Barnes: 'Egos' got in way of Lob City Clippers winning championship

Matt Barnes donned Los Angeles Clippers colors for four seasons (2003-04, 2012-2015), and was a part of the franchise's three greatest teams in terms of both regular-season winning percentage and playoff success.

Despite possessing one of the league's most gifted trios in Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, and DeAndre Jordan, those Clippers squads never managed to get over the hump and advance to the Western Conference finals, let alone capture an NBA title.

Barnes, who announced his retirement in December 2017, feels the Clippers were their own worst enemies during those years.

"We really had one of the most talented teams that never won a championship in L.A. and I think it was our own fault," said Barnes during a recent appearance on AM 570 LA Sports, according to NBC Sports' Kurt Helin. "We were in our own way. Just too many egos, young acting. We thought we were going to be the (Golden State) Warriors right up until they won the championship. We knocked them out of the playoffs the year before they came back and won, so we had a very talented team. We just couldn’t get on the same page.

"It was crazy. We were all cool off the court and I was like, 'how are we cool off the court and can’t get it together on the court?' That was our ... our mental toughness was what kept us from winning championships for the Clippers."

Barnes was a member of the Warriors from 2006-2008 and made his way back to the organization in 2017 where he'd win the first and only ring of his 14-year career. Playing alongside the likes of Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant provided clarity as to what was lacking on his Clippers teams.

"Egos. Egos. And now looking back on it from my perspective, because I was fortunate enough to go to the Warriors with a whole handful of superstars and there was no egos," added Barnes. "Everyone left their ego ... the only thing that mattered in Golden State was to win and winning the championship. If we had that mentality with the Clippers we would have won a championship."

None of the four Clippers that Barnes started alongside during his final year in 2015 remain in Los Angeles. Griffin is now with the Detroit Pistons, Paul is a Houston Rocket, Jordan has signed with the Dallas Mavericks, and J.J. Redick has moved on to the Philadelphia 76ers.