There's all kinds of rumors swirling around the Elton Brand to Philly deal right now. Did he dogpile Baron? Did the Clips issue an ultimatum? Is David Falk power hungry? Or does he just want his new baby to move closer to home? Lots of questions and very few answers exist at this moment too.

Which makes the following press conference -- a most outright, open and funny affair -- all the more bizarre. Highlights: Santa didn't bring "no gifts" (1:02), his "intention was to try and work out something with the Clippers ..." (1:30), the "Philly-max" (2:35) and Shaq as a "top five forward in the game" (4:00).



What's not mentioned though, and what you can see on the full press conference vid at Philly.com (scroll down) is Brand stating that he had no under the table handshake with Baron Davis to go to the Clippers, and that LA gave him an ultimatum and he didn't exactly dig that.

In other words, if you're willing to believe Elton Brand, this wasn't so much about external factors as it was a perfect storm of incompetence (Clipjoint), great marketing (Philly) and a personal attitude (Brand).

Via The700Level