Clipperholics
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LA Clippers: Best and Worst Transactions of the last 10 years

By Nathan Jacobo

LOS ANGELES, CA - DECEMBER 19: A view of the court at Staples Center during the game between the LA Clippers and the Houston Rockets on December 19, 2019 at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, 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 2019 NBAE (Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - DECEMBER 19: A view of the court at Staples Center during the game between the LA Clippers and the Houston Rockets on December 19, 2019 at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, 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 2019 NBAE (Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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LA Clippers Jerry West
LA Clippers Jerry West (Photo by Allen Berezovsky/Getty Images) /

2017-2018

Best Move: Hiring Jerry West

Owner Steve Ballmer had enough of his team under-performing. His first move was to strip Doc Rivers’s title of Senior VP of Basketball Ops, instead wanting Doc to focus solely on coaching.

Ballmer would revamp the Front-Office by first naming Lawrence Frank the new President of Basketball Operations.

He later hired former Oklahoma City Thunder assistant GM Michael Winger, Cleveland Cavaliers assistant GM Trent Redden and topped it off by adding former Golden State Warrior Executive Jerry West to be a Senior Consultant.

West in his previous Front-Office roles was known for drafting, luring and prying away top talent to join whatever team he was working for at the time.

For the Lakers, West traded for Kobe Bryant and got Shaquille O’Neal to wear the purple and gold. Leaving the Lakers for the Grizzlies, he helped developed players such as Pau Gasol and Jason Williams. He also hired Hubie Brown who would win Coach of the Year in 2004.

In 2011, West helped rebuild the Golden State Warriors, pleading for the team to draft guard Klay Thompson. West would help build one of the most terrifying teams that the league has seen when he helped close the deal on securing All-NBA forward Kevin Durant.

West would leave the Warriors to join the LA Clippers in 2017 as he felt like his job was complete in Golden State.

What has West helped the Clippers with? He might say he doesn’t have a voice but here are the deals that “The Logo” had his name written all over it.

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Honorable Mention for Best Move

  • The tear-down of Lob City

Just days after the arrival of Jerry West, he convinced the Front-Office that giving Paul a full-max contract wouldn’t be a wise move.

Chris Paul opted-into the final year of his contract but sought to be traded to the Houston Rockets, hoping to sign a full-max deal with them the following season.

On June 28th, 2017, the Lob City era was officially over. Chris Paul was traded to the Houston Rockets for Patrick Beverley, Lou Williams, Montrezl Harrell, Sam Dekker, and a 2018 1st-Rd Pick.

Beverley, Williams, and Harrell remain a key part of the Clippers core and identity today while the Rockets would end up trading Paul to the Oklahoma City Thunder for Russell Westbrook.

Since the Clippers acquired Lou Williams, this meant that Jamal Crawford’s time as a Clipper was through as well. They traded him in a three-team deal that landed the Clippers forward Danilo Gallinari.

With Chris Paul gone now, the Clippers re-signed forward Blake Griffin to a 5-yr/$173 million deal that he and the team felt would make him a “Clipper for life”.

Halfway through the season, the Clippers dealt with so many injuries that they had three G-League players get heavy minutes (Jamil Wilson, C.J. Williams, and Tyrone Wallace).

Seeing his injury history get worse, the Clippers shocked the basketball world and traded Blake Griffin along with Willie Reed and Brice Johnson to the Pistons for Tobias Harris, Avery Bradley, Boban Marjanovic and two 2nd-Rd picks.5

The last remaining member of Lob City in DeAndre Jordan, would leave in the off-season and finally join the Dallas Mavericks.

Worst Move: Signing Milos Teodosic

Many scouts and experts sensed that Teodosic wanted to make the jump to the NBA after playing many years in the Euro-league. Milos was widely-regarded and coveted for his play-making skills and shooting.

Standing at 6’5, Teodosic was a tall guard that electrified the crowd with his passing. The Clippers believed that he could fill in the void left by Chris Paul.

Teodosic signed a 2-yr/$12 million deal with the Clippers and started alongside guard Patrick Beverley in the season-opener against the Lakers.

Teodosic would get injured in the second game and deal with a plantar fascia injury that derailed him for the rest of the season.

When he was healthy he provided a spark offensively but defensively opposing teams exposed him since he was slow and couldn’t recover quickly off screens.

The following season, the Clippers drafted two guards in the lottery that led to a log-jam at the guard position. Frustrated with the lack of playing time, Milos requested to be released by the team.

The Clippers would end up paying the rest of Teodosic’s $6 million salary for the remainder of the 2018-19 season.

Honorable Mention for Worst Move

Dekker was a 6’9 forward acquired in the Chris Paul deal that had the perfect length and size to handle opposing forwards in the NBA, there was only problem: he couldn’t shoot.

Because he couldn’t shoot, his only role offensively was to continuously use backdoor cuts to get an easy look at the rim.

The only reason Dekker was even on the floor in the first place was because the Clippers were hampered by so many injuries they had no choice but to play him.

Thought of as a key piece when they acquired him, the Clippers quickly cut ties with him in the off-season, trading him to the Cavaliers.

Dekker is now out of the NBA.