Matt Barnes Says The Clippers Are Cursed, Thinks They Should Change Name

Matt Barnes has no doubt the Los Angeles Clippers are cursed ... and he thinks a rebrand would be a slam dunk for the NBA franchise.

We got the former NBA baller at the 6th Annual Celebrity Softball Charity Game hosted by retired MLB player Brandon Watson ... and he told us the Clippers need to change their name to reverse their fortunes.

Along with Meagan Good, Jonathan Majors, Glen "Big Baby" Davis, Paul Pierce, Amber Rose, Terence Crawford & more, Matt was out taking hacks and spitting facts ... and he told us he believes the Clippers curse is very real.

In fact, Matt swears he told Steve Ballmer to change the name of the team when her first purchased it from Donald and Shelly Sterling back in 2014.

The Sterlings were forced to sell after Donald used racist language to describe NBA legend Magic Johnson in an audio recording we first obtained.

Matt thinks changing the name is a good idea because it would wash some of the stink off the franchise ... though Ballmer won't be able to effectuate change this year.

As you know ... Ballmer's been banned from all league and team activities for one year and has been assessed a $30 million fine for the Kawhi Leonard scandal -- while the team has lost 5 first-round draft picks.

On the court, the team's pretty banged up ... with Brandon Ingram, Max Strus and Bradley Beal likely to miss the beginning of the upcoming season.

The Clippers were known as the Buffalo Braves before they moved out to the West Coast ... though it's unclear if Matt wants to go back to the Braves or push forward with a whole new name.

We also got Matt's thoughts on holding kids back a year in school to make them superstar athletes ... and he tells us why it's something he's considering with his sons.

Bottom line ... it's time to clip the Clippers nickname -- if the team ever wants to win, that is.