It might not seem real, but the various different reports surrounding the Lakers are painting a picture that they are jealous of the LA Clippers.
This isn’t something I really ever thought would happen, much less would it be something that I was so sure of that I needed to put it into words. The Los Angeles Lakers are jealous of the LA Clippers.
No, if you look at the two franchises’ histories, it doesn’t make one lick of sense. The Lakers are a storied franchise, owning the second most championships in league history (16 rings, if you haven’t been around a Lakers fan to remind you recently) and have had at least a fourth of the top-50 players all-time on their roster at one point or another.
The Clippers, on the other hand, are regarded as one of the most tormented and lackluster franchises in not just the NBA, but in sports history. Marred by poor ownership and owning exactly zero championships, the Clips have been called the JV Los Angeles team or at best, the little brother to the Lakers.
So why, after all these years, does it appear the Lakers want what the Clippers have?
Let’s step back and look at how we got to this point.
Throughout their rivalry, the Lakers dominated the Clippers. It wasn’t until 2013 that things really began to change. The Clips won their first division title and managed to look like a legitimate contender. The following season, Doc Rivers was hired and the Lakers faltered, missing the playoffs. LA won the season series every year after.
Enter LeBron James. The Lakers signed the premiere free agent of 2018 and many thought this would shift the rivalry back to the ways of the past. Mind you, the Clippers had no true superstar and many predicted they would miss the playoffs. An injury to James, followed by non-stop trade rumors, derailed the Lakers’ season and the Clips continued to plug along, even after dealing arguably their best player, Tobias Harris, at the trade deadline.
It’s almost a foregone conclusion that the “best team in LA” will be in the playoffs while the other sits at home figuring out how to put together a trade package for Anthony Davis and bring in another big name free agent to regain their dominance.
But wait. The Clippers are already regarded as the premiere choice for free agents this summer. (The truth behind this does remain to be seen) Adrian Wojnarowski has gone on TV to praise how well the organization is set up. The pieces are in place to make a big run in the summer, while the Lakers remain an uncertainty as many may be turned off by the drama surrounding LeBron. That’s gotta sting for the Lake Show, right?
The on the court product may be the source of some of the jealousy, but it seems to run even deeper. Just look at the news cycle from about the last week or so.
Jeanie Buss, the Lakers owner, was caught bad mouthing Steve Ballmer through emails, referring to him as “Ballz” and considering moving back to The Forum just to spite the Clips who are looking to build their own arena in Inglewood. Seems sort of petty for a team that supposedly has and always will run LA, doesn’t it?
"Jeanie Buss: Didn’t Ballz see what we did to my brother?? He will have nothing but Clippers basketball. Whoopee."
But that’s just it. He has Clippers’ basketball and everything that entails. He has Doc Rivers. You know, the coach the Lakers are now desperately wanting to acquire this season? Even though Luke Walton has garnered praise from Buss as recently as January, he still will most likely be fired when this season concludes. With a multitude of options out on the market, the Lakers still want what the “other team” has. That doesn’t really mesh with the whole “nothing but Clippers basketball” sentiment, now does it?
Furthermore, he has one of the top front offices in the NBA. While the Clippers are catching praise for how well run they are, the Lakers are starting to see the blame for their failures this season placed upon both Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka.
Did I mention that the Clippers’ front office has former Laker player and General Manager Jerry West? Yes, the very same Jerry West who wanted to re-join the Lakers in an advisory role but was turned down as he didn’t meet the “vision of the future”.
No, it’ll never be admitted by the team nor their fans, but it’s pretty obvious from this fan’s standpoint that the Lakers are jealous. If everything goes to plan this summer, the Clippers could be set up as a championship contender and the Lakers could be staring at a similar roster to what they have this season. The jealousy might just continue.