Elton Brand said on Monday that he is opting out of the final year of his contract with the
Los Angeles Clippers, but that he hopes to re-sign with the team.
"We're opting out," Brand said. "It definitely doesn't mean I'm leaving the Clippers. We're trying to work it out. My intention is to stay."
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Brand
Brand is forgoing the $16.4 million on the last year of his deal, a final decision he made at Monday's deadline to notify the team and the league. Earlier in the day, teammate
Corey Maggette filed the paperwork to opt out of his contract, the Los Angeles Times reported, creating potentially $10 million of salary cap space if the Clippers do not re-sign him.
Brand's agent, David Falk, said the forward wants to see the Clippers sign a quality free agent and try to assemble a winning team in Los Angeles.
"It preserves options to make the team better," Falk said. "Clearly, if Elton decided he wanted to simply max out the dollars, he would have stayed in the deal, had a monster year and a lot more teams will have cap room next year."