Sterling Set Himself Up for This One

From across the country, Elton Brand's agent called out Clipper owner Donald Sterling.

It's all on Sterling now. He can stand up and shell out big dollars. And he can push the mute button on David Falk.

Brand, a restricted free agent, signed a six-year, $82-million offer sheet with the Miami Heat on Wednesday. The Clippers now have 15 days to keep Brand by matching the offer.

But according to Falk, who was in Florida for Brand's business and for Juwan Howard's signing with the Orlando Magic, the Clippers already missed their deadline -- last summer.

The Clippers could have eliminated this entire free-agency saga by signing Brand to an extension then. Two sources have said Brand was willing to accept a $70-million contract last summer. Falk would say only that it was less than the maximum.

Falk said Sterling said he was not prepared to spend that much money, and that he wanted to wait a year.

"We made a gesture last year to take less than the max," Falk said. "I told him, 'Next year there will be no discount.' "

Falk said he told the Clippers repeatedly throughout the season that when the free agent negotiating period began on July 1, if the Clippers did not offer Brand the maximum contract (seven years, more than $100 million), then he would take his services elsewhere.

Because the NBA's collective bargaining agreement allows the "home" team to offer more money and an additional year to free agents, Brand would not be able to make more elsewhere. But Falk said he was confident other teams would offer the most they were allowed.

"The issue's not the money," Falk said. "That was a constant. The only variable was whether he could get the respect [from the Clippers]."

Well, respect sure seems to come in a shade of green. While Falk did discuss work "environments", he also sounded most impressed by Miami's financial largess.

"A team he didn't play for gave him an offer sheet for the maximum amount," Falk said. "The Clippers never made an offer even for six years."

The Miami offer is front-loaded, paying $7 million before this season.

According to the Clippers, they made an initial offer of $65 million over five years, then increased it to $78 million over six years.

Neither one was what Falk wanted to hear.

Falk called his July 1 deadline a "litmus test of whether they're going to be fair."

Later he compared it to a one-time opportunity, like a "lunar eclipse."