Although the Clippers have not made an official announcement, Hall of Famer, Laker legend and NBA icon Elgin Baylor no longer is performing his duties as the team’s vice president of basketball operations and general manager.

“There’s a dispute going on,” Baylor said. “My attorney advised me not to discuss it.”

A NBA executive contacted Tuesday afternoon said he had been told that Baylor no longer was performing his job. Reportedly, legal representatives of the Clippers and Baylor are engaging in dialogue.

It is not known if Baylor resigned or was relieved of his duties. However, suspicion arose when the 74-year old Baylor was not at the Clippers’ new practice facility when training camp opened nor was he listed in any way in the team’s preseason media guide.

Asked about this omission, a team spokesman said that only the coaches’ bios were listed in the guide. However, that was untrue, because in addition to the coaches the director of player personnel, director of scouting, director of international scouting and team physician all were listed.

In addition to those individuals, the team’s athletic trainer, strength and conditioning coach, equipment manager and broadcast team all were listed.

When asked where Baylor was, the same team spokesman said he did not know but believed that Baylor was upstairs in his executive office.

Baylor, who was the NBA’s 2006 executive of the year, has been with the Clippers since 1986, when he was named to the position of vice president of basketball operations.

However, his responsibilities and involvement in team personnel decisions have eroded in the past several years, as head coach Mike Dunleavy has initiated the vast majority of trades and free-agent signings.

Baylor’s most significant decision in recent years was to select center Chris Kaman, who was drafted in 2003, with the sixth overall pick, a month before Dunleavy was hired as the coach.

It was Baylor, who also engineered the blockbuster draft night trade in 2001, when he acquired forward Elton Brand from the Chicago Bulls, in exchange for the draft rights to center Tyson Chandler.

Elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1976, Baylor was one of the league’s premier players during an llustrious 14-year career - entirely with the Lakers - in which he averaged 27.4 points and 13.5 rebounds.

In 1997, Baylor was picked as one of the NBA’s 50 greatest players of all-time.

Baylor’s No. 22 was retired by the Lakers and hangs in the rafters at Staples Center.

Posted in: Uncategorized |

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.