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5 Greatest What-Ifs in LA Clippers History

By Seth Kimbrell

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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Moses Malone
Moses Malone /

1. Moses Malone

This is the undisputed number 1 in the Clippers’ storied what-if history.

After the ABA-NBA merger, due to some draft weirdness (the Jazz had the rights to Malone but decided to take a draft pick instead of him), Moses Malone was up to be drafted.

He would be drafted by Portland, but they felt that there was redundancy between Moses and Maurice Lucas. Because of this, Moses was traded to the Buffalo Braves (who would eventually become the Los Angeles Clippers) for a first-round pick and some cash.

Somehow, with a PF/C rotation of Bob McAdoo, Tom McMillen, John Shumate, and Clyde Mays, the Braves were unable to find minutes for Moses Malone and sent him to Houston after playing 6 total minutes in 2 games.

Let me repeat that.

THE BRAVES PLAYED A 21-YEAR-OLD MOSES MALONE A TOTAL OF 6 MINUTES AND THEN TRADED HIM

I think that gets the point across. This hurts for a couple of reasons. First, we all know what Moses Malone became. He would play for 20 years, and as of today, he’s 5th all-time in rebounding, first in offensive rebounds (and it’s not close. 2566 offensive boards separate Moses and #2, Artis Gilmore).

3 time MVP. 1 time champion and Finals MVP. 12-time All-Star. Career averages (including some rough years at the end) of 20.6/12.2. A peak year of 31.1 points and 14.8 rebounds.

In other words, a capital A capital T capital G All-Time Great. And the Braves traded him away after playing him 6 minutes and deciding “eh, we don’t really have room for him on the team.”

It gets better though. When they traded him to Houston, the Braves got a 1977 first-round pick and a 1978 first-round pick in return.

Know whom the Braves selected in 1977 with that pick? Nobody. They traded it to the Warriors.

Know whom the Braves selected in 1978 with that pick? Nobody. They traded it to the Knicks, who took Michael Ray Richardson (two picks later, Larry Bird was taken by the Celtics).

So the Braves traded Moses away for effectively nothing. Yay!

It gets even better though. Remember the reason for Moses getting traded? That they couldn’t find any playing time for him?

Well, a big reason for that was Bob McAdoo, the star center for the team. And naturally, 2 months after trading Moses, the Braves traded McAdoo for John Gianelli (with career averages of 8 points and 6 rebounds per game) and cash

Suddenly, there’s a gaping hole at the big man position! A gaping hole that, I don’t know, the Chairman of the Boards could have stepped into and thrived.

At the very least, though, the Braves got some cash out of it. That’s what really wins championships. I know Sterling wasn’t the owner yet, but he had to be involved with this move somehow…

What do you think? Did we miss any big what-ifs? Let us know on Twitter!

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