Clipperholics
Fansided

The Clippers Are Re-Branding, Not Rebuilding

By Joseph Raya-Ward

PLAYA VISTA, CA- JUNE 19: Lawrence Frank, Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations, and Head Coach Doc Rivers of the Los Angeles Clippers name Jerry West as Special Consultant at a press conference in Playa Vista, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2016 NBAE (Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images)
PLAYA VISTA, CA- JUNE 19: Lawrence Frank, Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations, and Head Coach Doc Rivers of the Los Angeles Clippers name Jerry West as Special Consultant at a press conference in Playa Vista, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2016 NBAE (Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

While many think the Los Angeles Clippers are rebuilding, it has become apparent that they are not. Instead, they are re-branding.

The Los Angeles Clippers hired Jerry West as a consultant on June 19, 2017. The team, seemingly going against conventional wisdom, did not start a “rebuild” that day, instead beginning a process of re-branding. Much like a company attempting to emerge from the other side of a scandal, the Clippers have been trying to shed their reputation as the NBA’s “cursed” franchise.

Even though they are coming off of their most successful stint in team history, the Clippers are still much maligned across the NBA landscape. Winners of 21 of their last 24 against the Lakers, they are still firmly in the shadow of their Staples Center counterparts, considered a second rate franchise. The lingering stench of the Sterling years refuses to go away. Lakers’ fans still clamor for the Clippers to “get out of their city.”

What has the new regime done as a response?

They have allowed Chris Paul, the Clippers all time leader in win shares, to take his talents to Houston, and, after promising he would be a Clipper for life, traded Blake Griffin to the Detroit Pistons. JJ Reddick left in free agency, shrouded in minor controversy. DeAndre Jordan finally found his way to Dallas. Austin Rivers, one of the focal points of league wide mockery directed toward the team, has finally been separated from his father with a trade this off-season to Washington. Doc Rivers was stripped of his title of President of Basketball Operations after a frustrating stint filled with questionable decision making. All of the pieces from a team that was at one point excitedly proclaimed “Lob City” are gone. So too, for now, are the Clippers hopes for true yearly contention.

More from Clipperholics

Why then, after the an era that made them somewhat legitimate, strip the team bare of all the talent that carried it to prominence? While fans and pundits around the league clamor for the Clippers to join the yearly initiative to tank for high draft picks, the new front office is more interested in reshaping the culture around the team. Even though the Clippers were wildly successful during the Chris Paul era, they were also the subject of rampant ridicule and frustration.

Slowly they became considered prima donnas, complaining to referees over every call, frustrating both players and spectators across the country. Even though they started as a darling, high-flying, exciting act, most games devolved into a slog, awash with break downs and disappointment.

The current front office seems determined to have the team remembered for something different in advance of the star-studded 2019 free agent class. They want to create a culture of hard work and winning “the right way”, eschewing the petulant style that came to define Clipper basketball for the last 6 years. They also want their players to be liked, demonstrated by starting an online series, Bobi + Tobi, centered around the friendship between Tobias Harris and Boban Marjanovic.

This new outlook may explain why they have not acted desperately in their pursuit of Jimmy Butler, who carries his own baggage in terms of team chemistry. Butler has either been directly or indirectly involved with unhealthy locker room atmospheres on both professional teams he has been a part of. The team wisely seems skeptical of tying their future to a player that may bring along a similar culture of negativity that they have so deftly worked to rectify.

For Clippers fans, there may be a desperation to quickly return to the upper echelon of the Western Conference, after having drifted between mediocrity and embarrassment for the better part of the franchise’s existence. However, patience is key to a full change in perception of the team around the league. The Clippers could potentially have two max-salary slots available next year. California has passed legislation to fast track the team’s new stadium that is hopefully set to open by the end of their current Staples Center lease. Slowly but surely, the team can begin to emerge from the Lakers’ shadow in a market that is assuredly large enough to support both teams.

Next. Clippers' Social Media Team is Innovating. dark

Desperation will only compound the uphill battle the franchise faces. Much like the 76ers, the Clippers have to “Trust the Process” if they want a true, accepted rise to prominence in the not so distant future. The team is rightly playing the long game, trusting a group of high character players to create a new brand of Clippers basketball. Hopefully, this re-branding will attract the type of stars that they will need to bring legitimacy to the NBA’s haunted franchise.

Home/Clippers News