After a summer that has seen him overhaul his team's roster with the additions of Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, Los Angeles Clippers owner Steve Ballmer says he will even consider giving his club's name a change.

Speaking to the Los Angeles Times' Bill Shaikin over the weekend about the team's plans for a new arena in Inglewood, Ballmer said that he would be open to changing the team's name upon moving into the new facility that is proposed to be opened by 2024.

“We have a once-in-a-lifetime chance to really step our identity up another level,” Ballmer said. “I don’t anticipate making a change, but we have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and that is the kind of thing you somehow do in consultation with your fans.”

The Clippers moved to Los Angeles in 1984 from San Diego where the Clippers name was born in 1978 upon the relocation of the Buffalo Braves. The name was selected in a contest to honour the tall ships that often pass through the city's harbour.

Changing a team's name upon a move isn't unprecedented. 

The Syracuse Nationals became the 76ers when they moved to Philadelphia in 1963. That same year, the Baltimore Bullets were born after the Chicago Zephyrs moved to Charm City. More recently, the Seattle SuperSonics became the Thunder upon their move to Oklahoma City in 2008.

Still, making a name change 40 years after the relocation would be a first.