A few years ago, the L.A. Clippers were viewed as the team on the rise behind their talented roster that had the optimism that the franchise could contend for an NBA title.
However, this had never come to fruition with the Clippers as the team had their shortcomings in each campaign for various reasons that led to their dismantling over the last couple of years. Philadelphia 76ers guard J.J. Redick has provided some more clarity to the situation during a recent interview with Barstool's ‘Pardon My Take Podcast” as he stated it came down to the passive aggressiveness from the core group of players that didn't allow for them to take that next step forward. (h/t JCarmona24 of Reddit)
On Barstools Pardon My Take Podcast, JJ was asked where he wanted to start as far as his career in basketball and he chose the Clippers.
BigCat asked him what went wrong and JJ said it wasn't that they were bad or they hated each other, it was the passive aggressiveness from the squad whether it was CP3, Blake, DJ, Austin, Doc, Matt Barnes, etc.
They all got along outside of basketball but on the court there was just bullshit going on and nobody ever stood up and talked shit to each other to get better. Everyone just passive aggressive
The Clippers were never truly able to maximize the talent that they had on the court that appeared to have the makings of a team that could be a powerhouse in the league. However, L.A. struggled to be anything more than just a playoff as things came crashing down in the playoffs each year due to injuries or dysfunction on the court. There was just never a true comradery between Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, and DeAndre Jordan.
It was without a doubt the most successful time frame in the franchise's history with six playoff appearances along with two Pacific division titles and five 50-win campaigns. There just wasn't that next step taken forward to being legitimate title contenders in the Western Conference.
This is simply a case of what could have been with the Clippers had they truly gelled together on and off the court during that six-year period.
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