Every time there has been a general manager vacancy lately, it seems Clippers’ Neil Olshey’s name has come up. With good reason. Not only did he stick with it and pull off the trade for Chris Paul, before that he had taken steps to change the culture in the Clippers locker room and build around Blake Griffin.
The Clippers are not letting him go.
The team announced they have reached an “agreement in principle” to keep Olshey with the Clippers.
This came following reports Olshey met in London to talk with Trail Blazers owner Paul Allen about the opening for a GM there. Olshey’s name had come up in other reports.
This is a smart move by the Clippers, Olshey has been at the heart of the turnaround the franchise. Rumors had said staying with the Clippers was his preference, however other offers such as Portland likely would have been for more money (Olshey was one of the lowest paid GMs in the game, we don’t know the terms of the new deal). More money is never easy to turn down.
One thing that should be interesting — Olshey was rumored to be ready to remove Vinny Del Negro mid-season. Now owner Donald Sterling has picked up Del Negro’s contract for another year. We’ll see who wins that battle as it continues another year.
But still, another move that keeps the Clippers from returning to being the Clippers.
