The Los Angeles Clippers, for much of its existence, have been one of the most terrible teams in the entire NBA. Nevertheless, even a broken clock is right twice a day — and the Clippers, for all of their ineptitude over the years, have nailed some of their signings in free agency. One particular move stands out as a franchise-altering one, and it's not too difficult for any Clippers fan to decipher what that is.
But on that note, it'll be interesting to take a look back and see which other free agency pickups have been the most impactful in Clippers history.
(For the purposes of this list, players who were acquired by the team via draft or trade who decided to re-sign with the team won't be considered for inclusion. It's important to note, however, that the list would be more stacked if they were considered for inclusion. The Clippers managed to re-sign the likes of Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, DeAndre Jordan, Elton Brand, and other players whom many consider as some of the best to ever play for the franchise.)
10. Baron Davis
In terms of sheer talent alone, Baron Davis deserves a higher spot on this list. Coming off the best season of his career with the Golden State Warriors, the Clippers splashed the cash in 2008, inking Davis to a five-year, $65 million deal, bolstering the team in the aftermath of Elton Brand's move to the City of Brotherly Love.
However, Davis simply did not have the best of impacts in a Clippers uniform. Struggling with injuries and poor form, Davis dropped off drastically from his strong 2007-08 campaign. His points average dropped off by nearly seven points, while his efficiency tanked miserably, approaching Killian Hayes levels.
Making matters worse, the Clippers had to give up an unprotected first-round pick just to get out from underneath Baron Davis' contract in 2011. That pick ended up being Kyrie Irving. Alas, the rationale behind the decision to sign Davis was a sound one — it just didn't work out as well as it could have, especially when Davis was supposed to be in the prime of his career when he moved to LA.
9. Isaiah Hartenstein
Isaiah Hartenstein spent just one season in a Clippers uniform, and he did so during a tumultuous time for the team. Nonetheless, Hartenstein still did well enough in his lone season in LA to warrant a placement on this list.
Hartenstein was an incredible depth piece for the team behind starting center Ivica Zubac. His skillset made watching the Clippers' second unit fun, as he loved to run dribble handoffs and he loved making smart dishes from the high post. And to top it all off, he was also an imposing, if foul-prone, presence on the defensive end, capable of multiple kinds of pick-and-roll coverages.
To this day, Clippers fans still rue the fact that the team let Isaiah Hartenstein walk just so they could sign an over-the-hill John Wall, a player who didn't even last a full season with the squad. At least, they now have Mason Plumlee to fill the team's Hartenstein-sized void.
8. Matt Barnes
The Lob City Clippers never quite figured out their small forward situation, which precluded them from becoming genuine championship contenders in the early 2010s. But at the very least, Matt Barnes did his job to the best of his abilities after the team picked him up in 2012.
Barnes spent three seasons as a crucial member of a Clippers team that sorely needed some 3 and D depth on the wing. During those years, Barnes averaged 10.1 points and 4.5 rebounds on 35 percent shooting from deep. He was certainly useful for the team, but underqualified in terms of what the team needed to compete with the best teams in the NBA.
7. Bobby Simmons
A rare Clippers success story in the early 2000s, Bobby Simmons burst onto the scene for the team in 2005 after three lackluster seasons to begin his career. Simmons, in 2005, averaged 16.4 points and 5.9 rebounds per game on solid efficiency from the field, winning Most Improved Player in the process.
The best part about the Clippers' addition of Simmons is that they picked him up for a bargain-bin price of $1.4 million for two years, including just $825,000 ($1.28 million when adjusting for inflation today) during his award-winning season. And then the team knew exactly when to cut him loose, allowing him to sign with the Milwaukee Bucks in 2005 on a five-year, $47 million deal. Simmons would proceed to have a solid 2005-06 season before an injury totally derailed his career.
6. Russell Westbrook
Is it too early for Russell Westbrook to rank this highly on this list? There's an argument to be made for either side; but one thing's for sure, the Clippers have benefitted from their addition of Westbrook and will continue to do so this upcoming season.
Westbrook gave the Clippers someone who can put pressure on the rim, an aspect of the game that isn't exactly Kawhi Leonard and Paul George's strong suit. This different dimension then helps open up easier shots for the rest of the Clippers' players, which, in turn, makes the team's life that much easier.
During the 2023 NBA playoffs, Russell Westbrook, thrust into a go-to role in light of injuries to the Clippers' best players, showed that he had a lot left in the tank. And for the sake of the Clippers' championship hopes, he'll have to show that he could sustain that kind of play in the long run.
5. Cuttino Mobley
The Clippers have never been a particularly attractive free agent destination, thanks in large part to the front office's longtime ineptitude. Thus, it was a big get for them when they signed Mobley to a five-year, $42 million deal to bolster their Elton Brand-led core.
Mobley then became a solid microwave scorer and secondary ballhandler for a Clippers team that won 47 games in 2006, helping give the team a level of respectability that the franchise hasn't seen in a long time. And even though that Clippers core failed to reach the same heights in the following years, Mobley still performed well enough on the court to warrant heavy minutes and justify his contract. However, it's a downright travesty that the 6'4 combo guard was unable to finish his career on his own terms after suffering a heart injury that forced him to prematurely hang up his sneakers.
4. Nicolas Batum
Back in 2020, Nicolas Batum's career seemed like it was never going to get back on track. Batum was falling off further and further ever since he signed a five-year, $120 million deal with the Charlotte Hornets in 2016. And during the 2019-20 season, it reached the point where the team played him in just 22 games despite being healthy for the majority of the year.
Thus, when the Clippers took a chance on Batum, it didn't draw much fanfare. But then Batum earned the starting spot to begin the year with Marcus Morris Sr. out due to injury, and the career revival was in full force.
Nicolas Batum, like the next player on this list, then played a crucial part in giving the Clippers its best season in franchise history. He emerged as a legitimate option as a small-ball five, stretching the Dallas Mavericks and Utah Jazz's defenses past its breaking point during the 2021 playoffs, all the while defending bigger guys such as Kristaps Porzingis and Rudy Gobert.
Now 35, Batum appears to have lost a step, and he wasn't the player he was two years ago. But don't let that take away from how great of a pickup he has been for the Clippers.
3. Reggie Jackson
Reggie Jackson's Clippers tenure didn't begin on the smoothest of notes. Picked up off waivers before the COVID-19 pandemic halted what was a strong 2019-20 season for the Clippers to that point, Jackson's play was uninspiring, and he didn't make much of a dent as the team crashed and burned in epic fashion in the bubble. But after that, Jackson gradually rounded into form in a Clippers uniform to the point where he's worthy of the third spot on this list.
Jackson emerged as the team's starting point guard during the 2020-21 season, averaging 10.7 points per game on a torrid 43.3 percent shooting from deep. But his 2021 postseason run took his Clippers career to the next level. Jackson fondly became Big Government, because he was always bailing the team out with difficult shots at the end of the clock, and he then became Mr. June as a nod to his baseball namesake's Mr. October moniker.
Reggie Jackson had multiple years of being a solid starter, especially during his tenure for the Detroit Pistons. But it was with the Clippers where Jackson played the best stretch of basketball in his career. That's simply an incredible return for someone the team merely picked up off of waivers.
2. Jamal Crawford
In 2012, the Clippers were a franchise that was on a rapid ascent. With Chris Paul having turned the Clippers' fortunes around, the team searched for pieces that could be of help to the team's quest of making the leap into genuine title contention. Enter Jamal Crawford.
Crawford opted out of his contract with the Portland Trail Blazers and decided to sign a four-year, $25 million deal with the Clippers to bolster the backcourt behind placeholder Willie Green. J-Crossover then cemented his status as one of, if not the best Sixth Man in NBA history, winning the prestigious acclaim twice as a member of the team. Crawford was instant offense, averaging 15.3 points per game in five seasons in LA.
1. Kawhi Leonard
As said in the introductory paragraph, there can only be one free-agent signing on top of this list. The Clippers, after years of playing second fiddle to the Lakers in their own city, took a major step in trying to get out from underneath their shadow when they picked up Kawhi Leonard, arguably the best player in the league at the time of his free agency.
Leonard is one of those rare players whose presence, health permitting, puts teams immediately in a title conversation due to how much he elevates his game under the bright lights of the playoffs. So when the Clippers pulled off their signing of the Klaw, plenty believed that they would soon win a championship — especially with the acquisition of Paul George fresh off a third place finish in the MVP race.
Alas, it hasn't quite worked out as planned yet for the Clippers. Kawhi Leonard, and to a lesser extent, George, have failed to stay healthy when it matters. To make matters even more heartbreaking, during the season in which both of their stars were healthy, that was when they crapped the bed against the Denver Nuggets in the bubble.
It's not too late for the Leonard-led Clippers to win a championship. But one thing's for sure: time is not on their side in their bid to win a title.
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