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4 years of futility: Why Doc doesn't run the Clippers anymore

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Doc Rivers did great deeds for the Los Angeles Clippers, but he didn't do so great in his role as president of basketball operations, and was mercifully relieved of those duties Friday.

Rivers, who remains head coach, inherited a phenomenal roster that just needed a few finishing touches around Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, and DeAndre Jordan. In four years of trying, though, Rivers mostly exhausted precious cap space and picks for flops like Lance Stephenson and Josh Smith.

And Stephenson and Smith were actually above average compared to the rest of the players that Rivers recruited. What follows is a sad list of most of the names he brought to Los Angeles.

The retirees

Players: Stephen Jackson, Glen Davis, Danny Granger, Hedo Turkoglu, Paul Pierce, Pablo Prigioni

Like almost every other coach in the history of sports, Rivers had a soft spot for veterans. And since the Clippers were a competitive team that played in Los Angeles, most veterans were open to making a pit stop, which gave Rivers the pick of the litter.

The results were shockingly poor. The most impactful addition from this group might have been Pierce, who averaged 5.4 points in 93 dispiriting appearances. Every one of these players has since retired, and Granger's the only one that received a contract after his time with the Clippers.

Making matters worse, players like Davis continued to hurt the franchise even after they moved on. Davis revived nagging accusations of nepotism when he traded barbs with Austin Rivers a few months back.

The internationals

Players: Josh Smith, Byron Mullens, Ekpe Udoh, Jared Cunningham, Branden Dawson, Carlos Delfino, Nate Robinson

Doc unintentionally built a talent pipeline that led overseas: Several of his acquisitions were so poor with the Clippers that they washed out of the NBA entirely.

Those players eventually settled in places like Turkey, China, Israel, Venezuela, Argentina, and the United Arab Emirates as they clung to scant hopes of getting back to the NBA.

Udoh is the only player who returned to the Association. After scoring less than a point per game with the Clippers, he reinvented himself as the best rim protector in Europe. He led Fenerbahce to the EuroLeague title and earned a two-year deal with the Utah Jazz.

Others weren't so lucky. Smith, Cunningham, and Dawson are collecting checks as anonymous players in China, while Mullens wound up with Al Wasl Dubai, one of nine teams in the UAE National Basketball League. Robinson is playing in Venezuela, while Delfino took a few years off before returning to his native Argentina.

The busts

Players: Reggie Bullock, C.J. Wilcox, Brice Johnson, Diamond Stone

In the four years that Rivers controlled the Clippers, zero of their prospects amounted to anything.

One cause of the talent shortage: The Clippers threw away a lot of picks. They sent their 2013 first-rounder to Boston to acquire the coach. They moved their 2017 pick in a salary dump of Jared Dudley, even though the Clippers put themselves in that precarious financial position by exceeding the salary apron. They spent their 2019 selection on a fruitless two-month rental of Jeff Green.

The other reason the Clippers lacked prospects is that Rivers and his staff drafted poorly. They used a 2014 first-round selection on Bullock and dumped him within two years. Fellow first-round pick Wilcox lived out that same story and was waived last season. Johnson, their 2016 first-rounder, might still develop, but he's a 23-year-old sophomore who played all of nine minutes as a rookie. Stone, a second-round acquisition from last season, has already been traded and waived.

Picking outside of the lottery doesn't excuse coming up empty in four straight drafts. Rivers' inability to select and develop cheap, young talent is why he kept having to reach for washed-up veterans.

The ones that got away

Players: J.J. Redick, Jared Dudley, Darren Collison, Joe Ingles

In fairness to Rivers, he did stumble upon a few useful supporting pieces, but even those moves didn't quite pan out.

Redick was a consistent contributor for the Clippers, but he left for greener pastures this summer. The seasoned sharpshooter said there was "no joy" in playing for the Clippers, and asked himself, "What is the point of all this?" after the Clippers lost in the first round.

Dudley was injured, never meshed with the team, and eventually left in a salary dump. He echoed many of Redick's sentiments, saying the Clippers had "by far the worst team chemistry" out of any squad he played on.

Collison, a good backup, was phased out shortly after Rivers traded for his son when Austin nearly washed out of the league. Austin eventually developed into a decent defender, but now costs twice as much as Collison while being half as effective on offense.

Finally, the Clippers had a perfectly serviceable 3-and-D wing within their grasp in Ingles, but let him walk for minor savings. Ingles eventually blossomed in Utah and earned a $50-million deal this summer after playing an instrumental role in eliminating the Clippers from the playoffs.

(Photos courtesy: Action Images)

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