Written by Curtis Lo (@CLoading51)
Jerry West has been intrinsically linked with the NBA since the 1960s. From his superstar playing days with the Lakers, to becoming the literal logo of the NBA and finally in multiple successful basketball executive roles, championships and glory have followed West wherever he’s gone. As an executive, he’s been credited with the formation of two dynasties (potentially three given the events of this offseason), the first of which began with the signing of Shaquille O’Neal and the subsequent drafting of Kobe Bryant in 1996. O’Neal has consistently said that West played a pivotal role in his recruitment and the pair have formed a deep bond since. West has also been praised for the creation of the Warriors dynasty, due to the part he played in the drafting of Klay Thompson and recruitment of Kevin Durant. Such was his belief in Klay’s ability that West threatened to quit his job if Thompson was involved in a potential deal for Kevin Love in the summer of 2014. It’s fair to say that West made the correct decision.
Since West took on a consultant role with the Clippers in June of 2017, their front office, led by President of Basketball Operations Lawrence Frank and General Manager Michael Winger, gradually put together the building blocks of a quietly impressive team, accumulating key assets that have demonstrated their ability to plan for the future. Their first seismic move was to trade Chris Paul to the contending Houston Rockets, a shrewd trade that prevented the loss of an All-NBA performer for nothing. Acquiring the likes of Lou Williams, Montrezl Harrell and Patrick Beverley, as well as a 2018 first round pick, which was later dealt in a three-team deal that landed them Danilo Gallinari, led to the formation of a fringe playoff team.
However, West and company wasn’t done there. Over the following year, he began to disassemble the remaining core of the ‘Lob City’ Clippers, preferring the risk of a quick rebuild rather than safely hovering in NBA mediocrity. Prior to the 2018 February trade deadline, Blake Griffin was dealt to the Detroit Pistons, mere months after signing a 5-year $173 million max deal, for Tobias Harris, Avery Bradley, future crowd favourite Boban Marjanovic, a first round pick and a second round draft pick. DeAndre Jordan played in Clippers colours for the remainder of the 2017/18 season, then proceeded to opt out of his player option in June 2018 and sign with the Dallas Mavericks in free agency, officially ending the ‘Lob City’ era.
This first round pick from Detroit was later involved in a draft day pick exchange, landing the Clippers promising youngster Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Piece by piece, West helped transform a roster which had fully utilised its potential into an amalgamation of quality role players on trade-healthy contracts, promising youngsters on rookie-scale deals, picks and the occasional near-All-Star player (Harris). By doing so, the Clippers put themselves in a position of immense flexibility and their roster was brimming with possibilities. Would they use their larger, expiring salaries to take on more assets such as picks or young talent? Or do they bide their time and eventually hunt the inevitable next big fish who requests a trade? Or instead would they dip into the free agency pool using their growing cap space? The freedom to choose between various paths to success, whilst also residing in the cultural epicentre and superstar magnet that is the city of Los Angeles was and still is a mouth-watering prospect for the Clippers front office and owner Steve Ballmer.
In this past season, the performances of the Clippers and head coach Doc Rivers proved that the franchise was headed in the right direction. When the season began, the roster was talented without a doubt, but there was no clear All-Star calibre player and zero guarantee they would be in the playoff picture after enduring the gauntlet that is the Western Conference. However, their basketball team was the epitome of depth and strength in numbers. Players such as Tobias Harris and Danilo Gallinari stepped up and shone in featured roles, with Harris putting up All-Star level numbers (20.9PPG, 7.9RPG, 2.7APG prior to 7/2/19), while Shai Gilgeous-Alexander showed flashes of being a future All-Star point guard. The Clippers continued to maximise their assets and maintain flexibility, by shipping Tobias Harris, Boban Marjanovic and Mike Scott to the Philadelphia 76ers for Wilson Chandler, Landry Shamet, Mike Muscala and most importantly, Miami’s unprotected 2021 first-rounder and two future second-rounders in early February. Muscala was later flipped to the Lakers for young center Ivica Zubac. Most importantly, the Clippers were able to remain firmly in the playoff picture for most of the season, even leading the Western Conference for a period during November. The Clippers ended their season as the 8th seed and stole two games in the first round from the Golden State juggernaut West was critical in building.
While Harris was performing at an elite level, he was due to hit the free agent market at the end of the year. By moving him, the Clippers were able to obtain significant assets rather than lose him for nothing at the end of the season. Due to their not-so-subtle plans to pursue Kawhi and other superstars in the summer, they would not have had enough cap room to retain Harris at the near-max price which his play warranted. Another benefit was the unexpected production and development of Landry Shamet. Every NBA team loves finding diamonds in the rough, and Shamet has undoubtedly become one to keep an eye on. Shamet spent the second half of the year gaining valuable experience in Doc River’s team, playing 27.8 minutes per game for the Clippers. He was scorching from behind the arc, hitting 45% of his triples on 6.0 attempts per game. As a rookie, he was able to cement himself as a key rotation piece, starting in nearly every game that he suited up for the Clippers, including the playoffs. As a team with championship aspirations this year, having young, skilled contributors on cheap rookie-scale contracts is a tremendous boost.
Through results on the court and by building a strong organisational reputation, the Clippers were able to convince the biggest free agent on the market that they were the organisation for him. Some may argue that Kawhi was always going to come home to Los Angeles, but the Clippers still needed to out-compete the Lakers. While the Lakers tried to sell Kawhi on teaming up with LeBron and Davis, the Clippers appealed to Kawhi’s desire to lead a team and build something new, rather than just be another head on the next super-team. The Lakers have such a rich history of superstars, from West himself, to Wilt, Kareem, Magic, Shaq, Kobe and more. If Kawhi had joined the Lakers, he would’ve been another Lakers legend, lost in a sea of all-time greats. But with the Clippers, he has the opportunity to be the leader of their first championship team, to upstage the Lakers and rewrite history in a way that never would’ve been possible whilst wearing the purple and gold.
However, before Kawhi signed on the dotted line, he had one request: Get me Paul George. Originally, Kawhi tried to recruit Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, but after both decided to join the Brooklyn Nets, Leonard turned his attention to fellow California native Paul George. The price the Clippers gave up for George was steep; the deal included Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Danilo Gallinari, five first round picks and two pick swaps, but the Clippers front office understood that they were not just trading for Paul George, but also for Kawhi and for relevancy. If they failed in their pursuit, the Clippers would’ve fallen back into NBA mediocrity – not really contending but not really rebuilding either. If you were to ask any NBA franchise whether they’d be willing to give half-a-decade of first round picks for the opportunity to immediately be a title contender, the smart ones would say yes in a heartbeat. Think about how long the likes of Sacramento, Orlando and Minnesota have suffered through the lottery – what do they have to show for it? What are the chances that any of those future picks turns into someone even 80% as talented as a prime Kawhi Leonard? For once-in-a-generation guys like Kawhi, you risk it all.
This franchise has floundered in mediocrity for the majority of its existence, but having West, Ballmer, Frank and Winger at the helm has been a breath of fresh air. Building on the momentum of the ‘Lob City’ years, the Clippers have morphed from ‘the ugly duckling’ of the Los Angeles basketball franchises into a genuine threat for the years to come.
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