The Clippers Have a New Owner – Is a New Name Next?

What is a Clipper?

Is it an NBA player on one of the leagues biggest teams in the biggest market?

Or is it, according to Merriam Webster’s online dictionary,  “a device used for cutting something“.

That answer may prove to be useless now that former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer is in charge in LA. After purchasing the team for an estimated $2 billion, Ballmer has a lot to do to get this team back on track.

That track, of course, is the title contender the Clippers were towards the end of the regular season.

Well, the first step back to that path of success may be ridding themselves of the bad memories that the Clippers franchise has suffered through for the last 30+ years. What better way to hide the past than to change it?

No, the Clippers cannot change what happened in their abhorrent past and the losing culture it has spawned upon them, but they can lighten the blow a little bit by changing their name.

Bleacher Report’s D.J. Foster brought this idea up, saying the following:

“The Clippers name, despite recent success, does not come with positive connotations right now. Nor does the title “Clippers owner.”

There are two ways of changing that. The first is to win so much that people forget about decades of incompetence. That way could take some time. We’re talking 20, 30 years here.

The other way is to just set fire to everything Clippers and start from scratch, erasing the former demons and cutting ties with the name of one of the worst franchises in sports history.”

It is a genius yet entirely practical idea.

For a guy who was a bit scorned by the NBA after attempting to purchase the Kings and move them to Seattle, a move like this could be bold enough to let the NBA know that he is there to stay in LA. He just wants to add his own spin on the team and rip away any prior negativity.

Ballmer, who was accused of possibly intending on moving the Los Angeles franchise to Seattle, said the following, per ESPN

“I love basketball. And I intend to do everything in my power to ensure that the Clippers continue to win—and win big—in Los Angeles. L.A. is one of the world’s great cities—a city that embraces inclusiveness, in exactly the same way that the NBA and I embrace inclusiveness. I am confident that the Clippers will in the coming years become an even bigger part of the community.”

Now that Ballmer has dispersed any ideas of location change, we can move on to the name.

Lets entertain the idea of a name change for a little bit. What kind of approach would Ballmer want to do?

Would he want a major overhaul in the form of a color scheme and name change?

What about a throwback redone such as the Los Angeles Braves (stemming from the original Buffalo Braves) or  the Los Angeles Stars, originating from LA’s ABA team ?

Voice your opinion here on what the Clippers should be named in the comment sections. 

I couldn’t see Blake Griffin catching lobs from Chris Paul with an orange and black color schemed jersey on. Here, Elton Brand models the ugly combo.

 

Now, on the other hand, the Los Angeles Stars ABA throwback uniforms look great on the current Clips, who have worn them a few times for throwback nights.

 

While both of these jerseys are options, the Clippers owner may want to look at something fresher.

Some possible team names that fit the bill of LA include the Los Angeles Avengers, Los Angeles Knights, Los Angeles Marvels, Los Angeles Predators, and Los Angeles Lightning.

All these names possess something unique that the bright lights of LA could easily make a top brand in weeks.The merchandise boom from both new materials and old materials would be quite substantial, and it would be a great way to kick off Ballmer’s newfound reign.

Steve Ballmer has a lot to do with his Clippers team, and changing the name to change the culture may be a great start.