Los Angeles Clippers NBA Cheerleader Girls

• 2001–2005: Rebuilding
To improve upon the previous season, the Clippers acquired high-scoring and rebounding power forward Elton Brand from the Chicago Bulls in exchange for the draft rights to Tyson Chandler. Brand earned a spot on the 2002 NBA Western Conference All-Star team as an injury replacement for Shaquille O'Neal of the Lakers. The Clippers contended for most of the season, but won only 3 of the last 13 games and finished 39–43, five games out of the playoffs.
The 2002 offseason brought changes, as Miles was traded to the Cavaliers for Andre Miller, who led the NBA in assists in 2001–02 with 11 per game. With a good point guard in Miller, Lamar Odom at small forward, one of the league's best power forwards, Brand, the center Olowokandi, and a good supporting cast off the bench, the Clippers could actually make a run for the playoffs. However, with poor team chemistry and injuries (the Clippers lost 293 man-games to injury), they finished with a disappointing 27–55 record. Head coach Alvin Gentry was replaced by Dennis Johnson midway through the 2002–03 season.
In the 2003–04 season, the Clippers lost many of their core players to free agency (Miller, Odom, Olowokandi, and forward Eric Piatkowski--one of the longest-tenured players in Clippers history), while opting to retain Brand and Maggette with long-term contracts. They, along with Richardson, made up one of the NBA best high-scoring trios, with a combined 58 points per game. With new head coach Mike Dunleavy, Sr., they finished 28–54, due to inexperience and injuries. In the 2004 offseason, the organization and fans anticipated the arrival of Kobe Bryant as a free agent, but were shocked when he decided to accept an 11th-hour offer to remain with the Lakers.