Perception is everything in business. It is what drives the growth and destroys the potential of any franchise. And for decades, it is what made the Los Angeles Clippers an utterly undesirable location for players and fans. The team was bad and perception was even worse.
They were the middle child in a family full of superstars, the afterthought in a city that already had a team, and a franchise that almost did not care to be any better than that. Escaping from the type of apathy that is usually reserved for grape-flavored candy requires a monumental event.
Usually, this event is something fantastic like a championship. For the Clippers, it was the exact inverse: a major scandal that made the Clippers look woeful and the league look heroic. The Clippers owner and the main reason for the franchise’s misery was ushered out, and a new and excited owner took his place: Steve Ballmer.
Ballmer’s presence not only gave them a new face but gave them life. Instead of this being just another chapter in a series of unfortunate events, he took the opportunity to completely rebrand.
He began by changing the Clippers logo and relieving Doc Rivers of his duties as vice president of basketball operations while keeping him as a head coach and hiring Lawrence Frank to replace him. He then made safe-for-women dating app “Bumble” their new jersey patch, bringing the iconic Jerry West on as a consultant, and most recently, hiring sportswriter Lee Jenkins as the new Executive Director of Research & Identity.
Doc Rivers acknowledged to Def Pen Hoops that the difference in the team is apparent in its staff: “The second year he was new, so he let us hire a couple of people. Then last year he let us hire a bunch of people. Steve Ballmer was the guiding force … We had 4 people upstairs (in the front office) and now we have 20.”
Lawrence Frank exclusively described to Def Pen Hoops how much the Clippers have changed since Ballmer arrived in Los Angeles. “It’s night and day. Steve is emphatic about doing things our way and has spared no expense in investing in our ability to do so.”
This investment takes shape in the guys who now serve as the face of the Clippers. Doc is one of those people. He may have already been in Los Angeles when the scandal swept through the organization, but it is unclear if he would have stayed if not for Ballmer’s energizing presence. This proved crucial, as many players indicated that Doc is the main reason players are beginning to view this team differently.
Lou Williams said Doc was a coach “a lot of players believe in and respect,” and Marcin Gortat called him a “great coach and leader.”
This steadying presence along with Ballmer’s focus on greatness is then what enticed one of the most respected NBA people in the league to join a team once veiled in unpopularity. Jerry West, per the Clippers media department, said this of Ballmer: “I really do believe in ownership a lot, and this is one unique man. It is fun to be around him. He is miserable when he loses, so am I. I hate losing. And he does want to provide the best experience. Being around him is a breath of fresh air. He is like this all the time.”
With these four men now in place, a team that used to be totally content with staying stagnant now had direction. A direction that has been completely clear since the beginning.
“We want a roster full of guys that are competitive, hard-nosed, tough-minded and that are driven and relentless, while still maintaining team-building flexibility going forward,” Lawrence Frank said exclusively to Def Pen Hoops. “We are always planning for the future and we have created this flexibility to both work with the guys who are currently on our roster, and to have the opportunity to attract some of the top players the world.”
Ballmer echoed a similar sentiment, per the Clippers media department: “I want us to be a team that is tough-minded. Tough-minded. Tough-minded. That’s who [we] need to be. That’s who I think our fans are[, and] that’s one thing that I am. We are going to do absolutely what it takes. We are going to find a way to be what we want to be, we are going to find a way to create a future. We are going to find a way to define our own legacy.”
The players that populate the roster now exemplify this desire for hard-nosed and tough players. This is a large reason why Lee Jenkins was brought on: to identify players that are not only good on the court but fit the culture that is being created.
“We want to continue to build an elite organization through the retention and acquisition of players that embody the key ‘Clippers’ characteristics we look for when evaluating talent,” said Lawrence Frank. Jenkins will help facilitate this desire because they believe he is quite adept at recognizing and understanding personalities. Thinking that his vast experience making that very thing his unspoken job will translate to matching personalities, not just identifying them.
All of this, plus what Doc describes as “a thousand moves,” has turned the Los Angeles Clippers into a destination players, like Kawhi Leonard and Jimmy Butler, want to be. Players who, even six years ago, may have been turned off by joining the Clippers, now actively want to be there.
Not only is this now a possibility because of their altered perception but because of what their focused direction brings them: flexibility. The Clippers will have over $40 million in cap space next offseason. They have found a way to be competitive while remaining a threat to acquire any star that may suddenly become disgruntled.
Players have an opportunity, as the Clippers see it, to build their own unique legacy in the best city in the world. The Clippers have always been a team in Los Angeles, but now they are finally marketing themselves as one.
