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Doc Rivers’ one decision led to downfall of ‘Lob City’ LA Clippers, says Matt Barnes, ‘weird energy…’

Originally posted on NBA Analysis Network
By Aikansh Chaudhary | Last updated Sep 23, 2025 2:00 PM ET

The early 2010s were arguably one of the best times to be a fan of the Los Angeles Clippers.

After all, the Los Angeles Clippers had the dynamic duo of Blake Griffin and Chris Paul leading the team. Combining their strengths, the ‘Lob City’ Clippers nickname was coined.

On top of that, the Clippers signed Doc Rivers as their head coach ahead of the 2013-14 NBA season. However, that turned out to be the beginning of the end for the Clippers’ Lob City era.

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Matt Barnes says Doc Rivers signing Austin Rivers brought ‘weird energy’ to the LA Clippers

In his first season with the Clippers, Rivers led the team to a 57-25 record. The Clippers also reached the second round of the playoffs for the first time since 2006.

A similar fate awaited the Clippers during the 2015 playoffs as they were once again knocked out in the second round. This season, the Clippers also traded for Doc’s son, Austin Rivers.

Well, Austin’s arrival apparently played a role in the downfall of the Lob City Clippers as former NBA player Matt Barnes talked about the situation during a recent episode of the Club 520 podcast.

“He brought his son over, and it was just some weird energy there. He paid his son. I’m not even mad. If I was in the position, I’d pay the s___ out of my son, too. But people don’t understand at the time what that did to people,” Barnes said.

He added: “I mean, he was making more than me, Jamal [Crawford] , JJ [Redick] – like guys that were putting in real minutes, you know what I mean? Playing in crunch time.

“And it kind of had people looking at him funny… when the son came, the energy with that — like guys weren’t really off that.”

To be fair, Rivers earned less than JJ Redick, Matt Barnes, and Jamal Crawford during the 2014-15 season. It wasn’t until the 2016-17 season that Rivers truly out-earned other crucial players on the roster.

LA Clippers superstars ‘butted heads,’ says Matt Barnes

Rivers’ arrival was only one part of the problem for the Clippers. As Barnes later explained, the top names on the team had poor chemistry.

“Our superstars just butted heads. You know, Blake and CP had the best chemistry in the world at times and then didn’t see eye-to-eye at times,” Barnes continued.

He then stated: “And then at the same time, it’s the emergence of DeAndre Jordan, where he’s starting to become a fringe All-Star player, Defensive Player of the Year, Olympic player.

“So, he’s kind of growing into his own.”

Ultimately, the Clippers’ rising chemistry issues were what led to the demise of what should have been a championship-winning era for the franchise.

“I felt like there were too many cooks in the kitchen. So, there was just too much s___, mental s___ that we couldn’t get over the hurdle,” he concluded.

The Lob City era officially ended with Paul’s departure to the Houston Rockets and Griffin getting traded to the Detroit Pistons during the 2017-18 season.

This article first appeared on NBA Analysis Network and was syndicated with permission.

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