The failure of the Clippers: between millionaire purchases and the shadow of the Lakers

In

and after the controversial racist who starred owner

,

took over

for

, the second most expensive purchase in the history of American sports.

Only surpassed by the 2,150 million that had been paid by the

for baseball in 2011. The Clippers' was an expensive acquisition for the time considering that the

, now one of the best teams in the NBA, were sold for

at the beginning of that 2014, but Ballmer, former

, he was convinced of what he was doing.

"

, but there is a huge growth opportunity," he explained.

The Clippers, who had

as stars, had just lost in the conference semifinals against

and were the first basketball power in the city.

The Lakers, the great team of

, then faced a deep reconstruction that would leave them six years without Playoffs.

It was finally time for the little brother from Los Angeles.

The brother who had never achieved anything.

And Ballmer knew it.

But that opportunity turned into

.

In the burden of an organization with

that

(a record in North American sports) and that grew up in the shadow of the Lakers.

Bad luck, injuries, parts shortages at certain times and the rise of the

have doomed the Clippers for the past five years.

They still did not step on a final.

However, in the summer of 2019 something changed.

The management of the franchise managed to convince

, who was a free agent after becoming champion with the Raptors, and managed to transfer

.

The recent Finals MVP and one of the best defenders in the league.

And most importantly,

had ended up in the other dressing room at Staples Center.

Summer victory and a historic hit.

The Clippers were, finally, in the first echelon of favorites to win the ring and the franchise had revalued to 2.6 billion (still 2,000 of the Lakers),

In addition, in March of this year

, the home where the Lakers won five titles between 1967 and 1999 before sharing headquarters with the Clippers at Staples.

Her or his promise?

.

A year later, that triumph in the market has left them tails on the track.

While the Lakers calmly navigate the other side of the

table

, the Clippers, on paper the best squad in the championship and one of the most talented has accumulated in recent times, have been shamefully shipwrecked against the

.

They dominated the tie 3-1 and have been traced back to 3-4 despite having advantages of 15 and 20 points in the fifth and sixth games.

Another incentive to that '

keeps

and that keeps them as a 'losing franchise' for another summer.

In Game 7 (89-104), Leonard and George, who have mortgaged most of their draft picks for the next six years, scored 24 points in total (14 and 10), on a night to forget for their coach,

.

"We didn't feel like this was the year for the championship. We've only been together for a short time," George explained.

Meanwhile,

smiles at the hotel.

His fourth ring is closer.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

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