the Golden State Warriors(and possibly even the Philadelphia 76ers ) with iron-clad figures to throw at the 29-year-old Brand.
Yet even if we're forced for now to rely on the best salary-capestimates in circulation -- right around $59 million per team isthe figure I keep hearing -- it becomes clearer why almost no onebelieves the Warriors can actually land Brand.
If next season's cap is indeed $59 million or thereabouts, GoldenState will be able to offer Brand a five-year deal worth just over$95 million, according to multiple salary-cap experts ESPN.com hasconsulted.
But even if Brand is not interested in the extra sixth year that only the Clippers areallowed to offer him and insists on a five-year deal -- as mytireless colleague Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News reports -- L.A. can still assemble a five-year deal worth $80-85 million and give Davis his estimated $65 million over five years.
Upping their reported five-year, $70 million offer to Brand dependson how many of the following free agents that the Clippers arewilling to renounce in addition to possibly waiving Josh Powell : Corey Maggette , Shaun Livingston , Quinton Ross , Nick Fazekas , Marcus Williams , Paul Davis , Dan Dickau , Boniface N'Dong , James Singleton and the immortal Smush Parker .