There will likely be many books and “30 for 30”-style documentaries done on what could’ve been for the Clippers during the Lob City era, and from the sound of things, it seems like there are still some regrets over how everything happened.
During a recent appearance on Zach Lowe’s podcast “The Lowe Post,” New Orleans Pelicans guard JJ Redick reflected on just how good those Clippers teams were with Chris Paul, Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan, and how it’s still insane that they could never win a title.
“We’ve all just been like ‘man we really f—– that up,'” Redick said. “We had a chance to win and there were these small little cracks and fractures and we didn’t repair and address them the way we should’ve. I look back and think, ‘how did that team not win one championship?’ We did not do a great job of not being annoyed by each other.”
The drama of that Clippers team has been well documented over the years, from the constant bickering between Chris Paul and DeAndre Jordan, which nearly pushed Jordan to sign with the Dallas Mavericks in free agency, to Blake Griffin breaking his hand after punching an equipment manager. They remained in the headlines for better or worse and while they were a fun and exciting team to watch, they could never even get to the Western Conference finals.
Redick said he’s talked to most of his former teammates from his time on the Clippers and they all share the same sentiment, that they wish they handled things differently considering the amount of talent that was on that team.
“I’ve thought about it a ton what I would’ve done differently both individually and to help the team,” Redick said via “The Lowe Post.” I had a conversation with Doc [Rivers] when we played them last year and cleared the air on some things. I had CP on the podcast in March and he and I chatted for an hour and a half. DJ and I have talked, Jamal [Crawford] and I have talked and I know Matt [Barnes] has said this a bunch publicly.”
Even though the Clippers are far removed from the Lob City era with Kawhi Leonard and Paul George set to kick off a new age in Clippers basketball, those days of a Chris Paul lob to Jordan and Griffin were some of the most exciting days in franchise history and transformed the franchise from bottom of the barrel to a serious title contender — if not the favorites — heading into the 2019-20 season.
