It now feels like ages ago when Anthony Davis forced his way out of the New Orleans Pelicans to make the big move to LA. After a lot of drama, AD ended up joining LeBron James with the Los Angeles Lakers in the summer of 2019. As it turns out, however, the Clippers also had an opportunity to make their move on Davis — it's just that they never really wanted him in the first place.

NBA insider Colin Cowherd made this revelation on a recent episode of his podcast. According to Cowherd, the Clippers thought that Davis simply failed to meet their requirements:

“I had a good source inside the Clippers that told me when A.D. was on the market, they didn’t think he was (a) a leader or (b) tough,” Cowherd said (h/t Jonathan Sherman of Lakers Daily). “They thought he was gifted. And they didn’t think he would play through injuries. They didn’t think he worked out enough. … The idea was everybody loved A.D., and the Clippers have a very deep roster, very shrewd front office. They didn’t love him. And their takeaway was he has to be led. He can’t lead.”

Related NewsArticle continues below
A shadowy player in a LA Lakers jersey in the middle. Have LA Lakers player LeBron James on one side and LA Lakers player Luka Doncic on the other, starting center trade
The starting center Lakers must acquire after Rudy Gobert, Julius Randle shaming
Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic (77) controls the ball against the Minnesota Timberwolves during the second half in game five of first round for the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Crypto.com Arena.
NBA Draft prospects blatantly disrespect Lakers’ Luka Doncic

In that same offseason, the Clippers signed both Paul George and Kawhi Leonard. The Lakers, on the other hand, went on to win the championship during Davis' first year with the team.

Then again, it appears that there is, at the very least, some truth behind the Clippers' doubts about Davis, particularly when it comes to his injuries. After helping the Lakers win the title in 2020, AD has gone on to miss nearly half of his team's games in both the 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons due to a myriad injuries. It makes you wonder if the Clippers were actually right all along.