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I’d like to think it wasn’t my fault that the Clippers went into the tank. Yes, the possibility exists that I gooched them with my complimentary post back in the heady, halcyon days when the red, white, and blue were a surprising 5-2, gamely defying preseason predictions of a return to the bottom of the Western Conference food chain.

Well, fair to say that didn’t last long.

Since November 16, when that post went live, the Clippers have played dead. They’ve lost 10 of 12, by an average of 10 points a night. They’ve lost to good teams (New Orleans, Phoenix), decent teams (Denver, Houston, Golden State), and bad teams (Chicago, Indiana, Seattle, Milwaukee, Miami). They’ve lost starters and reserves alike to injury, are very quickly losing any even quasi-realistic chance of contending for a playoff spot, and will likely lose once and for all any traction gained from their near WCF run from a couple years back.

But the biggest potential loss is one that just isn’t getting much play in the local media.

That would be Elton Brand.

I’m not talking about the Achilles tendon injury from which he’s currently recovering, but rather his ability to opt out of the final year of his deal with the Clips and become an unrestricted free agent this summer.

Despite the detente that seems to have taken hold in the relationship between Corey Maggette and Mike Dunleavy, I’m still pretty sure Corey begins every work day by walking into Elgin Baylor’s office and asking, “Hey, can I opt out yet?” I’m not sure where he’ll go, but the good Vegas money has Maggette camped at the free agent ticket window like a kid waiting for Duke/Carolina tickets outside Cameron Indoor. No way he’s missing out.

But EB? Most people assume that the Clippers will never let him get within spitting distance of free agency and will throw a max deal his way. This, by the way, is what they should do. Dude is a rock. As close to a bankable 20/10 as this league has. Metronome consistent. Nothing I’ve heard or read indicates the Achilles thing should change that, once he’s healed. Plus, Brand is among the highest quality guys you’ll find in the NBA. The knowledge that Jamaal Tinsley is on your roster or Steven Jackson is your captain is the sort of thing that keeps owners up at night and sucking down Tums to stave off ulcers. Brand, in contrast, is like human Ambien.

But whether or not Brand returns to the Clips depends on a few things. First, it’s about the Clippers. It would seem to make a lot of sense for LAC to lock him up ASAP. It’s really a no-brainer, and Clips team pres Andy Roeser has said they want to keep E.B.(and Maggette, too, for that matter). But since “no-brainer” has always carried an entirely different context with Donald Sterling’s operation, there’s no way to be totally certain the Clippers will do the right thing. If any team could let Brand go, it would be the Clippers.

From Brand’s perspective, he has a couple decisions to make. He’ll be 29 heading into next season, which makes his next contract likely the last he can sign as a top level, premiere free agent looking for long-term security and max-deal money. And in the summer of ‘08, while he’d be arguably the most desirable FA on the market, he’ll be at the top of a list that could have some pretty solid names on it, depending on how the class shakes out. If Brand wants to take as much cash as he can, it’ll almost certainly be with the Clippers, who can extend him for more money than any other team. Beyond that, there won’t be a lot of teams this summer with enough cap space to sign Brand in the first place. No good ones, at least.

The flip side, of course, is that Brand could look at the Clippers, then at his situation and decide that if he wants to make a real run at a title in his prime, perhaps there’s a better place to give it a roll. In that regard, he’d certainly have history on his side. The grass isn’t always greener on the other side, unless, of course, your grass is on the Clippers’ generally brown and patchy lawn. If Brand decided to take a smaller deal financially to play for a winner, he’d have plenty of suitors. It’s not always easy to clear $18 million or so of cap space. $8 or $9 mil, however, can be done.

Generally, it’s assumed that athletes won’t take that kind of pay cut until later in their careers and I’m not sure Brand would be any different. Besides, he can always come back, play one more year, finish out his deal, then hold his finger to the wind and see how the market looks. He doesn’t need to be in any kind of hurry. But if there is a guy I can picture leaving a small fortune on the table to go play for a winning franchise, it’s Brand. He’s already made a ton of money. He’s found inroads in business and film production. He’s a smart, hardworking dude who, if he never made another nickel playing basketball, would be just fine financially. He’s a guy who “gets it.” And I can’t help but wonder, while he’d never complain publicly about it, if #42 is tired of putting up All-Star numbers in relative obscurity. If nothing else, I’m tired of him putting up All-Star numbers in relative obscurity.

Thus far, he hasn’t commented on anything other than his desire to get back out and play, a prospect that’s at least a couple months away. It’s just interesting to me that an opt-out looming even closer than Kobe’s on the L.A. hoops horizon isn’t getting much ink. Nobody talks about it. Maybe because, like I said, it’s assumed the Clips will wrap him up. And because Brand, unlike Kobe, hasn’t made an issue out of it. Or simply because the Clippers are so bad that nobody’s paying any attention to the outer workings, much less the inner. But should Brand decide to walk, the consequences for the Clippers could be dire.

Ironically, should Brand and Maggette opt out and the Clippers not pick up Shaun Livingston’s option, they’ll have about eleven dollars committed to their ‘08 cap. Okay, a little more than that, but after Chris Kaman, Cuttino Mobley, and Tim Thomas, nobody on the books for next season makes more than Brevin Knight’s $2 million. In fact, should the trio of Brand, Maggette, and Livingston all leave the picture, the Clippers will only have five players under contract for next season. Which would, of course, give them oodles of cap space to sign a premier FA.

You know, someone like Elton Brand.

Brian Kamenetzky hosts the Lakers Blog and Blue Notes: A Dodgers Blog for the LA Times.com. He’s a contributing writer to ESPN The Magazine and ESPN.com, and can be heard regularly on the Steve Mason Show, on 710 ESPN radio in LA. Write him at bk@sportshubla.com.

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