{"id":308,"date":"2016-09-02T14:00:06","date_gmt":"2016-09-02T19:00:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonprobasketball.com\/?p=308"},"modified":"2016-09-04T14:06:12","modified_gmt":"2016-09-04T19:06:12","slug":"los-angeles-clippers-biggest-mistake","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2016\/09\/02\/los-angeles-clippers-biggest-mistake\/","title":{"rendered":"The Los Angeles Clippers Biggest Mistake in the Past Ten Years"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mistakes happen. We sleep in a little too late or we forget to do a project. But for us, mistakes are simply, just that \u2013 mistakes. For the thirty NBA<\/strong> teams, mistakes cost them, potentially, tens of millions of dollars, a playoff appearance, or even a championship. They have been riddled throughout history. It can be draft picks (Blazers fans know what this is like), it can be free agency (can I get an amen from Knicks fans?), or it can be virtually anything else (in the case of the Kings, EVERYTHING ELSE). Thus, we present the worst mistakes from each NBA team over the past ten years.<\/em><\/p>\n

The Los Angeles Clippers Biggest Mistake in the Past Ten Years<\/h2>\n

Many people\u00a0think of the Los Angeles Clippers<\/strong> as a\u00a0pretty good team. Things seem stable post the Donald Sterling<\/strong> era, and the ship has been navigating through calmer waters. They are contenders with legitimate aspirations of winning the NBA title. The Clippers have decent defense, great offense, and are a good team all-around.<\/p>\n

The Beginning of the Mistake<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The single biggest and\u00a0worst\u00a0mistake the Clippers made in the past decade was hiring Glenn \u201cDoc\u201d Rivers as Senior Vice President of Basketball Operations and head coach. Make no mistake;\u00a0Doc Rivers<\/a><\/strong> is a fantastic coach. He has been successful in that regard throughout his tenure. First, he made Orlando relevant and was awarded Coach of the Year<\/strong>\u00a0back in 2000. He then moved on to the Boston Celtics<\/strong>, where he led the team,\u00a0in the 2007-08 season, to its\u00a0first title since 1986. He was then acquired by the\u00a0L.A. Clippers via trade in 2013, in exchange for a first round pick. The problem with the hiring of Rivers lies in his other role, rather than his position as head\u00a0coach.<\/p>\n

The Real Mistake<\/strong><\/h3>\n

After the Sterling fiasco came to a head in 2014, new owner Steve Ballmer<\/strong> promoted Rivers to President of Basketball Operations to go along with his coaching duties.\u00a0Rivers’\u00a0record of acquisitions is interesting, to say the least.<\/p>\n

Draft Problems<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Let\u2019s start with Rivers\u00a0drafting C.J. Wilcox<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0with the 28th overall pick in 2014, despite\u00a0Jordan Clarkson<\/a><\/strong> still being on the board. Wilcox is no longer with the team, while Clarkson is thriving for the other Los Angeles franchise.\u00a0In 2013, the Clippers had no first round pick, due to the compensation to the Celtics as part of the Rivers acquisition. Rivers has yet to make a successful draft selection\u00a0in his time with the Clippers.<\/p>\n

Stubbornness in the Front Office<\/strong><\/h4>\n

It was reported on ESPN<\/strong>\u00a0that the Clippers have\u00a0one of the smallest front offices in the entire league. The Clippers are\u00a0said to have little interest in advanced analytics as they relate to\u00a0basketball, as well.<\/p>\n

Doc, what are you doing?<\/strong><\/h4>\n

But the real issue with Rivers has been\u00a0his\u00a0roster\u00a0acquisitions. Start with the re-signing of forward\u00a0Matt Barnes<\/a><\/strong> for reasons unknown. How about Stephen Jackson<\/a><\/strong>, who played just nine games for L.A. before being waived? Or Antawn Jamison<\/a><\/strong>? Hedo Turkoglu<\/a><\/strong>? Danny Granger<\/a><\/strong>, for what exactly? Rivers re-acquired Jeff Green<\/a><\/strong> and Glen \u2018Big Baby\u2019 Davis<\/strong>, both of whom played for him in Boston. Evidently, once a player has\u00a0played for Rivers, Rivers\u00a0is\u00a0willing to re-sign him. Just ask the washed-up Paul Pierce<\/a><\/strong> and Ryan Hollins<\/a><\/strong>. Rivers\u00a0continued his errors with his\u00a0acquisition\u00a0of Lance Stephenson<\/a><\/strong> from the Charlotte Hornets<\/strong>, only to then trade Stephenson,\u00a0along with a future first round pick, to the Memphis Grizzlies<\/strong>\u00a0in exchange for Green. That was a total waste of time and assets.<\/p>\n

Of course, the coup de gr\u00e2ce, the proverbial straw that broke the camel\u2019s back, was the acquisition and re-signing of Austin Rivers<\/a><\/strong>. Unless you\u2019ve been living under a rock, you are aware that Austin Rivers is the son of Doc Rivers. The younger Rivers, though talented, has\u00a0yet to blossom into the NBA talent that scouts predicted him to be when he was\u00a0a lottery pick years ago. Nepotism is real, and society doesn’t generally take too kindly to it. In describing President Doc Rivers, the word incompetent may\u00a0come to mind.<\/p>\n

Not Everything’s Been Bad<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Now, there\u2019s been a few good things. The Clippers re-signed Chris Paul<\/a><\/strong> in 2013. They also acquired J.J. Redick<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0that same year, in what was an excellent trade for them. They\u2019ve kept veteran sixth man Jamal Crawford<\/a><\/strong> through the years, and he’s been a solid contributor for them. The Clippers may have the best starting lineup in the league, but their bench, with the exception of Crawford, is as bare as Old Mother Hubbard\u2019s cupboard. Of course, we cannot forget the farcical DeAndre Jordan<\/a><\/strong> signing. Mark Cuban<\/strong> is still upset over that. There\u2019s an emoji somewhere to illustrate it. The Wesley Johnson<\/a><\/strong> signing was\u00a0mind-boggling, as well.<\/p>\n

The Results<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Doc Rivers the coach has gotten precious little help from Doc Rivers the President. As a coach, his pedigree is unquestioned, but as a front office leader, Rivers\u00a0has obviously failed. All of the Western Conference<\/strong> contenders have strengthened their rosters this off-season (save for the\u00a0Oklahoma City Thunder<\/strong>, who lost Kevin Durant<\/a><\/strong>), except the Clippers. Why do you think that is? This off-season, there was a major salary cap increase. So much so, that the best team in the conference acquired the best player in the conference via free agency. Why were the Clippers unable to make a move? Could it be that they have no assets to trade? Have they exhausted all options available to them as a team? It all leads to back to Rivers.<\/p>\n

The Ultimate Consequence<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Leading the Houston Rockets 3\u20131 in the 2015 Western Conference Semi-finals<\/strong>, the Clippers found a way to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory in Game 5. The team was mentally and physically manhandled by the Houston\u00a0Rockets<\/strong> and proceeded to lose the series in seven games. L.A.’s pitiful bench was exposed throughout the latter half of the series. In 2016, the Clippers were knocked out in the first round by the upstart Portland Trail Blazers<\/strong>. The saga continues, as does Rivers’ Los Angeles tenure.<\/p>\n

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Main photo:<\/p>\n

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Embed from Getty Images<\/a><\/div>\n