Lawrence Frank
Just one month after Ballmer took ownership of the Clippers, Frank was hired to be Rivers’ assistant on L.A.’s bench. Two years later, he had moved from the bench to a suite, having been promoted to executive vice president. In 2017, Frank took over Rivers’ former post as president of basketball operations, the Clippers wanting the longtime head coach to focus on the x’s and o’s.
In his first season as the organization’s president, Los Angeles failed to reach the playoffs, breaking a six-year streak of consecutive postseason appearances. His first notable move as president was trading Chris Paul to the Houston Rockets. Then he sent Jamal Crawford away in a three-team deal with the Atlanta Hawks and Denver Nuggets. Ahead of the 2017-18 NBA deadline, he dealt Griffin to the Detroit Pistons.
These were the first transactions that should have illuminated that Frank’s too dismissive of chemistry and continuity as the foundations of a team culture. Paul, having joined the Clippers in 2011, was integral to Lob City’s construction. Crawford, a highly popular three-time Sixth Man of the Year, had played for them since 2012-13. Griffin, a cornerstone player, had been with the franchise since they drafted him first overall in 2009.
When L.A. fired Rivers in 2020, he “believed the team was undone by a lack of chemistry and leadership,” per Shelburne and Ohm Youngmisuk (ESPN). Ironically, Rivers also thought the team was in need of a true point guard.
