As the new NBA season gets underway, the Clippers have more reasons to long for days past than look forward to the future.
Earlier this offseason, the franchise got hammered with penalties by the NBA for circumventing the cap to pay Kawhi Leonard more money than was legally permitted. It marked the end of a year-long investigation and the consequences were severe. Owner Steve Ballmer was banned from NBA activities for a year, the team got slapped with a huge fine and multiple executives were suspended. But the most significant of them all? Los Angeles will be stripped of five first-round picks, starting in 2028 and running through 2033.
The conclusion of the investigation cleared the way for the organization to trade Leonard to the Raptors, bringing a much-hyped but ultimately disappointing era to an end. It also marks the beginning of a long journey to get out of the shadow of the cap circumvention scandal.
It would be fair for diehard fans to reminisce over the Lob City days rather than anticipate what the coming seasons might look like with a league-mandated draft pick drain looming like a storm cloud. And that’s what bums Blake Griffin out the most, as he shared with Sports Illustrated ahead of the Oct. 20 premiere of his new show, The Stepback With Blake Griffin.
Griffin earned five All-Star selections while with Los Angeles, establishing a reputation for one of the game’s greatest in-game dunkers and an elite scoring talent. Along with Chris Paul and DeAndre Jordan, he shepherded the franchise to its best stretch ever—a streak of six consecutive playoff appearances that featured three series wins. It was an era of Clippers basketball that birthed the generation of fans who are now looking down the barrel of losing seasons without the usual cushion of first-round picks waiting at the end of a down year.
“Obviously it’s a huge bummer,” the longtime Clippers star said. “I think the thing that I keep coming back to is, I’m really bummed for Clippers fans. I’m still living here in L.A. and being out and about and just running into Clippers fans all the time, like, you talk about a loyal fan base. That franchise hasn't had a lot to really celebrate in terms of championships or huge postseason runs. I just feel bad for the fans.
“But you’ll get through this next 5 years. And at the end of the day, when I got drafted by the Clippers, Donald Sterling was notoriously one of the worst owners (in the NBA) and also notoriously cheap. Some Clippers fans have experienced that end of the spectrum.
“Then Steve (Ballmer) is coming in and revamping everything, new arena, paying maybe a little too much for players. But I mean, if you’re a fan, I’d want my owner doing everything possible. Within the rules, but doing everything possible (to succeed). So they get through these five years and then I hope that they get back to that place because that's what Clippers fans deserve.”
The franchise found itself under fire yet again shortly thereafter when it was revealed Bradley Beal would wear the No. 3 jersey for the upcoming season—the same number Paul wore during his own All-Star years with the Clippers.
The star point guard known as “CP3” was one of the best players to ever suit up for this L.A. franchise but things ended poorly between the two sides; Paul signed with the Clippers for a farewell tour of sorts last season but was suddenly sent home in December, ending his storied NBA career quite abruptly. The Clippers were slammed for disrespecting Paul again by letting Beal wear No. 3, with many fans calling for the number to be retired instead.
Beal seemed to respond to the controversy in a social media post, calling Paul a “legend” whose “HISTORY and BRAND can’t be touched, nor erased!!”
Griffin agreed with the sentiment despite how Paul’s time with Los Angeles came to an end last year.
“How Chris exited was obviously disappointing, I think, for him and the fans,” he said. “It doesn't take away from that No. 3 with Paul on the back. That's the jersey, you know what I mean? I think a lot of fans would love to see that number retired.”
Which begs the question: would the Clippers retire Griffin’s own No. 32 jersey, one of the most iconic in the organization’s history? It hasn’t happened yet, but nobody has donned the number since he was traded back in 2018. For his part, Griffin said the organization hasn’t indicated to him there are plans to retire a jersey, but he doesn’t think he’d be involved in the decision anyway.
“To me jersey retirements are a fan and an organization thing,” the former NBA star said. “More so an organization thing, obviously, but I'm not gonna be, like, campaigning myself. I don't plan to go outside of Intuit Dome and be like, ‘Retire 32! Come on, guys. Come on, who's with me?’ Obviously it would be a huge honor, but… I think they're figuring some stuff out.”
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