Appreciating the best LA Clippers free agent not named Kawhi Leonard

Now that the dust has settled on the most exciting free agency period in LA Clippers history, I thought it was worth looking back to see how they got here.

It is no exaggeration to say that signing a player like Kawhi Leonard is franchise altering. For the LA Clippers it signifies a milestone, his signing marks the end of a less than successful era.

Now, this may seem strange considering the fact that the last eight seasons have seen the team finish above .500. Seven of those eight seasons they made the playoffs. By any measure, that is a successful eight year run. The LA Clippers, however, are not just any NBA franchise.

I hate to bring it up, but there was a time when the Clippers were, well, awful. Not just bad, but historically, laughably bad. It is precisely because of that history, that very long and painful history, that the eight year run seemed precarious. Even the most ardent Clippers fan enjoyed the last few seasons but with a wary eye to the future.

“Sure, they are good now and it’s exciting, but…”

When the NBA free agency period came around, that same feeling hit. Clippers fans were confident the very best player would sign with them. Or, he might not.

When NBA prognosticators began to share news of 99 percent certainty Leonard signs with the Toronto Raptors, Clippers fans accepted the inevitable defeat. When the pundits said the Clippers were out of the running for the best player in the Association, Clippers fans responded with a resigned shrug as they prepared for Plan B.

I have to admit that some fans stayed vigilant throughout, and to them I say, wow! You are a new breed of Clippers fan and deserve a special call out. You know who you are.

Most Clippers fans, however, not only weren’t shocked at the negative reports before the signing was announced, they were shocked when the signing was announced. A player of that quality, arguably the very best player in the Association chose the LA Clippers. Yes, he chose with a caveat, in this case Paul George is the caveat, but regardless, he chose the Clippers.

He chose the Clippers!

A franchise in the Association doesn’t just sign a player like this; doesn’t just attract a player like this, overnight. A lot had to happen within the franchise to get to this point. A lot has been written about the incredible transformation of the Clippers executive team led by Michael Winger, Lawrence Frank and Jerry West. Additionally, a lot has been written about the passionate chairman, Steve Ballmer. There is no doubt they had an impact in getting the franchise to this place, but when you take a step back and look at the history of this franchise one thing becomes clear.

The signing of Leonard started to become a possibility when the franchise made its first impactful free agent signing in 2005.

The trajectory of a franchise changes direction in the same way a cruise ship does, slow and methodically. Teams in most professional leagues do not go from bad to good in a season. Making matters worse, as pointed out earlier, the Clippers weren’t just bad, they were worse than that. A shift in direction was going to take time.

There are lots of ways to historically call out this shift, I am going to focus on free agent signings. One logical way to see how popular your team is would be to see who wants to play with you. The list of every free agent signing for the Clippers from 1984 to 2014 is a staggering 122 players! I admit, I was shocked at the number. After all, the Clippers weren’t exactly known as a destination or a franchise that paid well, back in the day. What becomes evident as you look closely at the list of those 122 players though is the type of player they were, which is what I want to call out.

Now, I am not including 10-day contracts, contracts that were matched or “basketball decision”. Elton Brand stayed with the Clippers after they matched his contract offer from the Miami Heat in 2003. Chris Paul came to the Clippers via the infamous “basketball decision”. The focus of this list is players who signed with the team when they had other options.

Let’s start with everyone from 1984-2004, a total of 76 players. Instead of listing them all for you I’ve pared-down the list to highlights of the most well-known as well as a few “nuggets”.

The group is peppered with players past their prime, like Glen Rice and Mark Aguirre. A lot of players even the biggest Clippers fan would have trouble pointing out of a lineup likeMike Batiste,Juaquin Hawkins, Alphonso Ford and several others not listed. In fact, this is the largest group of players of the 76 total, players only their momma could love.

Of course, there were some nuggets along the way. Bobby Simmons won Most Improved Player in the 2004-05 season. Olden Polynice and Quinton Ross were fan favorites. What’s missing, however, is a big-name free agent signing in his prime.

Between 1984 to 2004, the LA Clippers filled a squad because they had to. Nothing more.

Before we move on, I do have to call out some special signings, these guys are Clippers “nuggets”. Kiwane Garris played 31 games in the NBA, none for the Clippers. Logan Vander Velden played 15 total games for the franchise. He averaged 2.1 minutes played and a whopping 0.6 points per game. He is being called out here because Vander Velden was from Valders, Wisconsin. Yup, Vander Velden from Valders!

Finally, there’s Torgeir Bryn. Bryn’s NBA career consisted of three games. In those games he averaged a total of 3.3 minutes played and 1.3 points, four points total. What makes Bryn notable is that he is the only Norwegian NBA professional basketball player, ever. While his career in the Association wasn’t impactful, he is the most capped player for the Norway national basketball team with 111 matches.

Impressive, but he was no Kawhi Leonard.

While all the players above, listed and not listed, live on in Clippers lore, none rose to the prominence of a Leonard and the franchise had no realistic shot at landing anyone like him anytime soon. In fact, the list above is so inauspicious you may not have even noticed the fictional player I threw in there just to see if you noticed! Did you notice? Comment or tweet if you did.

The first 20 years in Los Angeles were more about the Clippers building teams to play, not necessarily to compete. All that changed in 2005. From 2005-2014 the franchise signed 46 free agents. Like before there are some on the list that are less than household names, but when you look past those you begin to see that some of these players signed over this stretch of time were more than hidden nuggets, they were actually really good players that were in demand!

The highlight list of 2005-14 signings follows.

Do you see the difference? This group contained some really good players in their prime! It all started with Cuttino Mobley on August 3, 2005. Cat was 30 yrs old and coming off a season where he averaged 17.8 ppg in Sacramento. He was a wanted free agent, coming off a big season in the prime of his career. Signings like that never happened before in Los Angeles, at least not for the LA Clippers.

His signing was a watershed moment, a milestone. It was a message to the league that things in the Clippers franchise were changing. Where free agents of the past chose the Clippers when all their other options dried up, free agents from this point forward could begin to actually consider the Clippers as a primary option.

It all started with Cat.

Mobley opened the door for Baron Davis who signed three years later. Davis set the stage for Jamal Crawford who came on board fours years after Davis. Each of those players were coming off great seasons, they were all in their prime and each had great success with the Clippers.

No, none of them were Kawhi Leonard, but without them the Clippers wouldn’t of been in a position to sign the Klaw. A lot went into this franchise altering signing. The executives, the caveat, a little bit of luck was no doubt included. I think it’s important to pull back and appreciate the other steps that got the LA Clippers to this place.

It all started with Cat.