Matt Barnes is pulling back the curtain on the Lob City Clippers. On a recent podcast appearance, the former forward said Doc Rivers paying his son Austin more than core veterans like Jamal Crawford and JJ Redick created “weird energy” in the locker room and marked the beginning of the team’s downfall.
“He brought his son over, and it was just some weird energy there. He paid his son. I’m not even mad,” said Barnes on the Club 520 podcast. “If I was in the position, I’d pay the sh*t out of my son, too. But people don’t understand at the time what that did to people. 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.”
Before Doc was leading the Bucks, he was the head coach of the Los Angeles Clippers for seven years. He oversaw the iconic “Lob City Clippers” crew, which included Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, and DeAndre Jordan. For years, his Clippers teams dominated the regular season, only to fall apart in the playoffs.
The Clippers never made it past the second round in Doc’s tenure, leaving many to wonder what went wrong. While the answers are subjective, Barnes believes part of the answer is Austin Rivers.
Austin is Doc’s son, and he played in Los Angeles for three and a half years. With career averages of 8.5 points, 2.0 rebounds, and 2.1 assists per game, Rivers was an average role-player, but he got treated well on the Clippers. Besides a big spot in the rotation (26.2 minutes per game), he also got paid.
He made nearly $30 million playing under his dad, and it may have caused some resentment in the locker room. While nepotism isn’t unheard of in the NBA, it can cause problems when it applies to players who might otherwise be treated more fairly.
In Rivers’ case, his supposed special treatment in the “Lob City” era seems to have created a rift in the locker room that broke the team apart. Players lost trust in Doc and questioned whether his methods were the best way to succeed.
Ultimately, the “Lob City” era ended in disaster after the Clippers broke up and parted ways with Paul and Griffin. It’s regarded as a disappointment and a major blemish on Doc’s otherwise respectable coaching resume.
This story is a warning to all teams that nepotism can have damaging effects on the locker room. Unless you’re Giannis Antetokounmpo or LeBron James, showing favoritism toward friends or family members is a major risk, and Rivers found that out the hard way.
In history books, the Lob City Clippers will always be remembered as a team that looked unstoppable on paper but never figured it out when it mattered most. Whether it was chemistry issues, bad timing, or Doc Rivers’ decision to bring his son into the mix, the cracks eventually split the foundation. Looking back now, Barnes’ comments shed light on just how fragile that locker room really was.
