The Clippers had 117 players suit up for them in the 2010s decade. Some of them were great, some of them were just fine, and a ton were completely nondescript. A handful, however, stand above (or below) the rest of the pack for their awfulness, their negative impact, and general negative feelings that are permanently associated with their time in a Clippers uniform. These aren’t necessarily the worst players in terms of statistical play or ability, but the worst in terms of what they did or did not do for the Clippers in their time on the team. We will start from the bottom up, so without further ado, let’s get into the worst Clippers players of the decade.
117: Paul Pierce
Seasons Played: 2 (2015 – 2017)
Games Played: 93 (45 started)
Stats: 5.4 points, 2.5 rebounds, 0.9 assists in 16.2 minutes per game
The Lowdown: There is probably no Clipper in recent memory more reviled than Paul Pierce. In this situation, like most on this list, it’s all about the context. Pierce arrived in the summer of 2015 when he and the Clippers were traveling in different directions. The Clippers had just come off one of the most disastrous playoff collapses of all time to the Rockets (more on that later), while Pierce had his famous “I called game” playoff run with the Washington Wizards. The Clippers, maligned for their lack of heart and poor end-game play, and desperately needing a starter at small forward, seemed like a perfect fit for the battle-hardened and famously clutch Pierce. The reunion between Pierce and Coach Doc Rivers was just icing on the cake. What could go wrong?
Well, everything. Almost immediately, it was clear that Pierce had taken several steps back from the year before, and was completely and utterly washed. He couldn’t create his own shot, he couldn’t defend, and he wasn’t able to do much else on the court. Even pure three-point shooting, seemingly a talent that should age well, went bad. While Doc Rivers cut his minutes over the course of the season, he still played too much (any minutes was too many), mostly due to the fact that the Clippers had no other options. To counter that, the Clippers made one of the worst trades of the Lob City era, sending a 1st round pick for Jeff Green (spoiler: that didn’t work either). Pierce contributed nothing in the playoffs, and his first season was an utter failure.
Pierce stuck around another year (he incredibly came on with a 3 year, $10.5M deal), but barely played, and mostly just sucked up money and a roster space. After the 2017 season, the Clips waived him, and the Paul Pierce era was mercifully over.
Pierce wasn’t just bad (he was), but he also came in with high expectations on a Clippers team that was expected to challenge for a championship. They did not, and the fact that Pierce was completely inadequate to fill the starting small forward role was a big reason why. What a disaster.
116: Avery Bradley
Seasons Played: 2 (2017 – 2019)
Games Played: 55 (55 started)
Stats: 8.2 points, 2.8 rebounds, 1.9 assists in 29.6 minutes per game
The Lowdown: There have been far worse players to don a Clippers jersey, but perhaps none have been as awful to watch or frustrating to discuss as Avery Bradley. Bradley, of course, came over as part of the Blake Griffin package, and was seen as a starting level guard who could bring All-Defense level play on one end and contribute with shooting and some tertiary ball-handling on the other. Pistons fans (and some Celtics fans) warned Clips fans about Bradley being brutal to watch and quite overrated, but most Clips fans didn’t heed the warning signs.
After playing just six games in the 2018 season with the Clips before shutting it down with an injury, Bradley was appointed a starter to begin the 2019 campaign. Right from the beginning, it was clear that he was the worst player of the Clippers’ four major guards (Patrick Beverley, Lou Williams, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander being the other three), providing only average defense and showcasing an abominable offensive game. Bradley took rage-inducing pullup midrange jumpers early in the shotclock, bricked almost 2/3 of his threes, and offered nothing as a ballhandler or playmaker. Worse, while his on-ball defense was decent, he was too small to be much of a bother to large players, limiting his versatility, and was consistently burned off-ball or as a team defender. Really, he was dreadful, and the team was vastly better with him off the court.
Worst of all, Bradley was taking minutes from better players. Doc Rivers seemingly refused to see the light, infamously quoting Bradley as being “unstatable” when questioned on why the slumping guard was receiving so many minutes. He started games, frequently closed games, and played nearly 30 horrendous minutes a game. The best part about Bradley’s tenure was his departure, as his trade netted the Clippers Garrett Temple (a fine rental) and rotation stalwart JaMychal Green. Champagne bottles were uncorked throughout Clipper-land on that most glorious day, with Bradley living on only through continued potshots thrown at the Clippers and the memory of his hideous jumpers.
115: Josh Smith
Seasons Played: 1 (2015 – 2016)
Games Played: 32 (1 started)
Stats: 5.7 points, 3.9 rebounds, 1.3 assists in 14.3 minutes per game
The Lowdown: Like every other player on this list, Josh Smith was dreadful as a Clipper. Unlike every other player on this list, Josh Smith almost single-handedly ruined the most promising Clippers playoff run of the Lob City era. Smith was perhaps the key element in the Rockets’ soul-crushing comeback in Game 6 of the 2015 Western Conference Semi-Finals, draining four threes, each more devastating than the last. That game remains probably the single most painful memory in modern Clippers history, and Smith’s role on the other side will never be forgotten.
A couple months later, the Clippers signed Smith as a free agent. He’d had a bounceback year in general for the Rockets, and at age 30 seemed like a solid candidate to help the Clippers at several different positions. Instead, he was awful from the jump, combining his historically dreadful three-point shooting with poor decision-making and lazy defense. He frequently appeared out of synch with the rest of the team, and there were constant rumors regarding his negative locker room presence. He was traded back to the Rockets just months later, but continued his miserable play, and barely played in the NBA again.
Not only was Smith’s poor play a terrible irony just a season after his playoff performance, but his failure on the court combined with Pierce’s awfulness resulted in the Jeff Green trade (mentioned above). The Clippers’ 2016 season was a huge disappointment, and Smith’s play was a big reason why.
114: Jared Dudley
Seasons Played: 1 (2014 – 2015)
Games Played: 74 (43 started)
Stats: 6.9 points, 2.2 rebounds, 1.4 assists in 23.4 minutes per game
The Lowdown: Dudley was by far the best of these players as a Clippers. In fact, when looking at his numbers for that season, they don’t look horrible on their own, just a bit underwhelming. But Dudley was considered a huge acquisition at the time coming off several excellent seasons as a key role player for some great Suns teams. He was in general “fine” on the Clips yet was a far cry from what he had been. It turned out he was playing through a knee injury, which prevented him from reaching his full level. He barely played in the playoffs due to his injuries, and that lack of presence was a crucial element in the Clippers getting worn down over the course of two long playoff series.
On its own, Dudley’s tenure would seem to be more of a pure disappointment than anything worse. He didn’t have the history of Smith, the expectations of Pierce, or the sheer irritation of Bradley. However, he has cemented his villainy over the years since, as he’s continued taking shots at the Clippers organization every chance he gets. Dudley felt like the Clips had let him down by playing through the injury, and had a miserable season as a result. Maybe he was right to feel that way, but the persistent aggrievances over the years has worn on Clips fans, and he’s now detested by most of the fanbase.
113: Jared Cunningham
Seasons Played: 1 (2014 – 2015)
Games Played: 19 (0 started)
Stats: 1.8 points, 0.5 rebounds, 0.5 assists in 4.7 minutes per game
The Lowdown: Poor Jared Cunningham probably doesn’t deserve to be on this list. If it weren’t for the particularly unique circumstances of his situation, he would be just another guy the Clippers brought in during the Lob City era who didn’t work out. Alas, that was not the case. The Clippers infamously kept Cunningham (who had been dreadful in his limited previous NBA experience) over an intriguing, large Australian wing named Joe Ingles, who they cut in training camp. Cunningham went on to barely play for the Clippers and bounce out of the NBA after one more year, while Ingles went on to become a key player on very good Utah Jazz teams for the next half-decade as an excellent 3 and D wing.
The devastating element of it all is that Ingles was exactly what the Clippers needed during the latter years of Lob City. A big, strong defender who is both a very good outside shooter and moves the ball well, Ingles checked all the boxes that the Clippers needed from a starting small forward. They still probably wouldn’t have beat the Warriors over the next few years, but Ingles on the Lob City teams would have made them a far better and more deadly team.
Essentially, this has very little to do with Cunningham himself, who made no impression on the Clippers. But he was bad, and never played, and that could have been predicted before the season began. It was a poor decision to keep him at the time, and it was absolutely crippling in retrospect.
Next up will be a look at the forgettable members of the 2010s, those Clippers who barely made an impact whatsoever.
